PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Eight current and former Kansas Jayhawk Community College baseball players were selected as part of the 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) amateur draft.

The draft, which took place July 11-12, 2026, as part of the 2026 MLB All-Star Week festivities, saw the eight selections from current and former KJCCC baseball alumni from four different conference schools. Three of the four schools had at least two players selected, with Johnson County Community College leading the way with two current players and one alumnus being selected in the draft, as all eight players were drafted by different MLB organizations.  

The highest MLB draft pick from the KJCCC as part of the 2026 draft was former Cowley outfielder Alex Conover, who was taken by the San Diego Padres as part of the fourth-round compensatory selections with the 134th pick. Conover was a first-team All-KJCCC East Division selection and All-Region 6 pick during his lone season with the Tigers, hitting .378 with 13 home runs and 56 RBI. Conover then transferred to Oklahoma State University, spending two years with the Cowboys, which included a breakout junior campaign when he hit .357 with 14 home runs, 37 RBI, and 16 stolen bases.

Following Conover was former Butler Community College outfielder Paul Schoenfeld, who spent the 2022 season at Butler and played in 52 games for the Grizzlies while hitting .286 with nine home runs, 28 RBI, and 50 runs scored. Most recently, Schoenfeld spent his senior season as a member of the University of West Virginia baseball team, helping the Mountaineers to their first NCAA Division 1 Baseball College World Series in program history while hitting .327 with 50 runs driven in to earn second-team All-Big 12 honors. 

Former Johnson County Community College pitcher Austin Berggren was the next selection in the 12th round, going to the New York Yankees with the 368th pick. Berggren spent the 2024 season with Johnson County, helping JCCC to a 53-13 record, KJCCC East Division and NJCAA Plains District Titles, and an appearance in the JUCO World Series. While with the Cavaliers, Berggren appeared in 18 games on the mound with a 1-0 record and one save before moving on to play at the University of Miami (Ohio).

Barton Community College alumni made up each of the next two draft picks from the KJCCC as former Cougars Anthony Treto (round 13 – pick 400) and Owen Clyne (round 15 – pick 459) were selected by the Seattle Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies, respectively. Treto was a two-year player for Barton, spending the 2024 and 2025 seasons with the Cougars where he made 15 starts on the mound and tossed 91 total innings while Clyne spent the 2024 season with Barton and was a first-team All-KJCCC West and second team All-Region 6 selection in his lone year in Great Bend. Following their time with Barton, Treto transferred to Tarleton State University for his junior year while Clyne spent two seasons at George Mason University.

Each of the next two draft picks were part of Johnson County’s 2026 NJCAA Division 1 Baseball National Title, with Cavalier Victor Christal being taken with the 482nd pick (16th round) by the Cincinnati Reds before seeing teammate Anson Seibert taken with the 586th pick (20th round) by the Washington Nationals. Christal was a key piece on the mound for JCCC during their World Series Championship run and was a JUCO Baseball Blog NJCAA Division 1 All-America First-Team selection after going 11-0 across 16 appearances (15 starts) while recording 96 strikeouts in 55.2 innings. Seibert made seven appearances for Johnson County in relief and went 2-0 with nine strikeouts in 8.2 innings and a 2.08 ERA.

The final former KJCCC player to hear his name called during the 20-round draft was former Cowley pitcher Cody Airington who was selected with the 597th pick by the Texas Rangers. Airington was a member of the Cowley baseball team during the 2024 season where he led the Tigers with a 7-2 record and 3.14 earned run average. Named a first-team All-KJCCC East Division and second-team All-Region 6 selection, Airington spent the last two seasons at Austin Peay State University where he went 8-4 on the mound across two seasons with 85 strikeouts in 104 innings pitched for the Governors.