Top 12 Draft Eligible College Baseball Prospects And Their Projected MLB Signing Bonuses

The 2026 college baseball season is underway with opening weekend kicking off in mid-February. MLB organizations will have their eyes set on a number of the sport’s top stars as the year progresses.

MLB.com has rated the Top 100 draft eligible prospects heading into the pro campaign. Fifty-five are NCAA players.

Twelve of those college prospects are expected to be selected within the first 18 picks. That 18th slot is notable as it’s the last estimated to eclipse $10 million in signing bonus money.

Top 12 college baseball prospects.

These prospects have been competing at the college level for at least three seasons. While they won’t boast the youth of the draft-eligible high school players, they make up for it in experience.

The Top 12 college baseball prospects hail from a variety of different schools, ranging from top conferences like the ACC and SEC to mid-major programs.

Here, we’ll list these players in ascending order while including rank, school, and projected signing bonus. Let’s start in the Southeastern Conference.

Ace Reese (3B)

Reese is the 18th-rated prospect in the MLB Draft class, and the 12-best college baseball player. The Mississippi State infielder spent one year at Houston before transferring to Starkville.

As a freshman, he hit .278 with seven HRs. Last year, he tripled his home run total while batting .352.

Reese’s carrying tool is his plus power, which he generates with the strength in his 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame and the bat speed and leverage in his left-handed stroke. He can homer to any part of a ballpark and pounds both lefties and righties. He can get a bit aggressive at times but is making progress with his swing decisions and some evaluators think he could become a solid hitter with 25-30 homers per year.

-MLB.com

The 18th pick comes with an estimated signing bonus of $10.3 million.

Chris Hacopian (SS)

Hacopian, the 16th-rated pro prospect, will be the starting shortstop at Texas A&M in 2026. It will be his first season with the program after spending two years at Maryland.

The infielder hit .323 with 15 HRs as a freshman. He followed it up with 14 more dingers in his sophomore campaign while batting .375.

Hacopian can make hitting look easy because he has advanced feel for the barrel and control of the strike zone. Though he has a busy setup, his right-handed stroke always seems to be on time and produces consistent hard contact. He almost never misses fastballs, hitting .423 with a five percent whiff rate against heaters as a sophomore.

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The 16th pick comes with a signing bonus of $11.5 million.

AJ Gracia (OF)

Gracia is the 15th-rated MLB prospect and cracks the Top 10 at the college level. The Virginia outfielder transferred from Duke to follow head coach Chris Pollard.

He hit 15 home runs as a sophomore a year after earning Freshman All-America honors.

When he’s locked in, Gracia looks like one of the better college bats in the class. Swinging from the left side of the plate, he makes excellent swing decisions and shows off plus contact skills. His advanced approach led to a Blue Devils-record 57 walks as a sophomore, and he really limits his swing-and-miss.

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The 15th pick comes with a signing bonus of $11.9 million.

Jackson Flora (P)

Flora is a right-handed pitcher at UC Santa Barbara considered the 14th-best player in the MLB Draft class. He began his career as a reliever before transitioning to the starting rotation as a sophomore.

In 2024, he went 3-2 with five saves and a 3.83 ERA. He followed it up with a 6-3 season in 2025 where he struck out 86 batters in 75 innings.

Flora’s combination of size and arm strength should intrigue most teams. The 6-foot-5 right-hander already offers premium velocity, with a fastball that averaged around 97 mph and regularly touched triple digits in 2025, with good shape, carry and armside ride to it. He’ll employ two different sliders, both of which can flash plus. There’s a slower 78-81 mph sweeper with a lot of horizontal depth and also a harder, more gyro-like traditional slider, thrown 86-89 mph.

-MLB.com

The 14th pick comes with a signing bonus of $12.1 million.

Liam Peterson (P)

Peterson is the 13th-rated pro prospect, ranking eighth among college players. The Florida pitcher has been a strikeout machine across his two NCAA seasons.

As a freshman, he posted a 3-6 record with 77 Ks in 63 innings. Last year, he recorded a ridiculous 12.5 K/9IP by totaling 96 strikeouts in 69.1 frames.

The 6-foot-5 Peterson presents an exciting combination of now stuff and projection. His fastball sat in the mid-90s as a sophomore and he’s shown the ability to reach back for 98-99 mph, both last spring and in short looks this fall… Florida calls a lot of sliders and Peterson’s mid-80s breaker has improved into a solid out pitch, though there are some scouts who think his 12-to-6 hammer curve is a better.

-MLB.com

The 13th pick comes with a signing bonus of $12.7 million.

Vahn Lackey (C)

Lackey is the lone catcher on the list, coming in at No. 12 among draft eligible prospects. The Georgia Tech backstop will look to continue a long line of Yellow Jackets in the MLB.

Lackey hit just .214 as a freshman before erupting for 42 RBIs and a .347 average as a sophomore.

Lackey’s right-handed swing can get a little busy, but that doesn’t prevent him from making consistent contact to all fields. He’s extremely patient, rarely misses fastballs and has enough raw power to provide at least 20 homers on an annual basis.

