'We did it, bro!': High school SS Ebel joins brother in Brewers system as No. 25 pick

MILWAUKEE – The Brewers selected Corona (Calif.) High School shortstop Trey Ebel with the No. 25 pick in the first round of the MLB Draft on Saturday. If that name sounds a little familiar, it’s because Milwaukee also called that surname last year.

Ebel, 17, is the son of Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel and the younger brother of Brady Ebel, who was drafted by the Brewers No. 32 overall last year, signed for $2.75 million and has played at the Class A level in 2025 and all of 2026 thus far.

Brady was on the field with the Wilson Warbirds on Saturday afternoon, watching a live feed of the Draft on the scoreboard of the Class A affiliate’s brand new stadium, when MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the Brewers’ pick. A moment later, the brothers connected via FaceTime to share an unforgettable moment.

“We’re going to play together, man!” Brady said. “Oh my God. Look at you, man. Wow. We did it, bro!”

Suddenly, he was overcome with emotion.

“I’m excited, man,” Brady said.

The entire family felt that way.

“My mom came up to me and said, ‘Watch this video,’” Trey said. “It broke me down, seeing him cry. All the years of us competing against each other and trying to make each other better. Then it happened, and to see his reaction, it was beautiful.”

Trey Ebel ranked 107th on MLB Pipeline’s pre-Draft rankings, but the Brewers have long valued him much higher among this year’s class of eligible players. Both Ebel brothers played for years on the Brewers’ development teams in California and Florida, and both have played at American Family Field a handful of times. Trey played there during last year’s pre-Draft workout when the Brewers were considering drafting Brady.

“Trey owned it, and he did it when he was 16,” said Brewers special assistant Corey Rodriguez, who helps run the team’s Area Code teams and Fall teams, which have been stocked with young Draft hopefuls over the years from Christian Yelich to Brice Turang. “He’s a winning player. He’s different from Brady in terms of how he gets to it, but he gets there. He’s always been a hit collector.”

Brady is regarded as the more fluid and rhythmic player on the field of the two brothers. Trey is more quick-twitch. But he’s grown over the past year or so in height and also in strength while working with the same trainer who has helped Turang transform into an offensive threat.

“They have different personalities, the brothers. But they root for each other,” Rodriguez said. “They’re great like that. There’s a great competitiveness that they have, but I don’t think it’s a rivalry. There’s a desire to get to the best versions of themselves.”

That much is obvious as Trey discussed the relationship.

“In my mind, I want to catch up to him and be better than him,” Trey said. “That’s just the brotherly love I have for him. He knows I’m coming for him.”

Turang is also from Corona, though he went to Santiago High School. He worked out with Trey five days a week last winter, and the two were exchanging texts Saturday between games of the Brewers’ doubleheader in Pittsburgh.

“Just learning from a guy like that, who is turning himself into a superstar,” Trey said. “He would take me out to lunch, and we talked nothing but baseball for 3-4 hours. He would come to our practices at Corona and hit with me. We would talk until it got dark.”

Trey batted .417/.496/.796 with 10 doubles, two triples, nine home runs and 47 RBIs in 31 games as a senior at Corona High School in 2026. He has a scholarship offer to Texas A&M, but made clear he intends to sign, saying, “I’m fully a Brewer.”

Once that’s official, the Ebels will bid to become the first siblings to play together in the Majors with the Brewers, who had one duo come close. Infielder Steve Kiefer played parts of three seasons with Milwaukee from 1986-88 and was in the midst of his best season in ‘87 when the Brewers drafted his brother Mark, a right-handed pitcher. By the time Mark made it to the Majors in 1993 for the first of four big league seasons with the Brewers, his brother had retired.

They are just one example of brothers who played in the system at the same time – Ryan and Steve Braun and Jonathan and David Lucroy are among the notables. But none ever made it together in the big leagues with the Brewers. The Milwaukee Braves had two sets of siblings at the same time: Hank and Tommie Aaron and Frank and Joe Torre.

“Growing up, the younger brother always got compared to Brady,” Trey said. “Now, being on the same team with him, I know it’s going to come again. But I control what I can control. I’m my own guy. …

“I don’t feel like I need to compete with him. If anyone wants to compare him to me, that doesn’t really matter. I’m focused on myself. I’m ready to go.”