For Kyson and Malachi Witherspoon, baseball has always been more than just a game — it’s been a shared path, a bond that’s only grown stronger with every inning.
From their early days bouncing between hockey rinks, gymnastics mats, tennis and basketball courts, the Jacksonville-born twins have always done things side by side. Now, as they gear up for their next steps in their baseball careers, they’re proving that when it comes to chasing big league dreams, two is better than one.
From the very beginning, the twins were always side by side, hopping between sports — hockey, gymnastics, tennis, basketball, football — exploring every opportunity they could find. They weren’t afraid to try it all, testing their limits in countless athletic pursuits, always pushing each other to improve. But no matter the sport, they shared one constant: a bond that kept them together.
But no matter how many sports both Malachi and Kyson picked up, nothing seemed to stick with them.
“With basketball, we weren’t really undersized, but the game was just moving too fast for me. As for football, I hated practice so much—I just didn’t want to keep doing it. I loved the games, but baseball was different. There was nothing about baseball I didn’t enjoy; I even loved the practices,” Malachi reflected. “Football felt like a second sport, and I just couldn’t keep up with it anymore. Just the thought of practice gave me a headache. I could see myself playing baseball a lot longer because it was the sport I had the most fun with.”
Eventually, the game that truly captured their hearts and talents was baseball — the sport where everything just clicked. Malachi began as a catcher, while Kyson started out at shortstop.
Throughout their baseball journey, the brothers adapted and evolved, their paths ebbing and flowing until they ultimately earned their college commitments.
Though the original goal wasn’t to stick together, the twins laughed that life has a funny way of playing out, especially in the world of baseball.
“Being together wasn’t something we really put a big focus on. Out of high school, we thought we’d be going to different places. The first school we committed to was Daytona State College — we committed together. Then he (Malachi) committed to JUCO shortly after, right before senior year started. As time went on, we both performed really well, and I eventually de-committed from the original JUCO because I was getting calls from other schools. I called him to let him know about the new opportunities and then committed to Northwest Florida,” explained Kyson.
At the same time, Malachi had been drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 12th round of the 2022 MLB Draft. Although the opportunity didn’t offer as many opportunities as Malachi had hoped, he understood that chances of better opportunities were ahead of him in the college environment, especially next to his brother.
“Through my eyes and his, we both agreed that Northwest [Florida] was the best place with the best opportunity for us. I did have my opportunity at JUCO, but after the draft didn’t go through, I wanted to sign as soon as possible the next year. I mean, school is great and all, but my real goal was to play professional baseball. Looking back, it was the best decision I could have made.”
And so, Malachi ended up joining Kyson at Northwest Florida, where he had previously joined him on all his visits and enjoyed the school just as much as Kyson did.
During their freshman season, the twins recognized that as the 'new guys on the block,' they needed to lean on the resources available to them to make their time at Northwest Florida as productive and beneficial as possible.
Kyson echoed that sentiment.
“Our whole goal is just to pick the brains of all the older guys that had of been around the block and see just what they learned from their experiences, and kind of learn the number side of it all the technology we have like TrackMan to try to understand being a pitcher, because it was our first year as being a pitcher. So, I was trying to get as much knowledge as I could off the field.”
The support and encouragement the twins gave one another helped them realize that the next step in their amateur baseball careers was within reach — fully committing to a top Division I baseball program.
Their relentless work ethic hadn’t gone unnoticed, and they soon caught the attention of Skip Johnson, head coach of the University of Oklahoma, an SEC powerhouse in the world of college baseball.
“I remember the first call we got from Oklahoma,” Malachi recalled. “We were moving out of our junior college apartment, our mom was trying to hook up her van to the back of the U- Haul to drive all the way back to Jacksonville, and we're on the phone, and they're saying, ‘Yeah, we think y'all are both really talented. We need to get you guys down on a visit as soon as possible.’ We ended up going. It was the very first visit we took after junior college.”
The twins quickly committed, expressing that the support that they had felt from Coach Johnson was infectious, leading to the decision to be a no-brainer on where they wanted to wrap up their college baseball careers.
Taking this journey to Oklahoma City wasn’t an easy decision, knowing that a lot of time and energy was going to be dedicated to ensuring a seamless transition. However, the brothers expressed that their rock through it all didn’t hesitate for a moment to pack up their family’s lives and join the twins.
That rock being their mother.
When asked what it meant to experience this journey alongside their mother, Malachi didn’t hesitate to reflect on the impact her support had throughout every step, saying:
“It was definitely great to have mom there, because unless it was work-related or family-related, there's no reason that she's ever missed a game or a sporting event for us. She's been there every step of the way, and for her to come 17 hours’ drive with a U-Haul, it was huge. It means a lot for us to see her in the stands every game.”
Tying into their USA Baseball journey, the twins even laughed that their mother had joined her boys in Cary, North Carolina.
“Even to USA, she went from Oklahoma to New Jersey to North Carolina, just to watch us throw in the games in North Carolina,” laughed Malachi. “She's driven everywhere to see us throw. She went to Kentucky and she went to Georgia. I mean, she really went everywhere just to watch us throw. I wish everyone had a mom like her.”
Their USA Baseball journey was one that the brothers would never forget.
“It was a dream come true,” Kyson said. “Getting to wear the USA letters and knowing that I always wanted to be on that level, and once I got there, I realized I was on that level, that gave me a huge boost of confidence. It showed me that I really do belong among the top players, and that no matter where I go, I can compete. That recognition meant everything. Just hearing my name in the same conversation as some of those big-name dudes — it really made me feel like all the hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed.”
Malachi even chimed in, laughing that his experience was similar, but another aspect of what they enjoyed about their USA Baseball experience was trading gear with the Chinese Taipei team, where the twins and their teammates traded an array of items such as sweat suits and even baseball gloves.
As their time with the Sooners came to an end, the Witherspoons expressed gratitude for the lessons and experiences they had gained in their collegiate and USA Baseball careers as they are prepped for the next step.
Just 10 sets of twin brothers have ever reached Major League Baseball, with relievers Taylor and Tyler Rogers being the most recent duo to accomplish the feat. It's even rarer for twins to be drafted in the same year and go on to reach the majors. The last to do so were Damon and Ryan Minor, who both heard their names called following standout college careers at the University of Oklahoma.
The Witherspoons are ready to add to this statistic with the MLB Draft coming up in just under a month, but for now, their goals are set to accomplish all they can during their time at the 2025 MLB Draft Combine. Excited to show up and show out, they know that the stakes are high to do all they can to prove their worth alongside other top prospects. Malachi even extended his excitement further, expressing that he had never been to Arizona before.
When asked to walk through the thoughts and feelings of what the brothers are expecting come draft day, Malachi spoke up and explained:
“It’s hard to put it into perspective, because for us, it’s nothing new — we’ve always done everything together. We grew up playing the same sports, putting in the same work. But to have it recognized like this, in the same year, in the same draft, the idea of seeing both of our names on TV on the same day … that would be incredible. Hopefully it happens. But really, you can’t expect it. It’s crazy to even think about, considering how small the percentage is of players who get drafted at all. For both of us to be in that conversation, as highly regarded prospects, it’s honestly just surreal.”
Regardless of what pans out for the Witherspoons come draft day, it's a given that what they have accomplished thus far in their careers is one to look back on with immense pride. Leaving behind lasting marks as both Sooners and brothers, it’s a given that these twin brothers are destined for greatness and goes to show that two truly is better than one.
