The Cincinnati Reds used the back end of the 2026 MLB Draft to add a name that stands out for more than one reason: Northwestern dual-sport athlete Jack Lausch, taken in the 17th round.
Lausch is widely known for what he did on the football field, where he was Northwestern’s starting quarterback during the 2024 season. But baseball has been part of his game too. He played two seasons for the Wildcats, then turned in a big 2026 campaign that put his bat on the radar.
At 6-foot-2, Lausch hit .312 with a 1.047 OPS, along with 16 home runs and 41 RBI. For a player who split his college profile between two sports, those numbers made for an eye-catching season and showed real pop in his second year with Northwestern.
The Reds’ draft class started with Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron in the first round, and by the time the first day wrapped up, amateur scouting director Joe Katuska was pleased with how the board fell.
“Every scouting department is going to tell you they crushed it, but we feel really good about what we did -- the work we did coming into it, how we had the board lined up and what ended up happening today," Katuska told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. "We’re really happy with how it played out.”
Cincinnati followed that up in the second round by taking Virginia shortstop Eric Becker, who hit .348 with a 1.048 OPS across three college seasons. Katuska pointed to Becker’s all-around game and his ability to hit.
"He’s a very well-rounded baseball player," Katuska said. "I think people sleep on some of his tools a little bit because of how even it is across the board, but he can really hit.”
While the draft added fresh talent to the organization, Elly De La Cruz kept making history in the big leagues. Through his first 495 career games, he has piled up at least 75 home runs and 150 stolen bases, making him just the second player in MLB history to hit both marks within his first 500 games. The only other player to do it was Reds Hall of Famer Eric Davis, who had 107 home runs and 190 stolen bases through his first 500 games.
De La Cruz also entered Sunday’s game against the Chicago Cubs needing one more extra-base hit to reach 200 for his career.
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