Nationals complete 2026 First-Year Player Draft

The Washington Nationals selected 16 players on the second day of the 2026 MLB First-Year Player Draft on Sunday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni and Assistant General Manager, Acquisitions Justin Horowitz made the announcements.

The Nationals opened the day by selecting third baseman Daniel Cuvet out of the University of Miami in the fifth round. Cuvet hit .347/.439/.704 with 49 doubles, three triples, 204 RBI, 89 walks and 157 runs scored in 159 games across three collegiate seasons. During his sophomore season in 2025, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native was named First-Team All-ACC, a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist and was named a First-Team All-American by Baseball America, ABCA/Rawlings and D1 Baseball.

As a junior in 2026, Cuvet was named Second-Team All-ACC after hitting .305 with 14 doubles, 12 home runs, 45 RBI, 33 walks, 30 strikeouts and 49 runs scored in 41 games. During his freshman season in 2024, Cuvet hit 24 home runs, the most by a freshman in University of Miami history.

In the sixth round, Washington chose right-handed pitcher Cooper Allen out of the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. Allen went 8-4 with a 2.79 ERA in 15 starts during his junior season. He struck out 96 batters and walked just 23 in 87.0 innings pitched. Allen was named Second-Team All-CAA after ranking second in the conference in ERA and opponents’ average (.210).

The Nationals selected right-handed pitcher Gage Peterson out of Appalachian State University (N.C.) in the seventh round. Peterson struck out 107 batters and posted a .196 opponents’ average in 85.0 innings en route to being named First-Team All-Sun Belt and the Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year in 2026. He went 8-1 with a 3.28 ERA during his lone season at Appalachian State after he began his collegiate career at Walters State Community College (Tenn.) where he struck out 118 batters in 88.2 innings across his freshman and sophomore seasons.

Washington chose right-handed pitcher Max Hansmann in the eighth round. The University of Evansville (Ind.) product went 4-3 with a 3.99 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 85.2 innings pitched as a senior in 2026.

In the ninth round, the Nationals selected catcher Cashel Dugger from UCLA. A Buster Posey Award Semifinalist, Dugger hit .251 with a .378 on-base percentage, nine doubles, five homers, 39 RBI, 32 walks and 34 runs scored in 2026. He was named Second-Team All-Big Ten and to the conference’s All-Defensive Team following his junior season.

The Nationals chose outfielder Nick Williams from Michigan State University in the 10^th round. The fifth-year senior hit .333 with 14 doubles, two triples, six home runs 27 RBI, 25 walks, 20 strikeouts and 39 runs scored in 49 games. He capped the season on a 16-game hitting streak, the longest by a Michigan State player since 2024. Williams transferred to Michigan State in 2024 after two seasons at Wabash Valley Community College (Ill.) where he was named a First-Team NJCAA Division I Baseball All-American as well as Most Outstanding Hitter at the NJCAA D1 World Series in 2023.

Washington selected right-handed pitcher Weston Moss from Texas A&M University in the 11^th round. Moss struck out 69 batters in 64.1 innings across 15 games (14 starts) in his junior season in 2026.

In the 12^th round, the Nationals chose Matthew Dallas from Wake Forest University (NC). Dallas appeared in one game in his second collegiate season, striking out seven batters in 3.1 innings.

The Nationals chose University of Texas right-handed pitcher Cody Howard in the 13^th round. Howard appeared in 36 games across four seasons at the University of Texas. He went 5-3 with a 7.84 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 62.0 innings pitched.

Washington selected right-handed pitcher Zack Konstantinovsky from Rutgers University in the 14^th round. He struck out 83 batters in 70.2 innings pitched in his redshirt sophomore season in 2026.

In the 15^th round, the Nationals chose catcher Francisco Rivero from Canyon del Oro High School in Tucson, Ariz. Rivero hit .463 with nine doubles, two triples, six home runs, 34 RBI, 24 walks, just eight strikeouts, and 13 runs scored during his senior prep season. He was rated by Perfect Game as the No. 3 high school catcher in the state of Arizona.

