The 2026 Major League Baseball season kicks off this week, with all 32 MLB teams taking the field for real games for the first time this year. On the opening day roster will be superstar JJ Wetherholt, a former Mountaineer that was taken in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft and quickly vaulted through the minors. He is expected to start at second base and possibly leadoff for the Cardinals – something that very rarely happens with players that quickly. With that in mind, let’s take a look back at all the Mountaineers who have been taken in the MLB Draft over the years. 

Here’s a rundown of all the players that have been chosen from WVU throughout the years, focusing on the top twenty rounds. The draft, once upon a time, went forty rounds deep, but was shortened to just twenty back in 2019. So, we will do the same. Also, this list does not include players selected in “secondary” and “January” drafts, which were completely separate events and not considered the main source of talent. January drafts were for players who graduated in winter and wanted to get started early, while secondary drafts took place in August, a month after the traditional draft, and catered to those who did well in summer leagues after not getting drafted. Both were eliminated in short order. 

20TH ROUND

Bucky Guth, SS – Atlanta Braves (1969)Joe Schlieper, LHP – Toronto Blue Jays (1985)Jimmy Galusky, SS – Chicago White Sox (2018)Darius Hill, OF – Chicago Cubs (2019) (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)

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