North Shore Navigators Send 6 Former Players Into Pro Baseball After 2026 MLB Draft

LYNN, MA — Six former North Shore Navigators players were selected or signed by professional baseball teams over the past few days, with four taken in the 2026 MLB Draft on Saturday and Sunday and two more signing free-agent contracts after the draft ended.

Outfielder Kyle Jones of Florida, who played for North Shore in 2024, was chosen by the Milwaukee Brewers with the 102nd overall pick in the third round on Saturday evening.

He became the second North Shore alum in as many years to be selected in the third round and joined Sal Frelick in the Brewers organization. Jones was an Honorable Mention All-NECBL pick for the Navs in 2024, when he hit .269 with a .402 on-base percentage, 16 RBI and 12 runs scored in 29 games. At Florida in 2026, he hit .317 with 17 stolen bases and a career-high six home runs in his first full SEC season.

Three more former North Shore players were drafted Sunday.

Catcher Jacob Jarrell of Clemson, who played for the Navs in 2023, was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the eighth round. Shortstop Reece Moroney of Rhode Island, a 2024 Navigator, went to the Philadelphia Phillies in the 10th round. Pitcher Evan Blanco, a Woburn native and former Austin Prep standout who appeared for North Shore in 2023, was picked by the Athletics in the 13th round.

Jarrell hit .260 with 11 extra-base hits and 17 RBI during his North Shore season. This year, he was a second-team All-ACC selection, served as a three-time team captain at Clemson and led the Tigers in home runs in back-to-back seasons after hitting 18 as a senior.

Moroney batted .265 with 14 RBI and 22 runs scored for North Shore, then posted a program-record 90 hits and a career-high 50 RBI for Rhode Island this spring while earning Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Blanco made two appearances for North Shore after his freshman year at Virginia and struck out six over four innings of one-run ball. This spring at Tennessee, the left-hander won seven games and recorded 101 strikeouts in 89 innings.

After the 20-round draft concluded, outfielder Ryan Gerety of Northeastern and shortstop Henry Kaczmar of Ohio State signed free-agent contracts with the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners, respectively.

Gerety hit .274 with a .428 on-base percentage, a team-high 24 runs scored and 16 stolen bases for North Shore in 2024. Kaczmar, a 2023 NECBL All-Star, led the Navs with a .313 average and 26 runs scored in 34 games.

North Shore has now produced 72 professional players since 2008.

It is also the second straight season in which six Navigators players were drafted or signed to pro contracts.