The first half of the 2026 MLB Draft League season came down to the final day where all six teams played as the Williamsport Crosscutters claimed the first half title and will host the MLB Draft League Championship on Wednesday, Sept. 2.

Look back at the previous week and finale ahead of the draft, recent articles and more.

First Half Standings

(Team, W/L, PCT, STRK, SD)

Williamsport, 20-7, .741, -, W3, 1-0

Trenton, 19-10, .655, 2.0 GB, W1, 1-0

Aberdeen, 16-14, .533, 5.5 GB, L1, 1-0

State College, 13-15, .464, 7.5 GB, L3, 0-3

Mahoning Valley, 13-16, .448, 8.0 GB, W1, 2-1

West Virginia, 13-16, .448, 8.0 GB, L1, 2-2

Week Standings

(Team, W/L, PCT, STRK, SD)

Williamsport, 5-0, 1.000, W5, 1-0

Aberdeen, 4-2, .667, L1, 1-0

Mahoning Valley, 3-2, .600, W2, 1-0

Trenton, 2-4, .333, W1, 0-0

State College, 1-4, .200, L3, 0-1

West Virginia, 1-4, .200, L2, 0-2

Tuesday

Williamsport (4) @ West Virginia (3): BOX SCORE - The Crosscutters reeled off their 14th victory in their past 16 games and are just a half-game back of the Trenton Thunder for first place. The Black Bears struck first in the opening frame, taking a 3-0 lead on a Jose Fernandez sacrifice fly, a Ty Dalley walk and a passed ball. Gabriel Barrett was sharp early on in his start for the Black Bears with the only blemish through four innings being Kyle Schupmann’s RBI single in the third. The Cutters got to Barrett in the fifth, taking the lead on a two-run double from Brodey Acres who came around to score on the play himself, giving Williamsport the 4-3 lead. That was all the Cutters would need as their bullpen was dominant once again with Matthew Mariano picking up the win with three shutout innings in relief. Colton Kennedy also hurled three scoreless and Dallis Moran picked up his fourth save with a scoreless ninth inning. Hunter Holzemer led the way on the mound for West Virginia, not allowing a run over 2 1/3 innings while striking out one. Owen Henne and Ben Barrett each had a pair of hits for the Black Bears, as well.

Aberdeen (8) @ State College (8): BOX SCORE (Aberdeen wins in sudden death) - The IronBirds stole the opening game of the series with a seven-run comeback over the final four innings, including nine in the final frame to push the game to sudden death. Timely hitting early on gave the Spikes a 4-1 lead with RBI singles from Justin Journette and Alex Mendoza, as well as a two-run single from Evan York. The previous half-inning, York cut down a pair of runners at second base for the Spikes. A CJ Richmond RBI double and Trent Turner RBI single helped extend the State College to 8-1. The IronBirds turned things on from there, chipping away in the sixth with four runs on two errors, a wild pitch and Ryan Kroepel RBI single. A walk and two hit-by-pitches loaded the bases in the ninth for Collin Priest who drove in a pair with a single and Dalton Bargo tied things with a two-out single. The Birds were put on offense in the sudden death inning and capped off the comeback with a walk-off walk from Bishop Quarles. Kade Newman surrendered just one run over three innings in his start for the IronBirds and the combination of Drew Munn and Ethan Gardner held the Spikes off the board in the final four innings. Kassius Thomas got the ball for State College in this one and didn’t surrender a hit over three innings, allowing just one run on four walks while striking out three.