-MLB.com

The 12th pick comes with a signing bonus of $12.7 million.

Sawyer Strosnider (OF)

The TCU outfielder is one of the best all-around athletes in college baseball. His combo of speed, power, and defense makes him the 10th-rated player in the draft class.

Last year, he hit .350 while posting double figures in doubles, triples, homers, and stolen bases.

He has a gorgeous left-handed swing and makes consistent in-zone contact… A quick-twitch athlete, Strosnider is a 6-foot-2, 200-pounder with plus speed once underway. Many evaluators believe he can play center field as a pro.

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The 10th pick comes with an estimated signing bonus of $13.4 million.

Cameron Flukey (P)

Flukey, the No. 9 MLB Draft prospect, was the Preseason National Pitcher of the Year entering his junior year. The Coastal Carolina ace boasts a four-pitch arsenal that keeps opposing batters off-balance.

Last year, he struck out 118 hitters in 101.2 innings to help the Chants reach the CWS Finals. That came after splitting time in the bullpen and starting rotation as a freshman.

Flukey maintains mid-90s velocity on his heater deep into games and tops out at 98 mph with armside run and carry. His high three-quarters arm slot allows him to stay on top of his upper-70s curveball, which has so much downer break that it can be hard to keep it in the strike zone, and his feel for spin also extends to a solid 82-85 mph slider. His mid-80s changeup lags behind the rest of his repertoire, though its fade makes it tough to hit when he throws it close to the plate.

-MLB.com

The ninth pick comes with a signing bonus of $13.7 million.

Derek Curiel (OF)

The LSU outfielder is the eight-best player in the MLB Draft class. He ranks fourth among college baseball prospects. He is a draft eligible sophomore that has become a star in Baton Rouge.

In his lone season, he hit .345 with 20 doubles and 55 RBIs. He got even better on the Tigers’ College World Series run, hitting .390 during the NCAA Tournament.

Curiel resembles Christian Yelich at the same stage of their careers, as he’s a lean left-handed hitter with excellent bat-to-ball skills but perhaps not more than fringy power. He uses a fluid stroke and mature approach to spray hard line drives all over the field… While scouts debate how much power Curiel will have, there are fewer concerns about his ability to stay in center field… He has solid speed and looks more comfortable tracking balls up the middle.

-MLB.com

The eighth pick comes with a signing bonus of $13.7 million.

Drew Burress (OF)

The second Georgia Tech player on this list, Burress cracks the Top 5 as the fifth-best MLB prospect. The slugger boasts ridiculous power and is the favorite to be the first outfielder selected in the draft.

Burress hit .381 as a freshman with 25 home runs. He followed with a sophomore campaign in which he notched a .333 average with 19 dingers and 10 stolen bases.

Burress has solid or better tools across the board. He has a compact and quick right-handed swing, plenty of strength, a disciplined approach at the plate and plus power that plays to all fields… He uses his solid speed to steal an occasional base and to chase down balls in center field, where most evaluators believe he can remain as a pro. If not, he has the bat and plus arm to profile well in right field, and he set a Yellow Jackets record with 10 outfield assists in 2024.

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The fifth pick comes with a signing bonus of $15.5 million.

Justin Lebron (SS)

Lebron is the third of four shortstops to top the list of draft-eligible players. He ranks No. 3 among all prospects and No. 2 in college baseball.

The Alabama infielder is a true five-tool player. He racked up 18 homers and 17 stolen bases as a sophomore while hitting .316. That comes in addition to his defense.

He has added 15 pounds and significant bat speed in college, giving him well-above-average raw power from the right side of the plate, and he also has good feel for driving balls in the air. All the rest of Lebron’s tools grade as plus, as does his makeup, and some evaluators think he’s even better than that as a defender. He has a quick first step that allows him to steal bases and cover plenty of ground to both sides at shortstop. He can make any throw needed from anywhere at short and would be an asset anywhere on the diamond.

-MLB.com

The third pick comes with an estimated signing bonus of $17.1 million.

Roch Cholowsky (SS)

Cholowsky is the No. 1 player in the draft class, regardless of high school or college status. The UCLA infielder has been touted as the best all-around NCAA shortstop prospect since Troy Tulowitzki.

As a freshman, he hit .308 with eight homers. He shattered those numbers as a sophomore, smacking 23 HRs alongside a .353 average.

Cholowsky has the chance to have four plus tools when all is said and done. He routinely finds the barrel, doesn’t swing and miss or chase with an advanced approach at the plate. When he finds the ball out front, he’ll show off 70 raw power to his pull side, and that’s where his home run pop showed up in 2025.

He’s not a runner, though he’s smart on the basepaths. That lack of pure speed won’t impact him as a defender; he uses what he has in short spaces very well. That, along with his plus instincts, allow him to get to most balls at shortstop, where he profiles as a plus defender with a plus arm.

-MLB.com

The first overall pick comes with a signing bonus of $19.6 million.