Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina baseball saw a pair of its 2026 signees drafted in Sunday's final round of the 2026 MLB Baseball Draft. Infielder and right-handed pitcher Jacob Sammis (Waverly, Ga.) was selected by the Los Angeles Angels and outfielder Marcus Ward (Alpharetta, Ga.) picked by the New York Mets.
 
Sammis was a 12th round selection with the 349th pick by the Angels. He was a left-side infielder and right-handed pitcher in high school, drafted as a pitcher. Sammis was the Region 1 AAAAA Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons in 2025 and 2026.
 
Ward was taken in the 18th round, 540th overall pick by the Mets. A four-year prep letter-winner, Ward was a first-team All-Region selection as a senior in 2026 for King's Ridge Christian. An outfielder on the diamond, Ward also played football as a prep.
 
Both Sammis and Ward remain eligible to attend WCU if they don't sign professional contracts with the teams who drafted them.
 
For Catamount baseball, Sunday marked the second time since 2011 that a pair of incoming freshmen heard their names called in the MLB Draft. WCU had two players drafted out of high school in the 50-round, 2011 draft. Right-handed hurler Jeremy Null was selected by the Seattle Mariners with the 1,113th pick in the 37th round out of Bunker Hill High, while outfielder Garrett Brown was drafted in the 43rd round with the 1,308 pick by the Colorado Rockies out of Erwin High in Asheville.
 
Both Null and Brown chose to attend WCU after the 2011 entry draft, with Null later drafted in the 15th round by the Chicago Cubs in 2014, and Brown re-drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016 in the 23rd round.
 
Western Carolina additionally has two players on rosters in the MLB Draft League in infielder Trent Turner with the State College Spikes in Pennsylvania and LHP Owen Austin with the Aberdeen IronBirds in Maryland.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount baseball and WCU Athletics through social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports), Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountBSB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountbsb).
 
2026 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft
 
Western Carolina 2026 MLB Draft Picks:

Round	Pick	Name (School)	Pos.	MLB Team
12	349	Jacob Sammis  (Glynn Academy)	INF/RHP	Los Angeles Angels
18	540	Marcus Ward  (King's Ridge Christian)	OF	New York Mets

Southern Conference 2026 MLB Draft Picks:

Round	Pick	Name, School	Pos.	MLB Team
6	165	Garrett Lambert, Mercer	RHP	Colorado Rockies
7	218	Michael Harpster, ETSU	RHP	New York Yankees
9	266	Chris Katz, Mercer	1B	Arizona Diamondbacks
10	288	Michael Gibson, The Citadel	RHP	Pittsburgh Pirates
13	375	Grayson Fitzwater, VMI	1B	Chicago White Sox
14	407	Alec Bouchard, Wofford	RHP	Minnesota Twins
14	410	Miguel Hugas, Mercer	RHP	Baltimore Orioles