The Nationals selected outfielder Anthony Murphy in the 16^th round out of Corona High School in California. Murphy is rated by MLBPipeline.com as the No. 108 prospect in the 2026 First-Year Player Draft. He hit .418 with five doubles, three triples, 10 home runs, 28 RBI, 17 walks and 42 runs scored during his senior season. Murphy was rated by Perfect Game as the No. 2 high school outfielder in the state of California.

Washington chose shortstop Isaiah Galason from Houston County High School (Ga.) in the 17^th round. The No. 2 high school shortstop in the state of Georgia, Galason hit .422 with 13 doubles, one triple, three homers, 30 RBI, 20 walks, 13 strikeouts, 28 stolen bases and 43 runs scored during his senior season.

In the 18^th round, the Nationals selected infielder Avery Ortiz out of Oklahoma State University. In his third collegiate season, Ortiz hit .261 with four doubles, four homers, 14 RBI, seven walks and 11 runs scored in 20 games.

The Nationals selected outfielder Jack Brooks from the University of Oregon in the 19^th round. Brooks hit .236 with seven doubles, one triple, six home run, 27 RBI, 31 walks and 33 runs scored in in 58 games during his junior season in 2026.

Washington capped the 2026 First-Year Player Draft by selecting right-handed pitcher Anson Seibert from Johnson County Community College (Kan.). Seibert appeared in seven games and went 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in his lone season at Johnson County. Seibert spent the 2005 season at the University of Tennessee before transferring to Johnson County.

RD PICK PLAYER POS B/T HT WT DOB SCHOOL SCOUT

1 11 Chris Hacopian 2B R/R 6-1 210 8/30/04 Texas A&M University Cody Staab

2 42 Chase Brunson OF R/R 6-3 200 7/7/05 Texas Christian University Cody Staab

3 78 Luke Williams SS R/R 6-0 180 12/17/07 Franklin Senior Regional HS (Pa.) Peter Flaherty

4 106 Cooper Harris RHP R/R 6-3 205 6/11/08 Flower Mound HS (Texas) Cody Staab

5 138 Daniel Cuvet 3B R/R 6-3 240 5/13/05 University of Miami (Fla) Logan Schuemann

6 167 Cooper Allen RHP R/R 6-1 205 10/27/04 UNC-Wilmington Arnold Brathwaite

7 196 Gage Peterson RHP R/R 6-5 220 3/30/05 Appalachian State Univ. (N.C) Arnold Brathwaite

8 226 Max Hansmann RHP R/R 6-1 210 2/11/04 University of Evansville (Ind.) Brian Cleary

9 256 Cashel Dugger C L/R 6-3 210 7/25/05 University of California-LA Ben Diggins

10 286 Nick Williams OF R/R 6-0 195 8/3/03 Michigan State University Brian Cleary

11 316 Weston Moss RHP R/R 6-4 190 6/15/04 Texas A&M University Cody Staab

12 346 Matthew Dallas LHP L/L 6-5 200 5/24/03 Wake Forest University (NC) Arnold Brathwaite

13 376 Cody Howard RHP R/R 6-1 210 12/5/02 University of Texas Cody Staab

14 406 Zack Konstantinovsky RHP R/R 6-2 210 5/19/05 Rutgers University (N.J.) Peter Flaherty

15 436 Francisco Rivero C R/R 6-0 215 12/20/07 Canyon del Oro HS (Ariz.) Mitch Sokol

16 466 Anthony Murphy OF R/R 6-0 185 3/24/07 Corona High School (Calif) Ben Diggins

17 496 Isaiah Galason SS R/R 5-11 182 4/3/08 Houston County HS (Ga.) Jason Burke

18 526 Avery Ortiz INF R/R 5-11 190 6/9/05 Oklahoma State University Jacorey Boudreaux

19 556 Jack Brooks OF L/R 5-10 190 6/3/04 University of Oregon Scott Ramsay

20 586 Anson Seibert LHP L/R 6-9 235 7/20/05 Johnson County CC (Kan.) Jacorey Boudreaux

-WSH-