In its sixth season in the MLB Draft League, the West Virginia Black Bears had 15 players taken in the 2026 MLB Draft. With eight players selected from the 2026 first-half team and seven alumni drafted, the Black Bears set a new league record for number of players (15) and most pitchers (10) taken in a single year.
by Nico Caretto
In its sixth season in the MLB Draft League, the West Virginia Black Bears had 15 players taken in the 2026 MLB Draft. With eight players selected from the 2026 first-half team and seven alumni drafted, the Black Bears set a new league record for number of players (15) and most pitchers (10) taken in a single year. Infielder Owen Henne was the first pick for the Bears and the league, going in the fifth round to the St. Louis Cardinals with the 175th overall pick.
Along with Henne, the seven players drafted from the 2026 team were right-handed pitcher Collin McKinney (9th round by the Baltimore Orioles); right-handed pitcher Tazwell Butler (10th round by the Houston Astros); infielder Wills Maginnis (11th by the Boston Red Sox); infielder Grayson Fitzwater (13th round by the Chicago White Sox); right-handed pitcher Brian Garmon II (15th round by the St. Louis Cardinals); right-handed pitcher Victor Christal (16th round by the Cincinnati Reds); and right-handed pitcher Anson Seibert (20th round by the Washington Nationals).
Former Black Bears drafted were right-handed pitcher David Leslie (9th round by the New York Yankees); infielder Ben Zeigler-Namoa (10th round by the Atlanta Braves); left-handed pitcher Rob Evans (12th round by the San Diego Padres); right-handed pitcher Connor Benge (13th round by the Miami Marlins); and left-handed pitcher Parker Dillhoff (18th round by the Cleveland Guardians) from last year’s team. Pitcher Lance Hartley and infielder Daton Wentz were selected from the 2024 squad in the 12th round by the Kansas City Royals and the 16th round by the Giants, respectively.
INF Owen Henne, St. Louis Cardinals
Owen Henne was selected with the 175th pick in the 5th round of the draft, marking the first Black Bear off the board. Henne played in 16 games as a member of the 2026 first-half roster, leading the team in triples, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.
RHP Collin McKinney, Baltimore Orioles
Collin McKinney went off the board in the 9th round with the 260th pick. Playing in the first half of the 2026 season, McKinney proved himself to be one of the aces of the pitching staff, recording 16 strikeouts in nine innings pitched, all while holding an ERA of 2.00.
RHP David Leslie, New York Yankees
Leslie, a member of the 2025 first-half squad, went with the 278th in the 9th round. Leslie appeared in seven games, throwing 15 total innings and notching 15 strikeouts with an ERA of 8.40.
INF Ben Zeigler-Namoa, Atlanta Braves
Ben Zeigler-Namoa was selected in the 10th round, going 292nd overall. Playing in 14 games in 2025, Zeigler-Namoa recorded six hits, one home run, and four RBI with a batting average of .115.
RHP Taz Butler, Houston Astros
Taz Butler heard his name called with the 301st pick in the 10th round. Butler started all four games he played in 2026, recording 28 strikeouts in 17.2 innings pitched, finishing the first half with an ERA of 1.53.
INF Wills Maginnis, Boston Red Sox
Wills Maginnis went off the board in the 11th round with the 334th pick. Playing in six games for the Black Bears 2026 first-half squad, Maginnis recorded two hits and three RBI with a batting average of .111.
LHP Rob Evans, San Diego Padres
Rob Evans was selected with the 365th pick in the 12th round. Starting two of his three games as a Black Bear in 2025, Evans recorded eight strikeouts in seven innings pitched with an ERA of 3.86.
RHP Lance Hartley, Kansas City Royals
The first of two 2024 Black Bears, Lance Hartley went in the 12th round with the 359th pick. Playing in five games, Hartley recorded four strikeouts in 6.2 innings pitched with an ERA of 2.70.
INF Grayson Fitzwater, Chicago White Sox
Grayson Fitzwater’s name was called in the 13th round with the 375th pick. Fitzwater made plenty of noise in his three games as a 2026 Black Bear, recording three home runs and four RBI with a batting average of .500.
RHP Connor Benge, Miami Marlins
Connor Benge was selected with the 385th pick in the 13th round. Playing in two games for the 2025 Black Bears, Benge recorded four strikeouts and one hit allowed in two innings with an ERA of 0.00.
