Ball State baseball’s Dylan Grego and Jacob Hartlaub were selected by the San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays, respectively, on Monday afternoon in the 2025 MLB Draft.
The two were taken just 17 picks apart as Grego was drafted in the 13th round by San Diego and Hartlaub in the 14th round by Tampa Bay.
“Congrats to Dylan and Jacob on realizing their dreams of being selected in the professional baseball draft,” Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said. “This adds to Ball State’s great tradition of having players go to the next level.”
Grego, a First Team All-MAC selection and First Team All-Region and Third Team All-America honoree by the American Baseball Coaches Association, slashed .376/.429/.624 in 2025 and finished with the third-most hits in a single season in program history (91). The junior out of Kansas City, Mo., produced 14 doubles, two triples, 14 home runs, 55 RBI, 58 runs and 15 stolen bases on his way to being named a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award honoring the nation’s top collegiate shortstop.
Grego is Ball State’s first draft pick by the Padres since T.J. Weir was selected in the 17th round in 2014.
“Happy for Dylan Grego on accomplishing his dream of being drafted,” Maloney said. “Dylan continues our great tradition of having players get drafted in pro baseball. This caps off a great year for Dylan including being a Third Team All-American, Third Team Academic All-American and now a 13th-round draft pick of the San Diego Padres – what a year!”
Hartlaub, who was named Second Team All-MAC after the Cardinals won all 10 of his starts in conference play, finished the campaign with a 6-2 record and 69 strikeouts in a team-high 81.1 innings pitched.
The senior out of Milwaukee is Ball State’s second-ever draft selection for the Rays following Travis Minix being taken in the 23rd round in 1999 by Tampa Bay.
“Jacob Hartlaub has worked so hard to realize his dream of playing professional baseball,” Maloney said. “The strides he made this year were impressive and his best days are yet to come. He continues the Ball State tradition of having pitchers drafted. He will join Ty Johnson in the Tampa Bay Rays farm system.”
Grego and Hartlaub were the 77th and 78th draft picks out of Ball State in program history. This was the 22nd time Ball State has had multiple draft picks in the same year (19th time since 1996).
