The Washington Nationals selected four players on the first day of the 2026 MLB First-Year Player Draft on Saturday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni and Assistant General Manager, Acquisitions Justin Horowitz made the announcements.
Washington selected second baseman Chris Hacopian out of Texas A&M University with the No. 11 overall pick. The Potomac, Md., native hit .319 with 10 doubles, 11 home runs, 41 RBI, 25 walks, 21 strikeouts and 34 runs scored in 42 games during his junior season at Texas A&M en route to being named First-Team All-Southeastern Conference and a Third-Team All-American by Baseball America. He hit safely in 36 of 42 games and reached in 38 of the 42.
Prior to joining the Aggies, Hacopian combined to hit .347 with a .469 on-base percentage and a .614 slugging percentage in 107 games across two seasons for the University of Maryland. He clubbed 29 homers to go along with 22 doubles, one triple, 70 walks and just 45 strikeouts. Hacopian played four years at Winston Churchill High School in Potomac where he was named the 2022 Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year and a 2022 Washington Post All-Met selection. His father, Derek, was drafted by Cleveland in the 1992 Draft and went on to play five seasons (1992-96) in their Minor League system.
With their second-round pick, the Nationals selected outfielder Chase Brunson from Texas Christian University. The 21-year-old hit .304 with 11 doubles, one triple, 10 home runs, 51 RBI, 33 walks, 37 runs scored and 13 stolen bases in 51 games during his junior season. He recorded a .462 on-base percentage and a .556 slugging percentage on his way to being named Honorable Mention All-Big 12 Conference.
A native of San Clemente, Calif,, Brunson slashed .306/.417/.519 with 32 doubles, six triples, 26 home runs and 122 RBI in 152 collegiate games. He started 133 games in center field, 16 games in right field and three games as the designated hitter.
In the third round, Washington chose prep shortstop Luke Williams from Franklin Senior Regional High School in Murrysville, Pa. The No. 35 high school player in the country and the top high school player in the state of Pennsylvania according to Perfect Game, Williams hit .465 with eight doubles, four triples, four home runs, 33 stolen bases and 33 runs scored in 21 games during his senior season.
The Nationals capped the day by selecting right-handed pitcher Cooper Harris out of Flower Mound High School (Texas) in the fourth round. Harris posted a 0.49 ERA (5 ER/70.1 IP) with 94 strikeouts, 16 walks and just 28 hits allowed during his senior season. A Second-Team High School All-American according to Baseball America, Harris is the No. 76 draft prospect according to MLBPipeline.com and the No. 83 prospect, per Baseball America.