RHP Brian Garmon II, St. Louis Cardinals
Brian Garmon II went with the 444th pick in the 15th round. Playing as a member of both 2026 halves, Garmon appeared three times out of the bullpen with five strikeouts and two hits allowed in three innings of work, giving him an ERA of 0.00.
RHP Victor Christal, Cincinnati Reds
Victor Christal’s wait ended in the 16th round, being selected with the 482nd pick. Christal started two of his three games played for the 2026 Black Bears, recording nine innings pitched with 16 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.00.
INF Dalton Wentz, San Francisco Giants
Dalton Wentz was selected with the 478th pick in the 16th round. Playing as a member of the 2024 team, Wentz appeared in 17 games recording seven RBI and 14 hits with a batting average of .275.
LHP Parker Dillhoff, Cleveland Guardians
The last of the 2025 team, Parker Dillhoff went in the 18th round with the 543rd pick. Starting both of his games as a Black Bear, Dillhoff threw 3.1 innings with three strikeouts and seven allowed hits, finishing with an ERA of 5.40.
RHP Anson Seibert, Washington Nationals
The final draftee in the 2026 draft, Anson Seibert went with the 586th pick in the 20th round. Throwing 3.2 innings in his two appearances, Seibert recorded three strikeouts and two allowed hits with an ERA of 2.45.
In addition to West Virginia’s 15 selections, 38 former and active MLB Draft League players were taken, setting a league record for total draft picks in a season with 53. The Black Bears continue the second half of the season with a road trip to play the Trenton Thunder followed by the Aberdeen IronBirds beginning Tuesday, July 14. West Virginia returns home for a two-game series against the Thunder on July 20-21.
by Cody Burton
Entering his first year in charge of the West Virginia Black Bears, Manager Tim Garland has one goal in mind: winning.
“We’re going to continue the winning tradition here with the Black Bears,” Garland said in an interview on June 1.
Garland was announced as the eighth manager in Black Bears history on March 24, accepting the challenge of his first managerial role after spending four seasons as a bench coach in the Detroit Tigers organization. Garland has been involved with baseball at every level, playing 15 years in the minor leagues as an outfielder, and is now entering his 20th season as a coach.
“I’m going to keep coaching now until they can rip the uniform off my back just like I did as a player,” Garland said. “I consider myself a lifer.”
Garland started his coaching career in 2006 in the Athletics organization and quickly called a good friend, multi-time World Series champion Dusty Baker, for advice.
“I called him at the time when Oakland offered me the coaching position and he said, ‘Well, Timmy, you played 15 years. I can promise you won’t play another 15 years, but you can coach another 15 years,” Garland recalled.
Throughout his time coaching, Garland has helped build up multiple MLB stars early in their careers. Most notably, Detroit Tigers All-Star outfielder Riley Greene and Houston Astros World Series champion George Springer.
“It just teaches me how to know that when a player is out on a baseball field, as long as you got a uniform on, they got a chance to be something special, something great,” Garland said.
Why West Virginia? The Black Bears' gaffer is from Danville, Virginia, five and a half hours away from Kendrick Family Ballpark.
Garland is also a very close friend of former Black Bears Manager Jon Nunnally. The two are from the same town and communication is just a “phone call away.”
“He’s my cousin… so he says he’s my cousin,” Garland said. “I went down a family tree and haven’t found any Nunnally’s yet, but he says he’s my cousin, so he’s my cousin.”
As for the product on the field, fundamental, fast baseball will be at the forefront. As a high-speed player during his career, stealing 388 bags in his professional career, speed will be a primary asset of Black Bears baseball.
“I like to run,” Garland said. “You’ll see a lot of guys running. If they can run, I’ll make sure they’re off and running.
Garland will also ensure that the “correct” baseball play will be made on every pitch, such as bunting runners over and throwing the ball to the correct target in every situation.
“I’m hoping to instill in the young players the same way I played and the same way I was taught to play the game,” Garland said.
West Virginia Black Bear fans will be able to see Garland’s team in action for the first time at Kendrick Family Ballpark in the team’s home opener Tuesday, June 9, at 7 p.m.
The West Virginia Black Bears today announced their coaching staff for the 2024 season under second-year manager, David Carpenter. Returning for the Black Bears are hitting coach Ezequiel Carrera and bench coach Antonio Caballero, with newcomer Andy Hurtado rounding out this season’s staff...
