Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Twenty-eight Appalachian League alumni were selected in the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft, including seven taken in the first 100 picks.

Marcus Phillips (Elizabethton ’24) was the league’s top selection, chosen 33rd overall by the Boston Red Sox. Phillips became just the third first-round pick in Appalachian League history and the second-highest overall selection.

Along with Phillips, six other alumni were selected in the first three rounds. Bristol’s Cooper Flemming (53rd overall) and Tanner Franklin (72nd) were both taken in the second round. Josh Owens (84th), Jacob Morrison (94th), Cody Miller (96th) and Cody Bowker (100th) were selected in the third round. By comparison, only four alumni were selected in the first three rounds over the previous four years of the league’s history.

Four players drafted in 2025 also played in the league this season: Flemming (Bristol), Owens (Elizabethton), Wyatt Vincent (Pulaski) and Landry Jurecka (Pulaski). Flemming, Owens and Vincent became the first high school players ever drafted directly out of the Appalachian League.

Every Appy League team had at least one player selected in this year’s draft. Elizabethton led all clubs with seven selections, followed by Pulaski with six. Six Major League organizations selected at least two Appy League alumni, with the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees leading the way with three picks each.