2026 SLB Draft
| 2026 SLB Draft | |
| General information | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Baseball |
| Date(s) | 2026 |
| Location | TBD |
| Network(s) |
ESN Red Sports |
| League | Super League Baseball |
| Teams | 24 |
| First selection | Caleb Foster |
The 2026 SLB Draft was the annual amateur baseball draft conducted by Super League Baseball (SLB) for the selection of eligible amateur players by its 24 member franchises. The draft consisted of 20 rounds and 480 selections, with each franchise receiving one selection per round.
The Diamond Harbour Cosmos selected Caleb Foster, an outfielder from the University of Blackoak, with the first overall pick. Foster had previously been named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2026 NCAF College Apollonian Series, helping Blackoak win the national collegiate championship.
Blackoak pitcher Ethan Mercer was selected second overall by the Newhedge Pirates, while Pentucky first baseman and NCAF National Player of the Year Jackson Whitfield was selected third overall by the Havenbarrow Marlins.
Background
The 2026 draft followed the conclusion of the 2026 collegiate baseball season, which culminated in Blackoak defeating Pentucky in the national championship series. The draft included prospects from the National Collegiate Athletic Federation (NCAF), as well as other eligible amateur baseball programmes.
Draft format
The 2026 SLB draft consisted of 20 rounds, with each of the 24 SLB franchises receiving a single selection in each round. The selection order was determined by the reverse order of the final regular-season standings from the 2025 SLB season. The team with the worst record selected first, while the team with the best record selected last. Unlike previous drafts, no draft lottery was used, and the same selection order was repeated throughout all 20 rounds.
Furthermore, the draft featured no compensatory selections or traded draft picks.
Draft order
The following order was used for every round of the draft.
| Order | Franchise | 2025 record | Winning percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diamond Harbour Cosmos | 62–100 | .383 |
| 2 | Newhedge Pirates | 65–97 | .401 |
| 3 | Havenbarrow Marlins | 66–96 | .407 |
| 4 | Port Richard Grey Sox | 68–94 | .420 |
| 5 | Eastham Electric | 71–91 | .438 |
| 6 | Dragonmoor Angels | 73–89 | .451 |
| 7 | Oldhaven Blue Jays | 74–88 | .457 |
| 8 | Newmarsh Royals | 75–87 | .463 |
| 9 | Bridgeport Cardinals | 77–85 | .475 |
| 10 | Meadowedge Twins | 79–83 | .488 |
| 11 | Victoria Rockets | 80–82 | .494 |
| 12 | Westlake Red Sox | 81–81 | .500 |
| 13 | Birmingham Defenders | 84–78 | .519 |
| 14 | Echo City Reds | 85–77 | .525 |
| 15 | Northsilver Diamondbacks | 86–76 | .531 |
| 16 | Northcliff Rangers | 87–75 | .537 |
| 17 | Pentucky Giants | 88–74 | .543 |
| 18 | Vice City Tigers | 89–73 | .549 |
| 19 | Blackoak Orioles | 91–71 | .562 |
| 20 | Stonehall Stingrays | 92–70 | .568 |
| 21 | Northcliff Florians | 93–69 | .574 |
| 22 | Las Andreas Athletics | 94–68 | .580 |
| 23 | Dragonmoor Dodgers | 96–66 | .593 |
| 24 | Northcliff Metropolitans | 99–63 | .611 |
Selections
First round
Draft statistics
| Statistic | Total |
|---|---|
| Participating franchises | 24 |
| Draft rounds | 20 |
| Selections per round | 24 |
| Total selections | 480 |
| First-round selections | 24 |
| First overall pick | Caleb Foster |
| First overall franchise | Diamond Harbour Cosmos |
| First overall university | Blackoak |
