Montesa, Yehl Selected on Day 1 of MLB Draft
July 11, 2026 07:29 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University pitchers Dawson Montesa and Maxx Yehl became the latest Mountaineers to be selected in the MLB Draft on Saturday. Montesa was taken by the St. Louis Cardinals in the Competitive Balance-B round with the 72nd overall pick while Yehl was selected in the third round by the Kansas City Royals with the 91st overall pick.
The pair brings WVU all-time total to 119 players chosen in the MLB Draft. WVU has also now had at least one player taken in 13 of the last 14 years and all but four drafts since 1984 and has had multiple players taken in the first-year player draft 12 of the last 13 years, the only exception being the five-round 2020 draft.
In one year with the Mountaineers, Montesa went 6-5 with a 5.38 ERA in 19 appearances. He struck out 92 batters in 77.0 innings pitched while holding opponents to a .228 batting average. In the postseason, Montesa had some of his best performances, throwing 7.1 innings with seven strikeouts against Wake Forest in NCAA Regionals before tossing 5.1 scoreless innings with six strikeouts against Troy in the College World Series.
In three seasons with WVU, Yehl went 12-3 with a 2.74 ERA in 59 appearances. He struck out 163 batters in 154.1 innings pitched over the course of his career. In 2026, Yehl was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and an All-American after going 9-3 with a 2.13 ERA while striking out 112 batters in 97.0 innings pitched. He was the third Mountaineer to be named Big 12 Pitcher of the Year.
The two become the highest drafted WVU players since JJ Wetherholt went seventh overall in 2024 and the highest drafted pitchers since Alek Manoah went 11th overall in 2019.
Day two of the 2026 MLB Draft will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, for the fifth through 20th rounds.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
The pair brings WVU all-time total to 119 players chosen in the MLB Draft. WVU has also now had at least one player taken in 13 of the last 14 years and all but four drafts since 1984 and has had multiple players taken in the first-year player draft 12 of the last 13 years, the only exception being the five-round 2020 draft.
In one year with the Mountaineers, Montesa went 6-5 with a 5.38 ERA in 19 appearances. He struck out 92 batters in 77.0 innings pitched while holding opponents to a .228 batting average. In the postseason, Montesa had some of his best performances, throwing 7.1 innings with seven strikeouts against Wake Forest in NCAA Regionals before tossing 5.1 scoreless innings with six strikeouts against Troy in the College World Series.
In three seasons with WVU, Yehl went 12-3 with a 2.74 ERA in 59 appearances. He struck out 163 batters in 154.1 innings pitched over the course of his career. In 2026, Yehl was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and an All-American after going 9-3 with a 2.13 ERA while striking out 112 batters in 97.0 innings pitched. He was the third Mountaineer to be named Big 12 Pitcher of the Year.
The two become the highest drafted WVU players since JJ Wetherholt went seventh overall in 2024 and the highest drafted pitchers since Alek Manoah went 11th overall in 2019.
Day two of the 2026 MLB Draft will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, for the fifth through 20th rounds.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
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