LSU high school signee and left-handed pitcher Lucas Nawrocki has taken his name out of the 2026 MLB Draft and is coming to school, he announced on social media Friday.
He’s the third player from LSU’s 2026 recruiting class to withdraw his name from the draft and decide to come to LSU, joining outfielder Nathaneal Davis and left-handed pitcher Braxton Beaty.
Nawrocki is the No. 115 player in ESPN’s draft rankings and the No. 151 player in MLB.com’s list. He went to Aledo High in Aledo, Texas, and was a two-way player in high school. He even hit in front of scouts at the MLB Draft Combine last month.
Nawrocki is on the shorter side at 5-foot-10, but he has a fastball that’s up to 95 mph and an excellent slider. He also has a changeup, but he did not use it much in high school.
“As a freshman, he could come in and pitch meaningful innings and get left-handed hitters out,” one scout told The Advocate. “Kind of how Griffin Herring did when he was a freshman. He throws a bunch of strikes and his breaking ball is so good.”
Nawrocki, according to a scout, was expected to come to school and pass on the draft, in part because of his high asking price for teams and size. At 5-foot-11, MLB teams project him as a reliever in professional baseball.
“It’s more like a fastball slider (combo). He’ll throw fastballs up in the zone and then try to get the slider down,” the same scout told The Advocate. “And, I mean, it works. He’s got a pretty good idea what he’s doing.”
