Eli Willits highlights Fort Cobb-Broxton’s Class B baseball state championship
Eli Willits highlights Fort Cobb-Broxton’s Class B baseball state championship
The Washington Nationals selected Fort Cobb-Broxton star infielder Eli Willits with the first overall pick during the MLB Draft on Sunday night.
Willits’ selection comes after an incredible high school career that lasted just three years.
Originally a member of the 2026 class, the switch hitter and OU signee announced in May 2024 he was moving up a grade.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Willits helped Fort Cobb-Broxton win three Class B spring titles and three fall crowns along with a basketball championship when he was a freshman.
This past spring, he had a .516 batting average, nine home runs, 33 RBIs and 48 steals while also thriving at shortstop, finishing with a .979 fielding percentage.
Willits, the son of OU associate head coach and former big leaguer Reggie Willits, was named The Oklahoman’s All-State Player of the Year.
“I’m a player that’s going to give everything I’ve got,” Eli Willits told MLB Network. “I feel like my power is up-and-coming, but I needed to get into an organization like the Nationals that could develop that and take it to the next level.”
Washington’s selection of Willits was a bit of a surprise as most draft projections had Stillwater star infielder Ethan Holliday going No. 1.
MLB.com was among them and had Willits ranked No. 5 on its list of top prospects.
But Willits’ upside is hard to overlook.
Although he’s just 17 (and the youngest No. 1 overall pick in MLB history), Willits is polished and doesn’t show many weaknesses, making tough plays in the field look effortless while hitting from both sides of the plate and displaying tremendous speed on the bases.
“Just maturity that’s off the charts,” Nationals interim general manager Mike DeBartolo said on the MLB Network. “So you put all of that together — it’s rare to get someone that we think is the best hitter in the draft and the best fielder in the draft.”
Willits’ selection comes at a time of change for Washington.
The Nationals fired general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez on July 6.
DeBartolo is filling in as the interim general manager after serving as the assistant under Rizzo, while Miguel Cairo was promoted from an assistant coaching position to interim manager.
“There was agreement across the board that Eli was the No. 1 player on our board and the guy that we wanted and so that made things easier,” DeBartolo said. “It’s been a great collaborative effort.”
Willits was at his house on draft night and surrounded by family and friends.
“I’m just super excited for him — him and his family,” Fort Cobb-Broxton coach Dale Bellamy said. “He’s a great kid. Great baseball player, but he’s also just a great person, and so I’m just super excited for him and glad I got to be a part of it and got to coach him for a few years here at Fort Cobb.”
Willits leaves as a Fort Cobb-Broxton legend and has the goal of being in the big leagues by the time he’s 20.
“He was excited,” Bellamy said. “I think everybody in the room was just excited for him because they know what kind of player he is and what kind of person he is.”
Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @nicksardis. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.