(This story has been updated to add new information and to add a photo or video.)
It’s destination Boston for Kyson Witherspoon.
The University of Oklahoma pitcher and former Fletcher High School standout went off the board at No. 15 to the Boston Red Sox, leading off the selections in a bumper crop of Jacksonville-area prospects in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
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The best class ever for Northeast Florida baseball prospects? It’s still early, but this group has a chance.
In all, the Jacksonville area accounted for four picks in the first 62, then two more to begin the third round. The area produced 7.7 percent of the first 78 selections.
And while Jacksonville didn’t land two first-rounders, almost everything else fell into place. Kyson’s twin brother, Malachi Witherspoon, heard his name called at No. 62 to the Detroit Tigers in the second round, shortly after Trinity Christian right-hander Aaron Watson (Cincinnati Reds at No. 51), and Florida State’s Dick Howser Trophy winner Alex Lodise from Bartram Trail (Atlanta Braves at No. 60).
The Kyson Witherspoon file
Kyson Witherspoon delivers a pitch during the 2025 season. The Red Sox selected the former Fletcher High and Oklahoma ace at No. 15.
Kyson Witherspoon rocketed up the draft board projections with his junior season with the Sooners, earning All-SEC honors and finishing 10-4 with a 2.65 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP and 124 strikeouts. Several analysts projected him in the top 10 during the days before the draft, but he ended up sliding among an early run on shortstops — nine of the first 14 players drafted play that position.
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Still, Witherspoon is in line for a massive payday: The No. 15 selection carries an expected slot value of $5.11 million.
He becomes the highest-drafted player who played at a Northeast Florida high school since former Trinity Christian third baseman Austin Martin went No. 5 overall to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020 out of Vanderbilt, and the first opening-round selection from a Gateway Conference school since Wolfson’s Billy Butler and Eric Hurley were selected directly from high school at No. 14 and No. 30, respectively, in the 2004 draft.
Witherspoon, whose twin brother, Malachi, is also in the running for an early selection, surpasses Kris Keller as the highest-drafted player ever from Fletcher. The Detroit Tigers selected Keller, a pitcher, in the fourth round of the 1996 draft.
Trinity ace Watson continues local flurry
Then came three locals in a 12-pick span in the second round.
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Watson, the 6-5 right-hander coming off an outstanding year at Trinity, slid past the first round but went early in the second to Cincinnati at No. 51.
Pitching against a schedule rated toughest in the state by the Florida High School Athletic Association, Watson went 9-0 with an 0.53 ERA and 126 strikeouts, allowing only 30 hits and 15 walks in 78 2/3 innings. Trinity won each of his 13 starts, earning MaxPreps All-American recognition as well as finalist status for the Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Baseball award.
Watson, the highest-drafted Conqueror since Martin in 2020, now faces a decision about whether to continue to college baseball at the University of Florida or to sign with the Reds and enter the professional ranks. The No. 51 pick carries a slot value of $1.89 million. He’s the second local Reds selection in the top three rounds since 2019, joining Providence’s Tyler Callihan, who is currently on the injured list.
Former Bartram Trail shortstop Lodise then took the next step in his stunning transformation from a .250 hitter in his senior year of high school to the top player in college baseball in 2025. He produced a .394/.462/.705 slash line for the Noles, along with 18 doubles, 17 homers, 68 RBI and a 1.167 OPS.
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Malachi Witherspoon then went to the American League-leading Tigers at No. 62, coming off a year in which he converted from the bullpen to the Oklahoma rotation. He recorded a 4-8 record and a 5.09 ERA with 32 walks and 91 strikeouts, and could someday face off against his twin brother in a future Red Sox-Tigers series.
Bob Nightengale: MLB draft twins Kyson and Malachi Witherspoon owe it all to their supermom
Slot values for Lodise and Malachi Witherspoon are $1.52 million and $1.45 million, respectively.
Continuing the family theme, Georgia Tech shortstop and Brunswick native Kyle Lodise, cousin of the Florida State star, went to the Chicago White Sox at No. 76 to begin the third round. He transferred to Georgia Tech this year from Division II Augusta and responded at once with a .329/.429/.667 slash line, 20 doubles, 16 home runs, 61 RBI, 13 stolen bases and a 1.096 OPS.
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Two picks later it was the turn of the Miami Marlins, selecting Florida State center fielder and Clay graduate Max Williams at No. 78. Williams, who tied for the Seminoles’ lead with 19 homers and also batted .321 with 53 RBI and a .990 OPS, could in time climb the minor-league ladder to the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.
The remaining 17 rounds of the draft continue July 14, with several other Jacksonville-area prospects potentially in the running.
This is a developing story.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: MLB Draft 2025: Kyson Witherspoon leads Jacksonville selections