Mahoning Valley (6) vs Trenton (4): BOX SCORE - Nick Williams, Carlos Sanchez and the Scrappers were able to hold off Augie Lopez and the Trenton Thunder as they took the series opener on home field. Hunter Baynes made his fourth start for Mahoning Valley and allowed two walks over two innings while striking out two. Tommy Harrison pushed across the first run with a first inning RBI double and they would add two more in the second, one coming from a Sanchez RBI double. Reigning Player of the Week, Augie Lopez, cut Trenton’s deficit to two with a solo blast in the fourth inning (409 feet, 97.4-mph exit velocity), tying the league-lead in home runs with four. Jimmy Keenan answered with a home run of his own (437 feet, 105.7-mph exit velocity) in the fourth and ended the game as one of the Scrappers most productive hitters with a home run, sacrifice fly and hit-by-pitch. Trailing 6-2 in the eighth, Lopez blasted his second home run game and thrust himself into the league lead in home runs. Teagan Scott would add the final run for Trenton on an RBI double in his first MLB Draft League game. Jeremiah Newman was dominant in relief for Mahoning Valley, retiring all four batters he faced for the save while striking out three. The league-leader in appearances, Andrew Berg had another strong outing for Trenton, allowing just one hit over 1 1/3 innings and struck out one.

Wednesday

Williamsport (5) @ West Virginia (5): BOX SCORE (Williamsport wins in sudden death) - Another strong night from the Cutters bullpen and some big defensive plays helped them secure the win in game two and keep pace with the Trenton Thunder. Hot-hitting Brodey Acres put Williamsport up 2-0 in the first inning with a two-run shot and they would add another in the inning on an Owen Prince sacrifice fly. Kyle Schupmann added another in the second on an RBI double, his first of two doubles on the night. The Black Bears started chipping away in the third, scoring a pair on RBI singles from Kahanu Martinez and Walker Barron. The big moment for West Virginia came in the fourth when Beau Sylvester (427 feet, 103.9-mph exit velocity) and Ben Barrett (392 feet, 98.3-mph exit velocity)blasted back-to-back solo home runs before Owen Henne put them ahead with an RBI single. Ben Tryon tied things up in the fifth with an RBI single, ultimately sending the game to the sudden death extra inning. Nate McHugh came up with the big play defensively, cutting down the go-ahead run at second base in the extra inning as Myles Meyer finished up the game for the Cutters win. Jaden Noot pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings out of the Crosscutters bullpen and Will Howell allowed just one walk over the final two frames. For West Virginia, Luke Lyman pitched a clean eighth inning while Jake Kramer allowed just one walk in the ninth.

State College (7) vs Aberdeen (5): BOX SCORE - Cale Willson’s first-half MLB Draft League record sixth save helped the Spikes even up the series at Medlar Field. Trailing 1-0 after the first, the IronBirds put up a four spot in the second on RBI singles from JT Taylor, Nelson Zapata (two runs) and Scott Newman. Heavy hitting, CJ Richmond got the Spikes back on track in the fourth with a two-run single (107-mph), cutting the deficit to one. State College would go on to tie the game in the seventh on a pair of wild pitches, setting up a go-ahead two-run blast from Tyree Reed that would prove to be the game winning hit. On the mound for the Spikes, Caleb Ruter worked three scoreless innings, Logan Rumberg earned the win two scoreless innings and Willson picked up his sixth save with two strikeouts in a clean ninth inning. Zane Coppersmith was the leader on the mound for Aberdeen, retiring all four batters he faced with one strikeout.

Trenton (13) @ Mahoning Valley (6): BOX SCORE - It was a tale of two halves in game two as the teams went back and forth early on before Trenton’s offense blew things open late in the game. Jimmy Keenan got the party started in the second with a 433-foot solo blast (107-mph exit velocity), just a night after hitting a 437-foot towering shot on Tuesday. The home runs rank as the second and third longest of the summer. The Scrappers added two more in the fourth on a Tristan Strickland RBI double and Edison Polanco sacrifice fly. The Scrappers lead was held together on four innings of one-run ball from David Lally Jr. in his final start for Mahoning Valley. The league’s hottest hitter, Augie Lopez, tied the game with a two-run double in the fifth before taking the lead later in the inning. Trailing 5-3 in the seventh, Eli Putnam brought the Scrappers level with a single that brought home two. However, it was nothing but Trenton over the final two frames, putting up two in the eighth and six in the ninth, highlighted by a Jake Koonin grand slam (368 feet, 98.2-mph exit velocity). Thomas Ellisen maintained his 0.00 ERA, allowing just one walk over two innings while Zach Johnston picked up his first MLB Draft League win with one inning of work. Danny Heintz got the job done out of the Mahoning Valley bullpen, allowing one walk and striking out one over 1 2/3 innings.

