Minor League Baseball

Washington Nationals Award Top Pick Eli Willits With Historic Signing Bonus

Eli Willits was not expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, but the Washington Nationals still decided to make him the highest-paid high school prospect ever.
Sam Connon|
Eli Willits is selected by the Washington Nationals with the first pick of the first round of the 2025 MLB Draft at The Coca-Cola Roxy on July 13 in Atlanta.
Eli Willits is selected by the Washington Nationals with the first pick of the first round of the 2025 MLB Draft at The Coca-Cola Roxy on July 13 in Atlanta. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

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Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals officially have signed No. 1 overall pick Eli Willits, MLB.com's Jim Callis reported Saturday afternoon.

Per Callis, the 17-year-old secured an $8.2 million signing bonus. While the slot value for the top pick in the 2025 MLB Draft was nearly $11.1 million, Willits still secured a historic payday.

The shortstop's bonus is the seventh-highest in MLB Draft history, and the second-highest the Nationals have ever given out to a draft pick, trailing only Dylan Crews. It also stands alone as the largest signing bonus ever given to a high school prospect, beating out the $8.19 million that Jackson Holliday got from the Baltimore Orioles in 2022.

Willits was not widely viewed as the top player in his draft class, with ESPN ranking him at No. 3, MLB.com slotting him in at No. 5 and The Athletic pegging him at No. 8. He wasn't even the biggest name coming out of the high school ranks in Oklahoma, considering Ethan Holliday was the No. 1 prospect on most outlets' big boards.

Still, Willits is the son of former Los Angeles Angels outfielder Reggie Willits. He also hit .473 with eight home runs, 14 doubles, 34 RBIs, 56 runs, 47 stolen bases and a 1.514 OPS, drawing 27 walks compared to his four strikeouts at Fort Cobb-Broxton High School this past season.

Willits was committed to Oklahoma, where his father is associate head baseball coach. But instead of becoming a Sooner like his dad and brother, Willits has opted to go pro and cash in on a record-breaking deal from the Nationals.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and other "On SI'' baseball sites. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for “UCLA on SI’’ and won awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for “New England Patriots on SI’’ and was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Follow Sam on Twitter @SamConnon.

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