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The Philadelphia Phillies selected Arkansas RHP Gage Wood with the No. 26 overall pick in the 2025 MLB draft on Sunday night.
Wood, 21, is the first college player the Phillies have selected in the first round since the team picked Bryson Stott of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2019.
Who is Gage Wood?
Wood made history in his junior season at Arkansas by becoming the third pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the College World Series in June. He struck out 19 Murray State batters and missed a perfect game by a single hitter after hitting a batter in the eighth inning.
The no-hitter was also the 11th in Arkansas history.
Wood made 10 starts last season for the Razorbacks and went 4-1 with a 3.82 ERA. He recorded 69 strikeouts and limited opposing hitters to a .194 batting average. He also had two quality starts, where he had a complete game and one shutout.
Wood’s arenal features a fastball that has reached the mid-to-upper-90s and two breaking balls.
Gage Wood #14 of the Arkansas Razorbacks celebrates after a strike out during a game against the Creighton Bluejays at Baum-Walker Stadium at George Cole Field during the Fayetteville Regional.
Wesley Hitt / Getty Images
Wood suffered a shoulder injury as a junior and missed nearly two months last season. He was former reliever who developed into a starter before his junior year.
Wood is a Batesville, Arkansas, native and attended Batesville High School. As a high schooler, he was ranked as the No. 96 right-handed pitcher and the No. 313 overall prospect in the country by Perfect Game, a baseball scouting database.
Gage Wood MLB draft grade
Here’s how CBS Sports graded the Phillies selecting Wood No. 26 overall:
“Wood hasn’t shown much in the way of durability, and him slipping to the tail-end of the first suggests teams have real reservations about that changing. Still, he has electric stuff and, if he does somehow stay healthy, he has the talent to become the best pitcher in the class. I’ll always appreciate a big swing, even if I recognize this one probably won’t pay off in whole. Grade: B+”
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