Arlington, Texas — The Texas Rangers today selected 16 players on the second and final day of the 2026 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, which covered rounds 5-20. The Rangers selected a total of 20 players in this year’s draft, including 12 pitchers, 7 position players, and one two-way player.
Texas chose 14 players from the college ranks and 6 high school players. The Rangers selected high school players with each of their first three picks for the first time since 2018, when the club drafted five high schoolers with its first five selections. 14 of the club’s final 17 draftees were college products.
Below is additional information on the club’s day-two selections:
TWP MICHAEL ANDERSON JR. (5th round, 149th overall) – Anderson, 22, earned first-team All-Big Ten honors during his 2026 senior season at Penn State, batting .358/.450/.725/1.175 in 50 starts as the Nittany Lions’ designated hitter. Prior to transferring to Penn State for his senior campaign, the right-handed batter and thrower spent two seasons (2023-24) at the University of Rhode Island and one (2025) at Arkansas, totaling a .308 batting average with 43 home runs and a 1.037 OPS across 153 games in his collegiate career. He also logged 10 pitching appearances/one start during his college tenure, including 2 games totaling 1.2 scoreless innings this past season. A native of Drexel Hill, Pa., Anderson prepped at Monsignor Bonner & Archbishop Prendergast Catholic H.S.
RHP AIDAN BRAINARD (6th round, 178th overall) – The 22-year-old Brainard was selected to the All-Mountain West First Team as a senior in 2026, posting a 5-4 record in 15 games/10 starts for the Wolfpack in 2026, including a 4-0 record and 2.66 ERA with 48 strikeouts over 39.0 innings in Mountain West play. Prior to his Nevada tenure, the righty spent time at Regis University (2025) and Northeast (Neb.) Community College (2023-24). The Littleton, Colo. native prepped at Columbine H.S., where he was a unanimous First-Team All-Conference selection as a senior.
RHP CADEN AOKI (7th round, 207th overall) – Aoki, 23, tallied 23 appearances/9 starts, at the University of Georgia in 2026, going 9-2 with a 4.11 ERA (42 ER/92.0 IP), 116 strikeouts, and 33 walks during his graduate senior campaign. In his final collegiate start on June 15 against eventual College World Series-champion Oklahoma, the right-hander authored a complete game (8.0 IP, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO). He spent his freshman year (2022) at the University of Notre Dame and transferred to USC, where he pitched for three seasons (2023-25) ahead of his Georgia tenure, as he logged a career 21-14 record, 3.79 ERA, and 312 strikeouts across 65 collegiate games/47 starts. Hailing from Huntington Beach, Calif., Aoki was a four-year letterman at Huntington Beach H.S., where he posted a 9-0 record and 0.93 ERA as a senior.
SS KOLBY BRANCH (8th round, 237th overall) – Branch, a 23-year-old Allen Tex. native, spent his last three collegiate seasons at the University of Georgia, combining to bat .277 with 50 home runs and 159 RBI in 195 games, while posting a .972 fielding percentage – a school record for a shortstop. During his 2026 senior season, the right-handed batter and thrower started all 67 games at shortstop for the 53-14 Bulldogs, who finished tied for 3rd place in the College World Series, as he was selected the ABCA Rawling Gold Glove winner for shortstop and a finalist for the Brooks Wallace Award (given to nation’s top SS). Branch played his 2023 freshman campaign at Baylor University and was named the team’s MVP after leading the Bears in hits (69) and runs (49). He prepped at Lovejoy H.S. in Lucas, Tex.
OF KADEN CARPENTER (9th round, 267th overall) – Carpenter, 23, started all 54 games for Utah Valley this past season, earning first team All-WAC honors as he hit .338 (68-201) with 17 home runs, 21 doubles, and 58 RBI. The left-handed batter and thrower transferred to Utah Valley following three seasons at the University of Utah, where he combined for a 293/.398/.479/.877 slash line with 13 home runs and 71 RBI in 128 games for the Utes. The Utah native attended American Fork H.S. and was named All-State thrice while helping lead the Cavemen to two state titles.