Thursday

West Virginia (12) vs Mahoning Valley (5): BOX SCORE - The Black Bears moved back above .500 at home following a 10-run rally in their final offensive innings of the game. Owen Petrich in his fourth MLB Draft League game drove in four runs for West Virginia with a four-hit performance, doubling twice. Behind him, Owen Henne and Jose Fernandez had two-hit nights with Henne scoring twice and Fernandez scoring and driving in two runs. For Mahoning Valley, Nick Williams started the offense with an RBI-single in the top of the first, scoring the second run on a first and third scenario, extended the lead to 4-0 in the fourth with a single and brought in the team’s last run via a walk in the eighth. Two of the five runs for the Scrappers and of Williams’ three RBI were scored by Jarren Purify who doubled and walked twice with a stolen base.

Williamsport (14) vs State College (10): BOX SCORE - The Crosscutters moved into first place with three games remaining in the first half with the support of two four-hit nights from the top of their lineup. Leading off, Kyle Schupmann moved into first place on the league leaderboard with a .381 batting average, going 4-for-6 in the game and was responsible for six runs with three RBI and runs. The infielder from Illinois also moved to first place with 23 runs. Following him in the lineup, Chris Stanfield, owner of the league’s only five-hit game of the season had four hits in five at-bats with two doubles, RBI and one run. Behind them with multiple hits and runs were Brodey Acres (two hits, two RBI, run), Ben Tryon (two hits, two runs), Chancellor Jennings (two hits, two RBI, two runs), KJ White (two hits, two runs) and Kelly Robertson Jr. (two hits, two runs). For State College, nine of the 10 batters to step up recorded a hit and everyone reached base, led by two hits and three RBI from CJ Richmond.

Aberdeen (7) vs Trenton (1): BOX SCORE - Three home runs by Aberdeen helped propel the IronBirds back to above .500. Jordan Garza surrendered the lone run for Trenton across six innings while striking out six batters. The IronBirds would answer the Thunders’ one run with a two-run home run from Brian Heckelman for his first of the summer (335 feet, 87.3-mph exit velocity) and home runs in the sixth from Bishop Quarles (415 feet, 101.3-mph exit velocity) and Chase Williams (330 feet, 95.5-mph exit velocity). Following Garza, Brendan Yagesh and Patrick Spencer Jr. shut down Trenton’s offense with three no-hit innings. Yagesh would strike out four over two innings and Spencer would close it out in the ninth, striking out one. Ny’Zaiah Thompson would be the biggest offensive producer for the Thunder with two hits, a double, two stolen bases and the one run on Parker Loew’s sacrifice fly.

Friday

Mahoning Valley (5) @ West Virginia (5) BOX SCORE (Williamsport wins in sudden death) - The balls were jumping off the Scrappers bats on Friday night as they blasted four home runs before winning in the sudden death extra inning on defense. Carlos Sanchez was the first to leave the park (405 feet, 100.9-mph exit velocity), doing so in the first inning. The Black Bears took the lead in the top half on a Ben Barrett RBI double and Zack Thompson RBI single. Jarren Purify blasted a go-ahead two-run home run (429 feet, 105-mph exit velocity) in the fifth and Thompson tied it up in the top half with a solo blast (405 feet, 101.2-mph exit velocity) for West Virginia. Jimmy Keenan hit his third 420+ home run in his past four games in the seventh at 423 feet (105.6-mph exit velocity) to put the Scrappers ahead 4-3. Tommy Harrison’s third home run of the summer (406 feet, 102.5-mph exit velocity) added to the lead but the Black Bears would send it to sudden death on a walk and wild pitch over the final two innings. Trevor Moore generated a big double play in the additional half inning en route to the win. Austin Morris got the start for West Virginia and allowed three runs over five innings while striking out six. Jack Messmore was the top dog out of Mahoning Valley’s bullpen, allowing just one walk over 2 1/3 innings.

