Most 18-year-olds’ biggest decision in life up to this point has been deciding where to attend college. Well, for a number of baseball players, that decision is not about where to attend college; it’s about whether they should go to college or remain in the 2026 MLB Draft. All across the country, the top prep prospects in the ’26 class and their advisors have been working to determine which option makes the most sense for their careers and their finances.
With the draft just a few days away, some of the top prep talents have already decided that the college route is better suited to them, while others are still gathering intel about where they could land in the draft and what that means for a signing bonus.
2026 Draft Prospects Honoring Their College Commitment
During the recruiting process, colleges such as LSU, Miami, and other Power-5 programs know which recruits are likely to be draft risks. However, as the college sports landscape changes with NIL, keeping these talented prep players from becoming pros has become more likely. With that, both the Tigers and Hurricanes have already seen a big recruit from their 2026 class decide to opt out of the draft.
For LSU, left-handed-hitting outfielder Nate Davis has decided to remain part of the ’26 recruiting class. Prior to opting out of the MLB Draft, Davis was ranked as the 113th prospect in the ’26 Draft, according to PerfectGame. That ranking had Davis as the third-highest-rated position-player prospect in LSU’s recruiting class, making his decision to stick with the Tigers a big one if they end up unable to get guys like Malachi Washington and Lucas Nawrocki to campus.
As for Miami, they have the 14th-ranked incoming recruiting class, according to PerfectGame, and they’ve already managed to keep a big piece of that class in Nevada shortstop Rookie Sheppard. The Canes will certainly miss out on bringing Jacob Lombard and Gio Rojas to campus, since they are projected top-ten picks, which makes Sheppard and his steady glove an important piece of the Hurricanes’ roster for the 2027 season.
The other school that has already locked down a centerpiece of their recruiting class is the Virginia Cavaliers. Shortstop Will Yow is arguably the fastest player in the 2026 high school class, recording home-to-first times of 4.05 seconds or better, and he’ll be heading to Charlottesville to play for the Cavaliers. According to Over-Slot, he is the 6th-ranked shortstop in the ’26 class and could be a potential replacement for projected top-two-round pick Eric Becker.
Potential 2026 Draft Prospects That Could Opt Out
Outfielders are in surplus for the 2026 MLB Draft, which could prompt some prep players to make a late decision to bow out and head to their respective college campuses. Two names to watch for are Oregon commit Andruw Giles and Florida commit Brady Harris. Depending on how teams rank the outfielders in this draft, Giles and Harris could end up falling into the second day of the draft, which, if that’s the intel they receive over the next few days, the Ducks and Gators could swoop in and provide the additional compensation needed to get them to campus.
One player that many thought would never be in this conversation was left-handed pitcher Brady Bumila. The Texas commit was beyond dominant during his senior season, running his fastball up over 100 MPH, leading to a lot of first-round projections in mock drafts. Plenty of scouting publications believe he has one of the best fastballs in the draft, but recent reports indicate that Bumila has informed MLB teams he is dealing with an elbow injury. Since the lefty already had internal brace surgery in 2025, this news could scare many teams away, prompting Bumila to cut his losses and head to Texas in hopes of being drafted even higher in the first round when he is draft-eligible.
Last but not least is Rocco Maniscalco. The shortstop from Alabama stole the show at the MLB Draft Combine, showing off an elite arm for an infielder. Prior to the combine, PerfectGame had the Mississippi State commit ranked as the 108th prospect, but after the combine, MLB Pipeline has him as the 49th draft prospect. Now, if Maniscalco gets word that he could come off the board in the first round, he’ll almost certainly remain in the draft, but there is always the outside chance he hears otherwise, prompting him to bet on himself and shoot for a top-10 pick in a few years.
Main Photo: Brett Davis- Imagn Images