SS EVAN MORRISON (10th round, 297th overall) – Morrison, 23, batted .402/.470/.582/1.052 with 6 home runs, 6 triples, 15 doubles, and 49 RBI in 58 starts at shortstop for Grand Valley State University in 2026 – his second season with the Lakers after playing one campaign apiece at McPherson (Kan.) College and the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. He opened this season on a 31-game hitting streak and garnered ABCA First-Team All-American, D2CCA Second-Team All-American, and GLIAC Player of the Year honors. A left-handed batter, and right-handed thrower, Morrison hails from Wheatly, Ontario.
OF JORDAN HAWKINS (11th round, 327th overall) – The 17-year-old Hawkins, who was the youngest player selected by Texas on Day Two, was named to the Oklahoma All-State Team this spring by both The Oklahoman and the Oklahoma Baseball Coaches Association after helping Carl Albert (Midwest City, Okla.) High School to a 5A state title. A switch hitter, the Oklahoma City native batted .471 while flashing both power (12 home runs) and speed (27 stolen bases) during his senior season in 2026.
RHP JACKSON NASH (12th round, 357th overall) – Nash, 20, recorded 59 strikeouts in 44.1 innings pitched (12.0 SO/9) across 19 appearances (2 starts) for Longwood (Va.) University in 2026, his lone season with Lancers following two years at Cleveland (N.C.) Community College. The 6-foot-6 right-hander also pitched in the MLB Draft League for Williamsport this summer, registering a 0.64 ERA (1 ER/14.0 IP) with 17 strikeouts against 3 walks in 4 games.
LHP WILL WHELAN (13th round, 387th overall) – Whelan, 20, was primarily utilized as a reliever during his three seasons at the University of Minnesota from 2024-26, totaling 84 strikeouts in 74.2 innings pitched over 49 appearances (one start). The Minneapolis-area southpaw saw extensive action on the collegiate summer circuit, logging two seasons in the Northwoods League with Willmar (2023-24) and two campaigns with Bourne (2025-26) in the Cape Cod Baseball League.
RHP ALFREDO CAPACETE (14th round, 417th overall) – Capacete (pronounced ‘CAP-uh-SET-ay’) went 2-0 with 3 saves, a 4.00 ERA (12 ER/27.0 IP), and 34 strikeouts in 13 games (one start) for California Baptist University in 2026, his second year with the Lancers. The 21-year-old Colton, Calif. native began his collegiate career at UC Riverside in 2023.
RHP LANDON BREWER (15th round, 447th overall) – Brewer, 18, fashioned a 0.41 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 51.0 innings pitched this spring for Minden (La.) H.S., located approximately 250 miles east of Arlington. The right-hander also batted .431 for the Crimson Tide en route to Louisiana Baseball Coaches Association Division-II All-State honors in 2026.
3B BRANDON CRABTREE (16th round, 477th overall) – Crabtree, 22, slashed .413/.516/.745/1.261 (102-247) with 18 home runs and 73 RBI in his lone campaign at NCAA Division-II Catawba (N.C.) College in 2026, earning Second Team All-America honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association this spring.
RHP COLLIN COBB (17th round, 507th overall) – Cobb, a Houston native and Arizona commit, capped a two-year stint at Williston State (N.D.) College by being named a NJCAA Division I First Team All-American this spring, boasting a 10-1 record with a 2.18 ERA (17 ER/70.1 IP) and 119 strikeouts (15.23 SO/9) in 14 games (12 starts) for the Tetons in 2026.
C MAX KAUFER (18th round, 537th overall) – Kaufer was the lone backstop selected by Texas in the 2026 draft. The 21-year-old blossomed in a shortened 2026 season at Wichita State (Kan.) University, his third Division I stop, hitting .440 (22-50) with 11 home runs in 18 games before a season-ending shoulder injury. He debuted collegiately for Texas A&M in 2023-24 and also appeared in 24 games for South Carolina in 2025.
RHP SELDEN KOLKEBECK (19th round, 567th overall) – Kolkebeck, 18, was a perfect 12-0 in 12 starts for Northern Valley Regional (N.J.) H.S. this spring, posting a 0.72 ERA (8 ER/78.0 IP) with 126 strikeouts and just 15 walks. Prep Baseball Report recognized the Hoboken, N.J. product and Columbia commit on the publication’s First Team All-State list.
RHP CODY AIRINGTON (20th round, 597th overall) – Airington, 21, went 8-4 with a 4.50 ERA (52 ER/104.0 IP) and a 1.260 WHIP in two seasons at Austin Peay State (Tenn.) University from 2025-26, including 14 starts this spring.