Six Sun Devils to Appear in MLB Draft Combine

PHOENIX -- The 2025 MLB Draft Combine is being held right in the backyard of Sun Devil Baseball and Arizona State is among the most well-represented teams in the field, with events getting underway on Tuesday, June 17.

Major League Baseball and USA Baseball announced the list of participating draft-eligible players, as well as a detailed schedule of events, for the 2025 MLB Draft Combine, which will take place from June 17th-21st at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, for a third consecutive year. The Combine will feature 322 Draft prospects, including 180 collegiate players and 142 high school athletes, as well as a decorated group of former Major League players and coaches, members of Club baseball operations departments, scouting directors and other Club personnel.

Six Sun Devils will take part in the action, matching Tennessee with the largest contingent in the field. ASU is represented by middle infielder Kyle Walker, outfielders Brandon Compton, Isaiah Jackson and Kien Vu and pitchers Jack Martinez and Ben Jacobs. For more details on the seasons of those six players, please see the bottom of this release.

The Combine will provide an opportunity for players to participate in a series of on-field, medical and performance assessments as well as educational programming designed to prepare them for careers in professional baseball. All players will have the opportunity to participate in a pro-style showcase workout, as well as strength and performance assessments. Additionally, high school players will have the option to participate in games against other high school Combine attendees.

2025 MLB DRAFT COMBINE MEDIA SCHEDULE

DATE	TIME	EVENT
Tues., 6/17	9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.	On-field Workouts
	9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.	MLB Network Showcase
	6:00 p.m.	High School Game
Wed., 6/18	9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.	On-field Workouts
Thurs., 6/19	8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.	Strength and Conditioning

As part of the Combine experience, attendees will benefit from the opportunity to interview and interact directly with Major League Club general managers and scouting directors, as well as an enhanced medical evaluation process.  Participants at the MLB Draft Combine will also have opportunities to be featured on MLB and USA Baseball social media channels, in addition to receiving personal branding training and access to real-time content and custom video for their own platforms.

In addition to the Draft prospects, 2025 Hall of Fame inductee and Special Advisor to Commissioner Manfred CC Sabathia, two-time All-Star Michael Bourn, former Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates hitting coach Rick Eckstein; two-time All-Star and 2003 World Series Champion Brad Penny, former Baltimore Orioles manager Dave Trembley, and former Major Leaguers Bruce Chen, Courtney Duncan, Jeff Manto and Jeff Reboulet will be on-field to offer instruction.

The Draft Combine is set to feature 37 athletes who have been a part of Major League Baseball’s developmental programming including the DREAM Series, Breakthrough Series, Hank Aaron Invitational, Nike Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities Program (RBI), States Play Invitational and the HBCU Swingman Classic Presented by T-Mobile & Powered by the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation. Several of these athletes will be a part of MLB Network’s live coverage of the event on June 17th.

MLB Network will have six hours of exclusive coverage live from Chase Field on Tuesday, June 17th, beginning at 12 p.m. ET. MLB Network’s stable of personalities, including Greg Amsinger, Alex Avila, Lance Brozdowski, Jared Carrabis, Jim Callis, Al Leiter, Mike Lowell, Dan O’Dowd, Harold Reynolds, and Buck Showalter, will provide analysis and breakdowns as the players undergo their pro-style showcase workout. Former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton will also be on-site and contribute to MLB Network’s Combine coverage for the first time. In addition, Sabathia, three-time All-Star and MLB Network analyst Sean Casey and 12-time All-Star and two-time World Series Champion Manny Ramirez will be on-site to watch their sons participate in the Draft Combine and are expected to contribute to the coverage. The six hours of coverage on Tuesday will also stream on MLB.com, MLB.TV and in the MLB App.

The 2025 MLB Draft is planned for July 13th-14th during All-Star Week in Atlanta. The Draft will feature 20 rounds across the two days. The opening night of the Draft, which will feature 105 picks in total, will include the first three rounds, compensatory rounds, competitive balance rounds and prospect promotion incentive rounds at the Coca-Cola Roxy in The Battery Atlanta.

