Maryland baseball pitcher Kyle McCoy becomes first MLB Draft selection during Matt Swope era

Ahmed Ghafir
Jul 14
1 min read

Former Maryland starting pitcher Kyle McCoy became the first MLB Draft selection of the Matt Swope era after being selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the eighth round on day two of the 2025 MLB Draft.

The starting pitcher out of Hunterdon School (NJ) rose to stardom as a freshman in 2023 where he earned Big Ten All-Freshman team honors after sitting top five on the team in four categories including 39 strikeouts. After an injury derailed his senior season, McCoy’s freshman year was ultimately cut short due to injury that sidelined him for the rest of the 2023 season and all of 2024 before blossoming into Maryland’s ace in 2025.

McCoy finished 6-3 and led the team in innings pitched (84), ERA (3.32) and wins (6) after finishing 6-3 and tossing 84 strikeouts. McCoy threw five or more strikeouts in nine outings in 2025, while his 84 innings marked the third most in the Big Ten with his 71 strikeouts ninth-most among Big Ten pitchers. He ended his career as a Third Team All-Big Ten selection following his third and final season in College Park.

McCoy ended his career 10-9 with a 4.33 ERA, 110 strikeouts and 45 balls in 137.1 strikeouts, while he was ranked the 148th-best draft prospect by D1baseball and 197th-best by MLB.com heading into the 2025 draft.

“He has that confidence and air about him that when he goes out there, he expects to win,” head coach Matt Swope told The Diamondback ahead of 2025.

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