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Oklahoma Signee Eli Willits Goes No. 1 in MLB Draft

Willits was an easy first-round projection, but consensus opinion now is that he'll definitely skip college and start his professional career right away.
John Hoover|
Oklahoma baseball signee Eli Willits
Oklahoma baseball signee Eli Willits | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Whatever decision Eli Willits was going to make, the Washington Nationals essentially just made it for him.

Willits, son of former Oklahoma major leaguer Reggie Willits and younger brother of Sooners shortstop Jaxon Willits, was drafted No. 1 overall by the Nationals on Sunday. Reggie Willits, formerly a coach with the New York Yankees following his playing career (six seasons with the Anaheim Angels), is now Skip Johnson’s assistant coach at OU.

Willits has been projected as a high first-round MLB pick for more than a year and was widely forecast to skip college and turn pro, but the Nationals all but removed any suspense by taking him first overall.

"I'm just a player that's gonna go out there and give everything I got, just like everyone else," Willits told MLB Network. "I feel like I can I have a good hit ability and I'm gonna take that to the next level, and I feel like my power is up and coming. But I needed to get into an organization like the Nationals that could help develop that and take that to the next level."

As a shortstop at Fort Cobb/Broxton, Willits reclassified to the 2025 recruiting/draft class and is the youngest prospect in this draft. The switch-hitting Willits helped the Mustangs win six state championships.

Nationals interim general manager Mike DeBartolo told Washington media that Willits was "the guy we wanted all along."

"Eli is a special player," DeBartolo continued. "We love his swing. Just an elite shorstop; somebody with great range, great arm, accurate. It's rare you get someone you feel is the best hitter in the draft and the best fielder in the draft."

The slot value of the No. 1 overall pick is $11.075 million.

Ethan Holliday of Stillwater, son of former MLB slugger and current Oklahoma State assistant Matt Holliday and grandson of former OSU coach Tom Holliday, was drafted No. 4 overall Sunday by his dad's old team, the Colorado Rockies.

Willits’ situation is similar to another former Sooner legacy prospect who signed with Oklahoma but couldn’t turn down Major League money — and has done quite well for himself.

Bobby Witt Jr., son of former Sooners pitcher Bobby Witt, signed with OU but was drafted No. 2 overall by the Kansas City Royals in 2019. He made his MLB debut in 2022 and last summer was named to his first All-Star Game with the Royals, and recently signed a franchise-record 11-year, $289 million contract.

After playing three seasons at OU from 1983-85, Witt Sr. was taken No. 3 overall by the Texas Rangers, and he pitched 16 seasons in the majors.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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