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Kyle Walker
Redshirt Junior – Infielder
5-9 – 185 – R/R
Harvey, La. /// Grambling

• Kyle Walker assumed duties at second base this season after a very productive undergraduate campaign at Grambling, earning Second Team All-Big 12 recognition in the process and ABCA All-West Region First Team honors as a second baseman.
• His 43.66 offensive runs produced in the regular season were Top-100 in the nation while his 8.82 defensive runs saved is 39th among D1 second basemen.
• Walker was rated as the No. 202 hitter in the nation by wRCE by 64Analytics at the end of the season.
• He had his team-best 19-game hitting streak snapped in the finale against Arizona, which remains the longest for a Sun Devil this season.. He had multiple hits in 11 games during that streak.
• Walker finished third on the team in average at .352 - a notable achievement as he was batting .083 on Feb. 28 and still below the Mendoza line as of March 7.
• Since moving into the leadoff spot in the second game against TCU on March 15 (where he has played every game since), Walker bat .396 on 63-of-159 hitting with a .498 OBP and team-leading 55 runs scored to conclude the regular season
• Since moving to the leadoff spot on March 15th against TCU, Kyle Walker recorded a hit to start the game in 15 games in the regular season. To take that a step further, there were been eight times he has recorded a hit on the very FIRST PITCH of the game.
• Walker's .489 career OBP is 5th among active D1 players that have played their whole careers at the D1 level and his .373 career average is 14th among those active players. He also ranks 9th among active D1 players in runs scored (191).
• Walker had 69 runs scored in the regular season, which was first in the Big and 19th nationally - 4th among Power Four players.
• Walker led the team with 110 defensive assists while fielding an exceptional .981 in the regular season. The 110 assists were good for 16th in the Big 12 in the regular season.
• Among 38 Big 12 players with at least 50 defensive assists in the regular season, Walker's .981 fielding percentage ranks fourth.
• He successfully advanced runners at a .604 clip (61-of-101) in the regular season
• Walker participated in the 2024 MLB Draft Combine and represented the U.S. Collegiate National Team during the summer, competing in the International Friendship Series against Chinese Taipei in Cary, N.C.
• As a redshirt sophomore in 2024, led Grambling State with a career-best .381 batting average, 11 home runs, 77 hits, and 71 runs scored. He recorded 114 defensive assists and turned 26 double plays in 2024
• Walker concluded his two-year career at Grambling State with a .376 batting average, .500 on-base percentage, 13 home runs, 135 hits, 70 RBIs, and 121 runs scored
• Walker began his Grambling State career in 2023 after redshirting his freshman year at Louisiana Tech, starting at second base and batted .372 with 2 home runs, 58 hits, and 50 runs scored in his debut season at Grambling.

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Kien Vu
Junior – Outfielder
5-11 – 185 – L/L
San Diego, Calif. /// Point Loma HS

