MORGANTOWN — Dawson Montesa and Maxx Yehl beat expectations Saturday, big time.
The two WVU pitchers were selected during the first day of the MLB Amateur Draft, Montesa with the 72nd overall selection by the St. Louis Cardinals and Yehl was picked 91st overall by the Kansas City Royals.
“Turned down draft opportunity last season. Bet on himself,” WVU head coach Steve Sabins posted on social media about Yehl. “Took WVU baseball to Omaha. Became the Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year and a 3rd Rounder.”
Both pitchers were slotted as fourth- or fifth-round picks, but went ahead of their projections.
Montesa, who finished 6-5 with a 5.38 ERA in his lone season with the Mountaineers, was taken in the Competitive Balance-B portion of the second round.
Yehl, who was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year after going 9-3 with a 2.13 ERA, was taken by the Royals with the 16th pick of the third round.
According to MLB.com’s projections, Montesa was slotted as the 161st top prospect, beating his projection by 89 spots. Yehl was projected as the 217th top prospect, beating his projection by 126 draft spots.
It will certainly mean a hefty chunk of money is going their way. Montesa’s draft spot comes with a slot signing-bonus value of $1.17 million, while Yehl’s slot signing-bonus value tied to his pick is worth $872,900.
It is expected both pitchers will sign and forego their remaining college eligibility.
For Montesa, maybe it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that he yet again beat the odds. Just two years ago, he was pitching in Division II in his home state of New York, at Adelphi University.
He became a Division II All-American, before taking the step up to Division I and signed at WVU.
“Montesa is an athletic 6-foot-1 right-hander, who has a four-pitch mix that could give him the chance to start at the next level,” Montesa’s MLB.com scouting report reads. “His fastball sits in the mid-90s and can touch 98 at times, and its a tough pitch to barrel — with a decent amount of swing-and-miss — when hes up in the zone.”
Montesa opened the season as WVU’s Friday night starter, but eventually got pushed back into the rotation as the season wore on.
He had his best moments of the season when it mattered most – during the NCAA tournament. Montesa earned wins against both Wake Forest during the Morgantown Regional and then again against Troy in an elimination game in the College World Series.
In those games, he combined to pitch 12 2/3 innings, allowed six hits, five runs and struck out 13.
Yehl, meanwhile, was a comeback story this past season. He sat out the 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but came back a season later to become the top pitcher in the Big 12.
His 2.13 ERA was the seventh-best in the nation and Yehl finished with 112 strikeouts over 97 innings pitched.
“While he only has this season as a starter on his resume, Yehl’s size and pure stuff should at least give him a chance to stick in a rotation at the next level,” Yehl’s MLB.com scouting report said. “The 6-foot-6 lefty has shown the ability to get his fastball up to 96-97 mph, especially early in the season.”
Saturday’s draft covered the first four rounds and 135 picks. The bulk of the draft will be held Sunday, with rounds 5-20. WVU could potentially see a number of its players taken on the second day, including utility man Armanui Guzman, as well as incoming high school recruits such as South Carolina prep outfielder Henkel Acevedo, Pittsburgh-area pitchers Kyle Casteel and Blake Krushinski and New Jersey prep first baseman Jordan Burwell.
WVU also has several of its seniors who could also hear their names called, such as pitcher Ian Korn.
