The first four rounds of the 2026 MLB Draft are now complete. The final 16 rounds will be completed on Sunday, beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Star shortstop Tyler Bell became the second-highest ranked draft pick in program history when the Colorado Rockies selected him with the No. 10 overall pick. Bell missed 14 games after injuring his shoulder on opening day. He returned and produced a First Team All-SEC season, slashing .343/.510/.608 with nine doubles, one triple and nine homers with 29 RBIs.
Interestingly enough, Bell is the second Kentucky shortstop to be selected by the Rockies in recent years. The Rockies took Ryan Ritter in the fourth round of the 2022 MLB Draft. Both players attended Lincoln-Way East High School in Frankfort, Illinois.
Prior to Bell, Kentucky had not had a first-round pick since Zack Thompson went No. 19 overall in 2019.
Bell's career will be a selling point in recruiting moving forward. After being selected No. 66 overall by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2024 MLB Draft, Bell turned down the opportunity to sign and enrolled at Kentucky. He was the highest-drafted player that year not to sign, and likely turned down north of $1.5 million in doing so. But he improved his draft stock at Kentucky and was drafted in a spot that has a slot value of over $6.3 million.
Bell told Jim Callis of MLB.com that going to Kentucky "couldn't have worked out any better."
"Kentucky was the most fun two years of my life on the baseball side of it," Bell said. "Just going out there and competing and making life-long friends. You know, we had really good teams both years and it was a lot of fun."
Here are some of the accomplishments in Bell's two-year career, courtesy of UK Athletics.
• All-Morgantown Regional (2026)
• First Team All-Region (ABCA, 2026)
• SEC Co-Player of the Week (May 4, 2026)
• Preseason All-America, First Team (Just Baseball Media, 2026)
• Preseason All-America, Third Team (D1Baseball, 2026)
• Preseason All-America, Third Team (Perfect Game, 2026)
• Preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list (2026)
• Preseason College Player of the Year watch list (Baseball America, 2026)
• Preseason All-SEC, First Team (Coaches, 2026)
• Preseason All-SEC (Just Baseball Media, Perfect Game, 2026)
• Freshman All-America, First Team (D1Baseball, NCBWA; 2025)
• Freshman All-America, Second Team (Perfect Game, 2025)
• SEC All-Freshman Team (2025)
• USA Baseball Collegiate National Team (2025)
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Jelkin goes to the Phillies
Kentucky RHP Jaxon Jelkin was the final pick of the first day of the draft. He went to the Philadelphia Phillies with pick 135, which is at the end of the fourth round and given to teams for free agent compensation. The Phillies had the pick because Ranger Suarez departed in free agency for the Boston Red Sox. The slot value of the pick is $558,400.
Jelkin had been drafted twice before: in the 14th round of the 2023 draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers and the ninth round by the New York Mets in the 2024 draft. He was outstanding in his lone season with the Wildcats, going 8-3 with a 4.08 ERA and 106 strikeouts.
Players selected in the first 10 rounds overwhelmingly sign with the teams that pick them. It's expected that Jelkin will begin his professional career. The Wildcats return weekend starters Nate Harris and Ben Cleaver and also have commitments from five pitchers in the transfer portal.
Willoughby, Ponatoski still on the board
Aside from Bell and Jelkin, high school righthanded pitching signees Grayson Willoughby and Matt Ponatoski were the most likely to go on day one. They're still on the board for now.
It will be interesting to see the money situation for teams after the first four rounds. Last year, only eight high school righties signed after the fourth round, and of those, only two signed for at least $1 million. Teams will reassess the board tonight and communicate with the players who are left. Willoughby and Ponatoski are likely still in play in the early rounds tomorrow, but the number of teams that can realistically sign them will decrease after the first couple of rounds.
In addition to those two, outfielder Jayce Tharnish is likely to come off the board in rounds 5-10 tomorrow. Junior college shortstop Jimmy Anderson could be in that range as well, along with high school infielder Robert Omidi.