• Kien Vu earned All-Big 12 Honorable mention honors after yet another impressive season, despite missing the majority of March and early April with an ankle injury
• Vu was second on the team with a .354 average on the season with 10 homers and 12 doubles and a team best .601 slugging percentage.
• Vu was ranked as the No. 258 overall hitter in the nation by wRCE by 64Analytics and earned ABCA Second Team All-West Region honors
• He also did a ton of damage on the basepaths, where he was second on the team with 21 stolen bases (on 25 attempts). He broke ASU's single game school record with six stolen bases against Long Beach State on 4/30
• He became the first Sun Devil with 20 stolen bases in a season since Johnny Sewald (21) in 2015.
• He ranked fourth in the Big 12 with his .46 stolen bases per game in the regular season.
• Vu reached base at a .458 clip on the year and was second on the team in advancing runners at a .596 clip (56-of-94).
• Vu had arguably his best week of the season against UNLV and Gonzaga, where he posted a .500 average (7-of-14) with four home runs, three doubles, four walks and nine RBIs all in the leadoff spot for the Sun Devils.
• Last season, Vu became the 133rd All-American in Sun Devil Baseball history after posting a .413 average over 47 games and 35 starts – the highest average in the Pac-12 and sixth in the country. He was second in the country in batting average on balls in play at .511
• Vu was selected as a NCBWA Preseason All-American (2nd Team Outfielder), D1Baseball's #14 Outfielder, D1Baseball's #21 Big 12 2025 MLB Draft Prospect and an All-Big 12 Preseason Team (Outfielder).
• In the month of Apri last year, Vu posted a .439 average to lead the Sun Devils, boasting a gaudy .848 slugging percentage that was 100 points higher than any of his teammates. He had seven homers, four doubles and a triple while driving in 26 runs - 12 more than any other Sun Devil for the month. His efforts garnered him finalist consideration for the NCBWA Hitter of the Month
• His .793 slugging percentage (14 homers, 11 doubles, two triples) was easily tops on the team while he also led the squad with 12 stolen bases on 13 chances. He reached base at a .497 clip on the year
• The .793 slugging percentage was 18th nationally and second in the Pac-12 and his .497 OBP was second in the league and 29th in the country... The .793 slugging percentage was the highest at ASU since the 1998 season
• His 56 RBIs were second on the squad and eighth in the Pac-12 despite having over 20 fewer at-bats than the team's eight AB leaders and nearly 64 fewer AB's than the next closest player in front of him in the conference
• He led the Pac-12 in league-only games with a .418 average and .916 slugging percentage and his 31 RBIs in Pac-12 games were fifth in the league.
  
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Isaiah Jackson
Junior – Outfielder
6-3 – 220 – L/R
Vail, Ariz. /// Cienega HS

• Isaiah Jackson earned All-Big 12 first team honors this season - the first conference first team accolades of his career – and was named to the ABCA All-West Region second team.
• Jackson was rated the No. 125 overall hitter in the nation by wRCE according to 64Analytics
• Jackson steadily put up hits in all but 14 of Arizona State's 60 games this season and recorded new career highs in just about every offensive category.
• Jackson recorded an RBI in 36 of the teams' 58 games and had 12 homers in the last 17 games of the year
• He posted a career-high .310 average with 31 extra-base hits (11 doubles, 2 triples, 18 homers).
• His 18 homers were tied for 5th in the Big 12 and 57th nationally and more than doubled his previous season high of 8. His 11 doubles were also a career high, as are his two triples.
• He had 68 overall RBIs this season, 13 more than any other player on the team and easily surpassing his previous career high of 31. In fact, he had just 59 TOTAL RBIs in his career entering the year.
• His 32 two-out RBIs were 10 more than any other player on the roster.
• Jackson led the Big 12 with his 39 RBIs in conference-only games this season, three more than second place. His 68 total RBIs were tied for third in the league and 53 in the nation – Top-15 among Power Four conference players
• Jackson was among ASU's best hitters with a runner in scoring position, posting a 31-for-81 (.383) mark in the category.
• Jackson reached on 22 of his 47 leadoff opportunities (.468) on the season, good for second on the team.
• Jackson had no errors on 140 opportunities in the field this season - one of only two eligible Big 12 players with no errors on the season. He ranked 32nd among all D1 centerfielders with his 7.42 defensive runs saved in the regular season.
• Jackson continued showing exceptional defensive skills a year ago, being named the Pac-12 All-Defensive team for the second straight year while adding a career best 31 RBIs and eight homers. Jackson bat .263 on the year but reached base at a .345 clip thanks to 18 walks and five HBPs.
• A year ago, Jackson was exceptional in the last 13 games of the regular season, batting .375 on 15-of-40 hitting.
• Jackson was third on the team in productive outs, advancing runners with an out 17 times.
• The sophomore recorded SportsCenter's No. 1 play against UCLA with his incredible leaping grab over the wall in right center field to rob a three-run homer from the Bruins, becoming a viral sensation overnight with several million views of the catch over multiple platforms.
• Jackson's eight putouts in center field in the USC finale were tied with Hunter Bishop (2019) for the second-most for an ASU outfielder since 1998 behind Joe Lampe's nine in 2021. Coincidentally, all three of those games have taken place against USC.
• Jackson homered in the first two games of the season, as did teammate Jacob Tobias, joining a small list of Sun Devils to do so since 1998, including Spencer Torkelson (2020), Riccio Torrez (2011) and Jason Kipnis (2008)

