Cubs Continue Trend of College Hitters With Potential Steal in Ethan Conrad

Despite a draft class that boasted heavy prep-level talent, the Chicago Cubs leaned on their proven strategy in the MLB draft on Sunday with their first-round pick.

The Cubs hadn’t taken a prep position player in the first round since 2020, and that trend continued with their selection of Wake Forest outfielder Ethan Conrad with the No. 17 overall pick.

Conrad was seen as a potential top 10 pick in the draft before missing a large portion of the 2025 campaign with season-ending left shoulder surgery after diving for a ball.

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While Chicago’s selection was a bit surprising, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports that Cubs’ vice president of scouting Dan Kantrovitz and his team of scouts have been following the 21-year-old prospect for the last several years.

Kantrovitz believes they got “exceptional value” with Conrad at No. 17 after viewing him on a trajectory to go in the top 10 before his surgery limited him to 21 games in 2025.

Now, Chicago is in a position to draft talent over need and can be patient with their new prospect, and Kantrovitz wants to take it slowly to get him to spring training healthy.

“You never want to put that tag on somebody,” Kantrovitz said. “I think the first thing is to get him healthy. He’s probably going to take the rest of the summer and fall to recover and rehab and then get to spring training 100 percent.”

Conrad says that his full range of motion is back and is roughly a month away from resuming hitting while currently focusing on strength work.

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Once he’s able to start hitting, it may illuminate why the Cubs prioritized him at No. 17.

“We feel like he’s a potentially dynamic talent,” Kantrovitz said. “There’s an increasing slug component there. I think he’s somebody that can turn a double into a triple with his speed. And I think he’s somebody that is going to be able to put pressure on a defense in a number of different ways.

Conrad slashed .372/.495/.744 with seven home runs, eight doubles, and 27 RBIs in 21 games for the Demon Deacons and had 14 strikeouts to eight walks.

In Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com’s analysis of the first-round selections, he constituted a steal for Chicago.

“He’s an aggressive swinger, but he has a knack for loud contact and could have at least average power in the future,” Mayo wrote. He could be given a chance to play center field at the next level, too. This is three straight college hitters in the first round for the Cubs.

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After transferring from Marist College, where he posted similar numbers to the small sample size at Wake Forest, he was on Kantrovitz’s radar and never left.

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