Eli Willits Sets Audacious Goal For When He’ll Join Nationals in Majors

The Washington Nationals’ newest first-round pick has set a goal that will require him to develop fast in the minor leagues.

All-state baseball player of the year, Fort Cobb-Broxton's Eli Willits, is pictured in Edmond, Okla., Friday, June 6, 2025. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Eli Willits doesn’t want to waste any time getting to the Major Leagues and the Washington Nationals.

The No. 1 overall pick of the 2025 MLB draft signed his contract on Saturday at Nationals Park, alongside interim general manager Mike DeBartolo.

Willits was the youngest player in the draft, and he signed an offer worth $8.2 million, per MLB Pipeline. The deal was well below the slot value for the selection, which was $11.08 million.

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Since Willits was a younger player — he’s not yet 18 — some teams were not keen on selecting him that high. Per MLB.com, he made it know he was willing to sign for less than the slot bonus to be drafted as high as No. 1.

Now, historically, Willits still did well. His bonus was the seventh highest in MLB draft history, per MLB. It was also the highest bonus ever paid to a prep player.

Turns out he doesn’t want to spend much time in the minor leagues, either. He’ll be heading to the team’s complex on Sunday to get started. But, during his introductory press conference, he revealed his audacious goal for reaching the Majors on a certain timeline.

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“I set a goal to be in the big leagues by the time I’m 20, and that’s something I’m really excited to do,” he said to outlets including MLB.com. “Hopefully, I get out there and start playing well, and that can be something that I can accomplish in the next few years.”

He will turn 18 in December. So, to accomplish his goal, Willits will have to reach the Majors by the end of the 2028 season.

If he were to make it to D.C. by age 20, he would be in rare company. Per MLB.com, the only other Nationals players to reach the Majors by age 20 were Bryce Harper and Juan Soto.

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Willits is the son of former Major League utility player Reggie Willits. He played five seasons with the Los Angeles Angels. He also spent four seasons as a coach with the New York Yankees. The elder Willits is from Chickasha, Okla., and played college baseball at Oklahoma.

Willits played at Fort Cobb-Broxton High in Fort Cobb, Okla., just like his dad, who was a seventh-round pick coming out of college. He is from the same state as Colorado Rockies No. 4 overall pick Ethan Holliday, who prepped at Stillwater High School in Stillwater, Okla.

That meant the top two prep players selected in the draft came from the same state and were sons of former Major League players. Holliday is the younger son of former MLB All-Star Matt Holliday.

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