Junior left-handed pitcher Mason Edwards will be trading the cardinal red and gold for kelly green and yellow after being selected by the Athletics in the second round of the 2026 MLB amateur draft.
Designated hitter Adrian Lopez, a sophomore, will also remain in California. The power hitter was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 10th round.
The Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies selected sophomore Grant Govel and redshirt junior Adam Troy, both pitchers, in the 16th and 17th rounds, respectively.
As the 47th overall pick, Edwards is the highest-chosen Trojan since right-handed pitcher Brad Boxberger was selected 43rd overall in the 2009 draft. Boxberger played for seven teams in his 12-year career, including the Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, and Chicago Cubs. An All-Star in 2015, Boxberger finished his career with a 31-38 record, a 3.50 ERA over 477.2 innings, and 581 strikeouts.
Edwards led Division I baseball with 169 strikeouts and maintained a 2.07 ERA in 2026. He was instrumental to the Trojans’ success this past season, which ended in June with a loss to the UNC Tar Heels during the Super Regionals round of the NCAA tournament.
In his three years and 161.2 innings pitched with USC, the first-team All-American had a 12-3 record and 3.73 ERA, accumulating 257 strikeouts along the way. Edwards won the 2026 Big Ten Pitcher of the Year for his performance this past season. He was also a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the nation’s top amateur player.
Three of Edwards’ teammates were selected on the second day of the draft. During his two-year tenure at USC, Lopez carried a .277 batting average, with 89 hits and 22 home runs. He led the team with 19 home runs as he blossomed offensively during the 2026 season. Lopez entered the transfer portal at the end of the season but did not join a new program before being drafted.
After a tumultuous 2025, Grant Grovel had a resurgent 2026 season, collecting 10 wins in 98.2 innings as USC’s Saturday starter. Govel also held a 2.93 ERA and struck out 96 batters.
Troy, in his only season as a Trojan, collected seven saves across 25.2 innings. Including his two years at Pepperdine, Troy finished with a career 6.04 ERA across 71 games.
Each team’s opportunity to make a pick, also known as a “slot”, is assigned a dollar value from the bonus pool that can only be exceeded if the team spends less on another slot, according to MLB draft rules.
Edwards’ slot value is $2,131,300. Lopez’s slot value is $193,700. Slots after the 10th round are not eligible for bonus pool money.
The MLB draft has been the subject of some controversy as of late. As part of their collective bargaining agreement negotiations with the MLB Players’ Association, MLB has proposed extensive changes to the draft. This would limit eligibility to college and junior college students over the age of 20, reduce the bonus pool to $200 million and reduce the number of rounds from 20 to 12.
The MLBPA has referred to the proposal as “flat out bad for baseball, [changes] that would cripple the next generation of players and damage the future of our game.” Even Brian Barber, the Philadelphia Phillies’ amateur scouting director, has been vocal in his criticism of the league’s proposal.
The current collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1, 2026. Should the two sides not reach an agreement by then, the league is expected to lock out the players, a move that could result in a loss of games in 2027.
USC Athletics did not respond to Annenberg Media’s request for comment before publication.