The MLB and MLB Players Association are currently negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement and trying to avoid a lockout for the 2027 MLB season. Those negotiations could end up having major ramifications on college baseball.
According to a report by ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the MLB has proposed a radical change to its draft process that would radically change the college baseball landscape. Passan reports that the league wants to remove high school players from the draft and make all college players eligible after their sophomore seasons.
The MLB also wants to decrease the draft from 20 to 12 rounds while decreasing the bonus pool from $358.7 million to $200 million.
More From RTI: Tennessee Baseball Transfer Commit Earns Freshman All-American Honors
Currently all high schoolers are eligible for the MLB Draft with many of the top prep players in the country opting to begin their professional careers instead of going to college. Entering this summer’s MLB Draft, five Tennessee signees are in the top 100 of draft prospects according to Perfect Game.
Under the current system, players who go to college aren’t again eligible for the draft until after their junior season or if they are 21-years old. This means that some players are eligible to go pro following their sophomore seasons while most aren’t eligible until after their junior seasons.
If more high school players make it to college baseball then the quality of play will likely rise though it will lead to fewer players getting opportunities especially with the new roster limits that went into effect last season.
Shortening the draft would continue a trend in the sport. The MLB Draft used to be 40 rounds before the last round of CBA negotiations shortened it to 20 rounds back in 2022.
