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OU pitcher Kyson Witherspoon selected No. 15 overall in the MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox

Eddie On3by: Eddie Radosevich07/13/25
Syndication: The Oklahoman
Oklahoma's Kyson Witherspoon (26) during the college baseball game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the LSU Tigers at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman, Okla., Thursday, April, 3, 2025.

OU right-handed pitcher Kyson Witherspoon didn’t have to wait long to hear his name called Sunday night at the Major League Baseball Draft, selected by the Boston Red Sox with the No. 15 overall pick.

Witherspoon’s Sunday night selection caps a remarkable two-year run in Norman where he arrived alongside twin brother Malachi, who is also expected to be drafted, to develop under Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson. Mission accomplished.

Witherspoon’s first-round selection on Sunday is the Sooners fourth first round draft pick in the last eight drafts, joining former Sooners in Cade Horton (Chicago Cubs 2022 – No. 7 overall), Cade Cavalli (Washington Nationals 2020 – No. 22 overall) and Kyler Murray (Oakland As 2018 – No. 9 overall).

Witherspoon did nothing but bolster his resume for big league clubs over this past season, going 10-4 as the Sooners ace, striking out 124 batters (single season 13th all-time) en route to being named a consensus first team All-American (Baseball America, D1Baseball, NCBWA and Perfect Game).

His remarkable junior campaign closed with Witherspoon leading the SEC in wins (10, ninth nationally) and ERA (2.65, 23rd nationally), striking out 124 batters (fifth-most nationally), with a 1.01 WHIP and a 11.75 strikeouts per nine innings. 

Sooners signee Eli Willits selected No. 1 overall

Good news: Oklahoma signee Eli Willits realized a dream on Sunday night, hearing his name called at the Major League Baseball Draft. The bad? If you’re an Oklahoma baseball fan, you probably won’t be seeing him in a Sooners uniform alongside brother Jaxon next season. 

Willits was the No. 1 overall selection by the Washington Nationals to begin the MLB Draft on Sunday evening. Willits was absolutely expected to be among the initial picks. But he was slated at around No. 5 overall or so, not the initial pick. A huge, pleasant surprise for Willits and for OU, honestly.

“I’m just excited and thankful to the Nationals organization for giving me this chance,” said Willits to MLB Network.

After reclassifying and graduating from Fort Cobb-Broxton early, Willits is the youngest player in this year’s amateur baseball draft by two months. Though young in age, Willits is nothing but a winner after ending his career at Fort Cobb-Broxton where he won six (!) state Class B titles. 

Willits capped his final season at Fort Cobb-Broxton earning All-State Player of the Year honors by the Oklahoman after hitting .516 with nine home runs, 33 RBIs, 48 steals and a .979 fielding percentage. 

“Eli is a special player. We love his swing…,” Nationals interim general manager Mike DeBartolo said on MLB Network. “Just an elite shortstop. Somebody w/ great range. Great arm, accurate… Rare you get someone you feel is the best hitter in the Draft, best fielder in the Draft.”

Willits and Stillwater’s Ethan Holliday (No. 4 overall, Colorado Rockies) are the first pair of Oklahoma high school products drafted in the first round of the MLB Draft in nearly 15 years when Owasso’s Dylan Bundy and Broken Arrow’s Archie Bradley were selected in the opening round of the draft.

Other Sooners expected to be drafted

There were five Sooners inside the top-250 prospects according to MLB Pipeline: signee SS Eli Willits (No. 5, went No. 1 overall), junior RHP Kyson Witherspoon (No. 10), signee OF Alec Blair (No. 52) junior C Easton Carmichael (No. 93), junior RHP Malachi Witherspoon (No. 121) and junior LHP Cade Crossland (No. 207).

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