CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois baseball had two of its players selected during the 2025 MLB Draft, right-handers Tyler Schmitt and Julius Sanchez.
RHP Tyler Schmitt // San Diego Padres // Round 17, Pick 520
In his debut campaign in the Orange and Blue, Schmitt went 5-2 with a 4.80 ERA (43 ER/80.2 IP) over 15 starts, where he amassed 58 strikeouts, which led the Illini pitching staff. He also led the squad in innings pitched.
He tossed five quality starts during the season and also posted 11 outings with three earned runs or fewer.
The Madison, Wis., native, made Illinois debut on Feb. 14 vs. Abilene Christian (3.1 IP, 1 ER) and then turned in his first quality start of the season on Feb. 22 at Texas State in his next start (6.0 IP, 3 ER).
Schmitt allowed just one run, unearned, on three hits over seven innings on April 11 vs. Indiana, his second quality start of the campaign, where he also fired what was then a season-high six strikeouts. He then picked up his third quality start on April 25 vs. Purdue by allowing four runs, three earned, over a season-high 7.1 innings.
He then turned in his best start of the season in the opening game of pool play at the Big Ten Tournament vs. Michigan on May 20, where he whiffed a season-high nine batters over 7.0 innings and allowed just two runs on six hits.
RHP Julius Sanchez // Texas Rangers // Round 18, Pick 535
Sanchez went 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA (8 ER/16.0 IP) in three games/starts on the season, striking out 17 batters while issuing just three walks.
The LaSalle, Ill., native, tossed quality start in season debut on Feb. 15 vs. Abilene Christian where he struck out a career-high 10 batters over a career-high 7.0 innings of work. Sanchez held the Wildcats to just one run on three hits.
In his three years in Champaign, Sanchez has gone 2-5 with a 6.58 ERA (58 ER/79.1 IP) in 29 games, 14 starts.