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Brandon Compton
Redshirt Sophomore – Outfielder
6-1 – 225 – L/L
Buckeye, Ariz. /// Buckeye HS

• Brandon Compton ranked 9th in the Big 12 with 38 walks in the regular season, finishing with a team-leading 40 and contributing to his .379 OBP over his .271 average.
• He had five extra base hits in the last six games of the regular season - 3 homers and 2 doubles - and was named to the All-Big 12 honorable mention team.
• Compton had 9 homers, 19 doubles and 54 RBIs on the season - ranking 5th in the Big 12 in doubles and third on the team in RBIs in the regular season.
• Compton posted a sneaky 10-for-11 tally on stolen bases this year.
• Compton was named the Big 12 Player of the Week after an opening weekend in which he bat .461 on 6-of-13 hitting with nine RBIs (second in the league) and eight runs scored (first). He drew five walks while striking out just twice and had the go-ahead walk-off two-RBI double in ASU's Saturday win over Ohio State and the two-RBI go-ahead single in the fifth inning against Austin Peay.
• Compton became the 37th Freshman All-American in program history after becoming the fourth Sun Devil to be named Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year last year.
• He went on to be named an All-Star in the Cape Cod League for Cotuit, where he bat .331 with six homers and 30 RBIs.
• Compton was named an NCBWA Preseason All-American (1st Team Designated Hitter), 2025 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List member, D1Baseball's #13 Outfielder and D1Baseball #29 2025 MLB Draft Prospect/#5 Big 12 entering the year.
• He was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year after he led Pac-12 freshmen in homers (14), doubles (16), average (.354), slugging (.661), OBP (.427) and RBIs (51). He was 11th overall in doubles, 10th in homers, seventh in average, fifth in slugging, 11th in OBP and 14th in RBI.
• He was 35th among all players nationally in batting average on balls in play (.438)
• His .354 batting average was 10th among all D1 freshmen and third among Power Five Freshmen and his 14 homers were eighth among all freshmen nationally
• The youngster was third on the team with his .354 average last season. His .375 mark (24-of-64) with runners in scoring position was second on the team.
• 27 of his 51 RBIs came with two outs, leading the team in the category and having five more than any other player.
• Compton recorded three grand slams on the season, tied for the second most in program history and just one shy of the ASU single season record.
• His 1.089 OPS was third on the squad and fourth in the Pac-12 while his .307 ISO Slugging (Slugging Minus Average) was fifth the Pac-12.
• Compton was easily ASU's best hitter with two outs this season, recording a .438 average on 28-of-64 chances, leading the team in average and hits in the scenario.
• He was responsible for the go-ahead grand slam in the series finale against Ohio State that proved to be the difference in the 10-8 ballgame. He also had a huge game-tying RBI single in the eighth inning of ASU's eventual walk-off win over Oregon. He had the go-ahead two-run homer against Utah Valley as well.

