Miami Closer Taken in the Eighth Round of the MLB Draft
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Miami right-hander Brian Walters was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the eighth round of the 2025 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft with the 251st overall pick on Monday afternoon.
From The U to the City of Brotherly Love! 🙌
— Miami Hurricanes Baseball (@CanesBaseball) July 14, 2025
The @Phillies select @BrianWalters_10 in the 8th round with the 251st pick of the @MLBDraft 🔔 pic.twitter.com/uwUrvNWN4v
The redshirt junior served as Miami’s primary closer throughout the 2025 campaign, logging 21 appearances with seven starts. Walters compiled a 2-3 record and a 4.94 ERA over 51.0 innings of work, striking out 56 batters while limiting opponents to a .279 average.
He notched a team-best 11 saves, the second-highest total in the ACC, and finished third among all Hurricanes pitchers in strikeouts.
A native of Palm Bay, Florida, Walters was previously selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 19th round of the 2024 MLB Draft but elected to return to Coral Gables for the 2025 season.
Walters became the second Hurricane selected in the 2025 MLB Draft, joining fellow right-hander Griffin Hugus, who was taken by the Seattle Mariners on Sunday night in the third round with the 91st overall pick.
Walters will now look to join his brother, who is also in the majors, playing with the Cleveland Guardians, also as a pitcher. He has a major league arm that could develop into something great. He has to work on a few other pitches to enhance his arsenal, but having a fastball that starts to top in the high 90s will always travel.
Courtesy of Miami Athletics
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.