ATLANTA — Fresh off an organizational switch-up, the Washington Nationals made a surprise selection with the first pick of the MLB Draft on Sunday, selecting 17-year-old shortstop Eli Willits.
A week after general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez were fired amidst the franchise’s sixth straight losing season, the team hopes Willits — a Fort Cobb, Oklahoma native — can spark a return to glory for the 2019 World Series champs.
With most pundits predicting LSU pitcher Kade Anderson or high school shortstop Ethan Holliday to be the first choice, the Nationals went a different route with Willits. As a senior in 2025, Willits hit .516 with nine home runs, 33 runs, RBIs and 48 stolen bases. Originally a member of the 2026 class, Willits reclassified and was committed to the University of Oklahoma.
After last year’s draft didn’t see a high school player selected until ninth (Konnor Griffin to the Pirates), the Nationals made Willits the youngest top overall pick in draft history at 17 years and seven months old.
“I’m just a player that’s going to go out there and give everything I’ve got, just like everyone else,” Willits said from home after being selected. “I feel like I have a good hit ability and am going to take that to the next level. I feel like my power is up and coming, but I needed to get into an organization like the Nationals, who can develop that and take me to the next level.”
Willits was the Nationals’ first top pick since 2010, when they drafted Bryce Harper.
“We couldn’t be more excited,” Nationals interim general manager Mike DeBartolo said. “Eli is a special player. Great hitting tools. He makes contact, controls the strike zone. We love his swing. It’s just a clean operation at the plate with developing power. Then he’s just an elite shortstop, someone that stays at shortstop. … You add on top of that the intangibles, his confidence, work ethic, just maturity that’s off the charts. 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. We felt it was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up.”
The Los Angeles Angels followed by drafting UC Santa Barbara right-hander Tyler Bremner, who struck out 111 batters in 77 1/3 innings as a junior for the Gauchos in 2025.
Anderson dropped to third, where the Mariners tabbed the College World Series Most Outstanding Player from LSU. Anderson went 12-1 with a 3.18 ERA in 19 starts in 2025. The 6-foot-2 Madisonville, La., native missed his entire freshman season in 2023 while recovering from Tommy John Surgery. Anderson then compiled a 16-3 record in 37 outings (28 starts) over his two college seasons. He was a First-Team All-American and Baseball America’s National Pitcher of the year this season.
Holliday went fourth to the Colorado Rockies, 27 years after the franchise selected his father Matt in the seventh round in 1998. The elder Holliday hit 130 of his 316 career home runs with the Rockies from 2004-08 before returning to Denver for his final season in 2018. Ethan, younger brother of Jackson — the first overall pick by the Baltimore Orioles in 2022 — was Baseball America‘s 2025 High School Player of the Year at Stillwater High School, where he posted a .611 batting average with 19 home runs and 64 runs batted in (RBIs) in 33 games.
Left-handed pitcher Liam Doyle out of the University of Tennessee was picked fifth by the St. Louis Cardinals, followed by the third high school player to be selected in Seth Hernandez (Corona HS in Calif.), a right-handed pitcher.
Oregon State star shortstop Aiva Arquette was picked by the Miami Marlins at seven, while Purvis High School (Miss.) JoJo Parker was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays at eight.
The high school theme continued to round out the top 10, as the Cincinnati Reds tabbed Steele Hall, a shortstop from Hewitt-Trussville High School (Ala.). Hernandez’s Corona High teammate Billy Carlson, a shortstop, was picked tenth by the Chicago White Sox.
–Jack Batten, Field Level Media
