Former Diamond Jack Luke Stevenson watches himself on ESPN after his Draft selection at No. 35.
It was a remarkable two days of the Major League Baseball 2025 Draft that saw four Diamond Jacks and a total of 24 players with New Jersey roots selected in the 20-round event.
The depth of local talent kept New Jersey baseball fans riveted to the two-day draft as 17 of the state’s 24 drafted players went in the first 10 rounds, including three Garden Staters in the first round.
After Wall’s Andrew Fischer was selected 20th overall by Milwaukee, Caden Bodine of Haddon Heights was plucked at No. 30 by Baltimore. The third player with New Jersey roots selected was Luke Stevenson of North Carolina. Stevenson, a talented young player in the Diamond Jacks program from ages 10 to 14 years old, moved to North Carolina after eighth grade.
Stevenson, a former Readington, N.J. resident, was considered the No. 2 catcher in the draft after Bodine, who swept all major collegiate catching awards behind the plate for Coastal Carolina. Stevenson was selected 35th overall in the competitive balance round that sits between the first two rounds of the draft.
Stevenson, who began playing in the Patriot League at Diamond Nation as a six year-old and has remained connected to the Diamond Jacks program thanks to his relationship with his former coach and catching instructor, Travis Anderson and childhood friend and fellow Diamond Jack Jimmy Mulvaney, now pitching at Fairfield Univ. Stevenson and his family still visit the Flemington area since his grandparents live in the area.
Former Diamond Jack and Stetson SS Lorenzo Meola was selected in the 4th Round of the MLB Draft.
Three other Diamond Jacks were selected in the draft. Shortstop Lorenzo Meola of Watchung Hills and Stetson, LHP Kyle McCoy of Hunterdon Central and Maryland, and RHP Matt Potok of Jackson and Coastal Carolina made it a memorable day for the Flemington, N.J.-based program.
Stevenson was one of 13 semifinalists for the Buster Posey Award that would go to Bodine. Impressively, opposing base runners only attempted two stolen bases on Stevenson over North Carolina’s final 18 games, one being successful. He threw out 35% of would-be basestealers on the season.
The 6-1, 210-pound sophomore was a terror at the plate, smashing 19 home runs, driving in 58 runs and posting a prodigious OPS of .968. He drew 59 walks and lashed 10 doubles. The 19 home runs is the most by a North Carolina player this century.
“Luke invited me and Jimmy (Mulvaney) down to North Carolina for the draft,” said Anderson. “It was a great time. He’s remained a family friend. Luke is a great ball player and an even better person. He and Jimmy are still very close.”
Anderson said Stevenson took a call at the end of the first round of the draft and left the room. “About 30 seconds later, he came back in and said, “Go, Mariners!”
Former Diamond Jacks teammates Luke Stevenson and Jimmy Mulvaney get together in Wake Forest, N.C. to watch Stevenson’s selection at No. 35 overall in the MLB Draft.
Meola was a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award, which goes to the top defensive shortstop in the nation. He earned the Atlantic Sun Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year. Meanwhile he had a terrific season at the plate.
Meola, a junior, batted .327 with 9 doubles, 9 triples and a team-leading 11 home runs. He scored 48 runs and drove home 43 in 57 games.
McCoy had a great bounce back season having missed the 2024 campaign after Tommy John surgery. The 6-6, 205-pound lefty went 6-3 with a 3.32 ERA for Big Ten champion Maryland. He compiled 84 inning-pitched, often giving the Terrapins length in his starts. He struck out 71 and walked 21.
The redshirt sophomore was an All-Big Ten Freshman honoree in 2023.
Former Diamond Jack Kyle McCoy of Maryland was selected in the 8th Round of the MLB Draft.
Potok made a major contribution to Coastal Carolina’s run to the College Baseball World Series championship series, where it fell to LSU.
The 6-4, 220 righty went 4-1 with a 2.52 ERA for Coastal. He struck out 33 and walked eight in 35.2 innings. The Chanticleers went 18-3 in games Potok entered.
“I didn’t get a call before I got drafted so it was a little different,” Potok told WBTN News in Myrtle Beach, S.C. “I was here so I got to hang out with my family, that was super nice. Being able to be with them, that was really awesome.”
Potok was a redshirt junior this season.
Former Diamond Jack Matt Potok af Coastal Carolina was selected in the 18th round of the MLB Draft.
Greg Bozzo, a grad student at Northeastern and a longtime Diamond Jacks, signed with the Yankees as an undrafted free agent shortly after the draft ended.
Bozzo, a 6-0, 210 catcher from Basking Ridge, had 37 hits, scored 32 runs and drove in 24 runs for Colonial Athletic Association champs Northeastern (49-11). His team won both the regular and post-season CAA championship. The team was 25-2 in conference and 23-1 at home this season.
Former DJack Greg Bozzo of Northeastern signed with the Yankees as an undrafted free agent.
2025 MLB DRAFTEES FROM NEW JERSEY
1-Andrew Fischer, 3B, Tennessee/Wall – Brewers
1-Caden Bodine, C, Coastal Car./Hadd. Heights – Orioles
1-Luke Stevenson, C, UNC/Wake Forest HS – Mariners
2-Nick Becker, SS, Don Bosco Prep – Mariners
2-Cam Leiter, RHP, Florida State/Central Reg. -Dodgers
2-Frank Cairone, LHP, Delsea -Brewers
3-Trevor Cohen, OF, Holy Spirit/Rutgers – Giants
4-Lorenzo Meola, SS, Stetson/Watch. Hills – Giants
7-Pierce Coppola, LHP, Florida/Verona – Cubs
7-Josiah Ragsdale, OF, Boston Coll./St. Aug. – Brewers
8-Kyle McCoy, LHP, Maryland/Hunt. Cent. – Reds
8-Ryan Sprock, INF/RHP, Elon/Seton Hall Prep – Twins
8-Ryan Weingartner, SS, Penn State/St. Aug. – Cardinals
9-Zach Rogacki, C, Binghamton/Jackson Mem. – Rockies
9-Shane Van Dam, RHP, NC State/Cranford – Royals
9-Matt Ferrara, SS, Toms River East – Phillies
L10-Maximus Martin, INF, Kansas St./Moorestown – Red Sox
11-Dylan Palmer, UT INF, Hofstra/Notre Dame – Pirates
11-Holden DeJong, LHP, NJIT/St. Aug. – Orioles
13-Alex Galvan, RHP, Cent. Fla./Manasquan – Diamondbacks
16-Jason Gilman, LHP, Kean/Old Bridge – Red Sox
16-Logan Dawson, SS, Eastern – Phillies
18-Matt Potok, RHP, Coastal Car./Jackson Mem. – Phillies
19-Blake Morgan, LHP, Old Dominion/Cherokee – Rays