The Washington Nationals selected collegiate second baseman Chris Hacopian out of Texas A&M University with the No. 11 overall pick in 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 announcement.
Hacopian, 21, 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 safely in 38 of the 42.
The Potomac, Md., native was recently featured on MLB Network ahead of the 2026 First-Year Player Draft.
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. He was named Second-Team All-Big Ten in 2025, and, following his freshman season in 2024, was named a Second-Team Freshman All-American (D1Baseball, Baseball America, Perfect Game) and Second-Team All-Big Ten.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound second baseman is the No. 11 prospect in the 2026 MLB First-Year Player Draft according to Baseball America. He was named to the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List, Baseball America’s Preseason College Player of the Year Watch List and was named a Second-Team All-American (D1Baseball, NCBWA, Perfect Game) and a Third-Team All-American (Baseball America) prior to the 2026 season.
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.