Baseball

Six Former MAC Student-Athletes Taken in 2025 MLB Draft

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Six former Mid-American Conference baseball student-athletes were selected on the final day of 2025 MLB Draft on Monday. 

2025 MAC MLB Draft Picks
Dylan Grego (Ball State) – San Diego Padres, Round 13 | Pick 400
Jacob Hartlaub (Ball State) – Tampa Bay Rays, Round 14 | Pick 417
Jake Casey (Kent State) – Toronto Blue Jays, Round 15 | Pick 442
DJ Newman (Bowling Green) – Houston Astros, Round 15 | PIck 456
RJ Shunck (Toledo) – Miami Marlins, Round 16 | Pick 468
Hayden Cuthbertson (Miami) – Miami Marlins, Round 18 | Pick 528

Grego, a First Team All-MAC selection and First Team All-Region and Third Team All-America honoree by the American Baseball Coaches Association, slashed .376/.429/.624 in 2025 and finished with the third-most hits in a single season in program history (91). The junior out of Kansas City, Mo., produced 14 doubles, two triples, 14 home runs, 55 RBI, 58 runs and 15 stolen bases on his way to being named a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award honoring the nation's top collegiate shortstop.

Grego is Ball State's first draft pick by the Padres since T.J. Weir was selected in the 17th round in 2014.

Hartlaub, who was named Second Team All-MAC after the Cardinals won all 10 of his starts in conference play, finished the campaign with a 6-2 record and 69 strikeouts in a team-high 81.1 innings pitched.

The senior out of Milwaukee is Ball State's second-ever draft selection for the Rays following Travis Minix being taken in the 23rd round in 1999 by Tampa Bay.

Casey became the 116th Kent State draft pick in program history. Casey earned All-MAC First Team honors after a fantastic season. In 2025, he posted a .356 batting average with 74 hits, 74 runs, 17 home runs, and 55 RBIs while appearing in all 56 games. Casey also added 20 doubles and 20 stolen bases.

Over his four-year career at Kent State, Casey compiled a .277 batting average with 149 hits, 155 runs, 41 home runs, 34 doubles, and 127 RBIs across 161 games. 

Shunck becomes the 50th Toledo player to be drafted all-time in program history. He is the fifth pick under Rob Reinstetle, joining Chris Meyers (Detroit, 2021), Kyle Jones (Minnesota, 2022), Connor Brandon (New York Mets, 2022) and Jeron Williams (Houston, 2023). He is the first Rocket ever to be drafted by the Marlins' organization.
 
The Swanton, Ohio native is coming off of a stellar junior season in which he appeared both as a starter and out of the bullpen. He appeared in 19 games and made three starts with a 4.42 ERA, 40 strikeouts to 20 walks and a .221 opponent batting average in 36.2 innings pitched. He built up a 3-2 record and totaled three saves.
 
Shunck recorded 5.0 shutout innings to shut down No. 12 Oregon in his first outing of the season, allowing just four hits and no walks with three strikeouts in a 5-3 Toledo win. The victory marked the Rockets' highest-ever ranked victory and was the first win over a ranked opponent in 10 seasons. He was named the MAC Pitcher of the Week for his efforts on Feb. 17.
 
In his last six MAC outings, Shunck totaled 10.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, allowing just four hits and striking out 10 over that span. His efforts helped Toledo to five-straight MAC series wins for the first time since 2015.
 
For his career, Shunck has appeared in 43 games with 18 starts, collected 114 strikeouts and holds an opponent batting average of .257.

Cuthbertson finished the 2025 season with 19 appearances and 10 starts. He posted a 4-2 record as he pitched in a total 42.1 innings and recorded 43 strikeouts.