Nine baseball players with ties to Southern Nevada were selected on the final day of the 2026 MLB draft on Sunday in Philadelphia.
Four former high school baseball stars were selected early Sunday when Faith Lutheran grad and Oklahoma RHP LJ Mercurius was selected with the No. 148 overall pick in the fifth round by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Detroit Tigers in the seventh round (No. 216 overall) picked Green Valley High graduate and Kansas first baseman Brady Ballinger.
In Round 15, the Boston Red Sox selected Grand Canyon LHP Chase Frey, who graduated from Sierra Vista and played at the College of Southern Nevada. The Athletics selected former Bishop Gorman and CSN catcher Anthony Marnell IV (San Diego State) with the 591st overall pick in the last round.
UNLV had five players drafted in the later rounds on Sunday: RHP Carson Lane (Cleveland Guardians, Round 14, No. 423 overall), RHP Jase Evangelista (Boston Celtics, Round 14 No. 424), RHP Ryan Marton (Chicago Cubs, Round 17 No. 517), LHP Parker Dillhoff (Cleveland Guardians, Round 18 No. 5430) and OF Jack Salmon (Los Angeles Angels, Round 19, No. 559).
Mercurius, listed at 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds, is fresh off of helping Oklahoma win the College World Series alongside younger brother Xander. LJ Mercurius graduated from Faith Lutheran in 2023 and played two years at UNLV (2024-25) before transfering to Oklahoma this spring.
Mercurius went 7-7 with a 4.43 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 83.1 innings pitched for the Sooners and recorded four saves in the postseason to help them to the title.
Ballinger, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound first baseman, had a breakout season this spring in his lone season with Kansas. The 2023 Green Valley graduate hit .283 with seven home runs and 45 RBIs to help the Jayhawks go 45–18 and their second-ever NCAA regional. Ballinger played two years at CSN (2024-25) and helped the Coyotes reach the junior college world series in 2024.
Frey, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound left hander, graduated from Sierra Vista in 2023 and played his second year of college at CSN in 2025. At Grand Canyon, Frey was an All-Mountain West second-team selection, going 2-7 with a 4.79 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 67.2 innings pitch while holding opponents to a .227 batting average.
Marnell, listed at 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, hit .257 with 30 RBIs for the Aztecs this spring. Marnell graduated from Bishop Gorman in 2023. He did not play with at Oregon State as a freshman, but started 50 of 53 games for CSN in 2025.
Lane was a three-year starting pitcher for UNLV. The 6-foot-3 right-hander was a 2025 first-team All-Mountain West selection, and went 9-10 with a 6.34 ERA and 179 strikeouts in 181.1 career innings and 44 appearances for the Rebels.
Evangelista, Marton, Dillhoff and Salmon were all one-year members with UNLV, playing this spring with the Rebels.
On Saturday, Basic High graduate Andruw Giles was selected in the fourth round (No. 108 overall) by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 6-foot, 195-pound outfielder was committed to play college baseball at Oregon. Giles was the only local taken in the first four rounds.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
