Oklahoma has been a regular contributor to the MLB Amateur Draft since the process first went into effect in 1965, and eight more Sooners were added to the list this past weekend.
The Sooners have contributed at least one draft selection to the annual MLB Draft every season since 1970. Four starting position players and a pitcher from Oklahoma's 2026 national championship baseball squad were selected in the first nine rounds of this year's draft, held over the weekend in conjunction with MLB All-Star Game festivities taking place in Philadelphia.
Brendan Brock leads 8 Sooners headed to MLB
Outfielder Brendan Brock was taken in the third round by the New York Yankees. Infielder Jaxon Willits and pitcher LJ Mercurius were both selected in the fifth round, Willits 141st overall by the Los Angeles Angels and Mercurius by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 148th overall pick in the draft.
Catcher Deiten Lachance was a sixth-round selection by the Cleveland Guardians and infielder Camden Johnson was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the ninth round. Three other Oklahoma pitchers, Mason Bixby, Cameron Johnson and Nate Smithburg, were selected in rounds 14 through 18.
All eight Oklahoma draft selections just completed their junior seasons and would have one year of college eligibility remaining.
Brock, who doubled as a catcher this season, was a transfer from Southwestern Illinois Community College. He played in 65 of Oklahoma's 66 games this season, hitting .302 with 13 home runs and 55 runs batted in. Brock led all Sooner hitters in the postseason with a .456 batting average in OU's 13 games leading to the national championship.
Willits was recruited by the Sooners and played three seasons at OU. He was the regular starting shortstop and hit .313 this past season, including 20 doubles, seven home runs and 55 RBI. Willits led all Sooners with 13 hits in the Men's College World Series and a .500 batting average on his way to being named MCWS Most Outstanding Player. He is the son of Oklahoma associate head coach and former major league player Reggie Willits, who played six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, ironically the team that drafted Jaxon. Eli, Jaxon's younger brother, was also the No. 1 overall pick just a year ago out of high school as an OU commit.
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Mercurius, in his second season at Oklahoma after transferring from UNLV, was primarily a starter for the Sooners but was shifted to the bullpen late in the 2026 season and shined in that role for OU in the College World Series. Mercurius posted a 7-7 record this season with an ERA of 4.43 in 22 appearances over 83.1 innings. In two CWS appearances, however, he allowed just two earned runs on eight hits and struck out 11. Mercurius' ERA in his CWS appearances was an impressive 1.38.
Lachance came to Oklahoma from McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas, and was another of the major contributors in the lineup during the Sooners' national championship run this season. He hit .327 for the season with 18 home runs and 69 RBI. Six of those home runs were hit in the postseason, along with 18 runs batted in.
Camden Johnson led Oklahoma with 63 runs scored in the 2026 season. The Wichita State transfer started 65 games for the Sooners this season at third base. He finished the year with a .298 batting average, nine home runs and 48 RBI and led the team with 31 stolen bases in 34 attempts.
Three OU pitchers were selected in the late rounds on Sunday. Mason Bixby was taken in the 14th round, No. 413 overall by the Tampa Bay Rays. He made 18 appearances this season, mostly in relief, with a 6.50 ERA. The Rays selected another Sooner reliever in the 18th round, taking Nate Smithburg with the 533rd overall pick.
Smithburg made 19 appearances in 2026, all in relief, and finished the season with a 2-0 record and a 3.79 ERA. This was his first full season with the Sooners after transferring from Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College after the 2025 season.
Cameron Johnson was a 15th-round pick of the Chicago White Sox. The left-handed pitcher who spent two seasons at Oklahoma was used primarily as part of the OU weekend starting rotation. He made 21 starts in his two seasons, during which he posted a combined record of 8-1 with an ERA of 4.60 and 96 strikeouts. Johnson is the 17th Oklahoma player overall drafted by the White Sox.
The 2026 MLB Draft was conducted over two days, on Saturday and Sunday. Rounds one through four were completed on Day 1, and the final 16 of the 20-round draft were completed on Sunday.
OU athletic department records indicate that 323 Oklahoma players have been selected since the first official MLB Draft was introduced in 1965. Since 2000, the Sooners have averaged 5.9 draft selections per year. Three times during that span, Oklahoma has had as many as 11 players selected in the draft.
This is the third consecutive year Oklahoma has had eight players selected and the 13th time overall with eight or more.
Since Skip Johnson became the the Sooners' head coach in 2018, OU has had 56 draft picks in the MLB Draft. Of those 56, 38 have been pitchers.
The SEC led all conferences with 104 players drafted as part of the 2026 MLB Draft.
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