Aberdeen (12) vs Trenton (7): BOX SCORE - Making his sixth and final start of the summer, Michael Orbegozo picked up the win for Aberdeen on Independence Day eve with five innings of two-run ball. Trenton got to him early with first inning runs on a Brett Patten RBI triple and Augie Lopez RBI double. The IronBirds immediately took the lead in the top-half on an Anthony Quigley three-run moonshot that traveled 461 feet (110.4-mph exit velocity), the second longest home run in MLB Draft League history since 2022. Aberdeen took a commanding lead in the second, putting up six runs and capping off the inning with a JT Taylor two-run triple. Trenton made a push in the sixth, putting up five runs and coming within four but it was too much as the combination of Austin Puett and Jacob Crews held them scoreless over the final three frames. Chase Williams put up two hits and three RBI for the IronBirds while Patten was on-base three times for Trenton with a triple. Jack Turner racked up five strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings for the Thunder, allowing just one run. With the loss, Trenton then trailed Williamsport by 1.5 games heading into the final two days of the first half.

Williamsport (10) @ State College (6): BOX SCORE - In its first game as the first place team, Williamsport defeated the Spikes on the back of a spectacular start from Brendan Sweeney. Over four innings, Sweeney allowed just one run while striking out seven. The bats were working early for Williamsport, taking a three-run lead on RBI singles from Nick Barone, Kyle Schupmann and Ben Tryon. Justin Journette got the Spikes on the board in the second with a solo shot that travelled 430 feet (103.4-mph exit velocity) to center field. The Crosscutters put up another crooked number in the sixth, highlighted by an Owen Prince RBI triple and Nick Barone RBI double. Journette drove in another in the sixth with an RBI single before Mac Rose drove him in with a two-run home run (402 feet, 99.7-mph exit velocity). Williamsport’s barrage concluded with a James McCoy RBI single and Addison Smith RBI double. Gabriel Limas was the winning pitcher, pitching 1 2/3 clean innings and Tommy Gross led the way for State College with 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Saturday

Williamsport (20) vs State College (9): BOX SCORE - With a 20-run offensive explosion, the Crosscutters claimed their second first-half championship since 2024, giving them hosting rights for the MLB Draft League Championship. Four Williamsport batters tallied three-hit performances as Kyle Schupmann’s three and a walk resulted in four runs, Chris Stanfield’s came with five RBI, his first home run (340 feet, 88.8-mph exit velocity) of the summer and three runs. Ben Tyon’s marked his third multi-hit performance in July with a home run (417 feet, 101.2-mph exit velocity), double, four RBIs and four runs and closing out the group, Chancellor Jennings, who celebrated his 21st birthday, doubled twice, tripled, recorded four RBI and a run. Joining the three-plus RBI party was James McCoy with four and Kelly Robertson Jr. with three. For the Spikes, Luke Nomura slugged his first home run of the summer (393 feet, 92.8-mph exit velocity) in the sixth, followed later in the inning by Tyree Reed, who tied the MLB Draft League lead with his fourth home run of the summer (397 feet, 99.9-mph exit velocity). The win marks the Crosscutters’ second first half title after claiming in 2024 when they won the MLB Draft League Championship. This year, Williamsport will host the second half champions for the league title on Wednesday, Sept. 2.

