Duke Baseball Plagued by Continued Early-Round Draft Drought

Once again, the Duke Blue Devils failed to have any players chosen in the first round of the MLB Draft.

While the university’s basketball and football programs are usually full of first-round draft talent, the baseball program has continued to lag behind. In their history, they’ve only had two players ever drafted in the first round of the MLB Draft: Marcus Stroman in 2012 and Bryce Jarvis in 2020.

Duke Last Season

May 26, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils pitcher James Tallon (17) takes the mound in the second inning against the Florida State Seminoles during the ACC Baseball Tournament at Truist Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

This past season, Duke limped to a paltry 26-31 record. While their football team is the reigning ACC champions, and the basketball team has grown into one of the most historic programs in all of sports, professionally or collegiately, this type of season seriously lacks in quality in comparison.

The baseball team is going through a transition period, as head coach Cory Mascara just wrapped up his first season at the helm. However, he failed to meet the expectations placed on the team after a handful of solid seasons in the past few years.

Jun 9, 2025; Durham, NC, USA; Duke bench reacts the seventh inning of the Durham Super Regional against Murray State at Jack Coombs Field. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

They’ve been better in the past. In 2025, the Blue Devils won 41 games and reached the Durham Super Regionals, but draft luck continues to be an issue for the program. Day 1 of the 2026 MLB Draft came and went without any Blue Devils taken off the board. With 4 rounds done, there aren’t many candidates from last year’s team who could be drafted on Day 2.

Who Could Be Chosen

Jun 9, 2025; Durham, NC, USA; Duke fans cheer during the seventh inning of the Durham Super Regional against Murray State at Jack Coombs Field. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The only real potential piece that could be selected is pitcher Aidan Weaver. In four seasons with the Blue Devils, he pitched to a 10-13 record with a 6.43 ERA; however, he did strike out 144 batters in 120.1 innings of work in his career. Despite his unremarkable numbers, Weaver does have the raw skill set that could entice some MLB teams to select him in the later rounds.

To make matters worse, one of Duke’s former stars was in fact selected in the first round this year. Former outfielder AJ Gracia, who finished his career at Virginia after spending two seasons with Duke from 2024-2025, was chosen with the 9th overall pick by the Atlanta Braves.

Gracia hit 29 home runs in 2 seasons with the Blue Devils and carried an OPS over 1.000 in each of those two campaigns. The Blue Devils won’t be watching the draft too closely as none of their talent from last season is expected to be chosen as of now.

They’ll hope for better luck next season, as well as a better showing overall than their forgettable 2026 campaign.

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