Aberdeen (10) @ Trenton (3): BOX SCORE - The IronBirds won their third straight game in a rain-shortened contest behind extra-base hits from Collin Priest, Ryan Kroepel and JT Taylor. Priest, who owns the hardest-hit home run in Draft League history, went deep for the third time this summer in the first inning, travelling 389 feet with an exit velocity of 102.3 mph. He would also double and end the night with two RBI. Kroepel delivered two doubles with exit velocities of 101.7 mph and 102 mph, scoring twice and driving in another run. One of the two runs he scored came from a double by Taylor who also scored twice. For the Thunder, two of the runs were scored by Brett Patten and Ny’Zaiah Thompson, both also led the team with two-hit nights.

Mahoning Valley (9) vs West Virginia (6): BOX SCORE - The Scrappers overcame a late Black Bears push following another strong start from defending Pitcher of the Week, Ethan Stade. The southpaw followed up last week’s 10 strikeout start with nine through five innings, advancing to a share for third place of 28 strikeouts on the season. In the fifth, Mahoning Valley would make a push with the lead in a four-run inning to make the score 6-2 on a Josiah Seguin ground-rule double and a three-run single by Eli Putnam. West Virginia would answer in the seventh as Walker Barron doubled to drive in one, followed by a wild pitch, an Alec DeMartino single, tied up with Jose Fernandez reaching on an error. In the bottom of the eighth with the bases loaded, Josue Malave would drive in the game-winning runs in his first at bat via a two-run single up the middle with the ninth run coming off the next batter.

Sunday

Trenton (8) vs Aberdeen (5): BOX SCORE - The Thunder snapped a three-game skid and closed out the first half on top behind the offensive production of Jake Koonin and Cade Climie as well as 13 combined strikeouts by the pitching staff. The IronBirds got out to a 3-0 lead in the second following a Chase Williams single and Anthony Quigley double that would last until the fourth inning after Koonin’s third home run of the summer (396 feet, 103.2-mph exit velocity) and a two-run single from Austin Lemon to tie. The following inning with the bases loaded, Cade Climie would clear them to tie the league-lead with his fourth triple of the first half. Amongst the Thunder pitching’s 13 strikeouts, Elijah Foster led the group with four over two no-hit innings.

Latest News

Prospect Report: Featuring a strong crop of impactful bats from the Division I level, David Seifert analyzes eight positional players who have boosted their MLB Draft stock during the first half of the MLB Draft League season. More>>

Data Darlings: Highlighted by an MLB Draft league record 112.1-mph home run and 3,000+ rpm breaking balls, this week’s ‘Data Darlings’ dives into outlier numbers from five pitchers and two positional players. More>>

Alumni Report: Miguel Sime Jr. (TRN ‘25) became the third player in MLB Draft League history to be named to the MLB All-Star Futures Games, joining elite company in big leaguers Jonah Tong and Hayden Harris. More on Sime Jr. and Owen Ayers’ award winning week at the plate inside this week’s ‘Alumni Report’. More>>

Roster Additions

Since June 29:

Aberdeen: --

Mahoning Valley: July 2 - RHP Cade McGarrh (Abilene Christian).

State College: --

Trenton: June 29 - C Teagan Scott (South Salem HS, Ore., Oregon State commit). July 4 - RHP Billy Morris (D’Youville), RHP Jude Abbadessa (Tulane), LHP Jacob Smoot (Manhattan), C Louis Percival (Siena).

West Virginia: June 29 - OF Jackson Trout (Nebraska-Omaha). July 2 - RHP Brian Garmon (South Alabama), C Zack Thompson (Gardner-Webb), OF Alec DeMartino (UNC Charlotte).

Williamsport: --

Shop

Purchase gear from your favorite MLB Draft League team at Baseball Collective.

Media Guide

For a one-stop shop on the history of the MLB Draft League, what it offers, leaderboard and more, check out the 2026 league media guide.

For more information about the MLB Draft League, visit mlbdraftleague.com or follow @mlbdraftleague and @draftleaguedata on X, and @mlbdraftleague on Instagram.