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Ben Jacobs
Junior – Left-Handed Pitcher
6-1 – 195 – L/L
Huntington Beach, Calif. /// UCLA

• Ben Jacobs earned All-Big 12 second team honors and was rated the No. 34 pitcher in the nation by wRAE according to 64Analytics
• Jacobs was 2nd in the Big 12 and 10th nationally with his 12.91 K/9 percentage while his 120 total strikeouts were 1st in the league and 10th in the country.
• His 120 strikeouts are the most since the 209 season when Mike Leake had 162 and Josh Spence had 125. It is the fifth-most at ASU since the 1998 season.
• Jacobs recorded double digit strikeouts in three straight starts (13, 11, 10) from April 17 to May 2 - the first Sun Devil to accomplish that feat since Mike Leake in 2009. He has 8 or more strikeouts in five straight games.
• Jacobs had five games this season with double digit strikeouts, including a new career best 13 with 0 walks in his 6.0 inning victory over Texas Tech.
• While he had a 4.95 ERA overall, his 2.80 SIERA - which accounts for factors outside the pitcher's control - was the third-best tally in the Big 12 and the 47th best total in the country.
•  Jacobs stranded 72.9 percent of his baserunners in the regular season - the 13th-best total in the Big 12. His 4.70 xFIP tally in 6th in the Big 12.
• Jacobs threw his fast ball for a strike 69.5 percent of the time in the regular season - the 21st best total in the country.
• Jacobs won Big 12 Pitcher of the Week after he threw a perfect game thorugh 17 batters in his Friday night victory against Gonzaga, striking out six with no walks and just one hit allowed in his 6.0 innings - ASU's first quality start of the year
• He cleaned up on the Preseason honors as he was named a D1Baseball Preseason All-American (3rd Team Starting Pitcher), Perfect Game Preseason All-American (2nd Team Starting Pitcher), NCBWA Preseason All-American (2nd Team Starting Pitcher), 2025 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List member, D1Baseball's #13 Starting Pitcher, D1Baseball's #28 2025 MLB Draft Prospect/#4 Big 12, All-Big 12 Preseason Team (Starting Pitcher) and Prospects Live No. 2 left-handed pitching prospect for the 2025 MLB Draft.
•  He was named the the U.S. Collegiate National Team in the summer, becoming the 43rd Sun Devil to accomplish the feat. He Recorded action on the mound in the International Friendship Series…Completed the series with a 2.08 ERA and seven strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work … Finished with a 1-0 overall record…Yielded just two hits in a weather-shortened 3-2 win over Chinese Taipei in Cary, N.C., on June 30.
• Jacobs evolved into ASU's ace as last season progressed, earning Pac-12 Honorable Mention honors.
• He also tossed 5.0 scoreless innings for Cotuit in the Cape Cod League with eight strikeouts over 5.0 innings
• Jacobs finished his debut season with the Devils with a 4.75 ERA and a team-best seven wins on the season, striking out 102 over 66.1 innings with a sub-.250 average against
• The 102 strikeouts were 43rd nationally overall and 33rd following the end of the conference tournament season • His 13.84 K/9 was 11th nationally and tops in the Pac-12 and his seven wins were third in the league
• Jacobs struck out a career-best 11 hitters in his Friday night win over USC, earning a quality start with a career-best 6.1 innings of work while allowing just a single run. He added a second quality start in 6.0 scoreless innings against Stanford with nine strikeouts.

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Jack Martinez
Senior – Right-Handed Pitcher
6-4 – 215 – R/R
Corpus Christi, Texas /// Louisiana

• Senior Jack Martinez gave ASU much-needed longevity in his starts this season, tossing a team-best 75.2 innings in the regular season.
• While Martinez had a 4.44 ERA in the regular season, his 2.44 SIERA in the regular season - which accounts for runs not in the pitcher's control – was second-lowest in the Big 12 and 19th-lowest in the nation. His 4.65 xFIP was 5th-best in the Big 12
• Martinez was ranked as the No. 32 pitcher in the country based at wRAE according to 64 analytics
• Among D1 pitchers with 250+ changeups thrown in the regular season, His 47.1 whiff percentage is 20th in the country and his 70.9 strike percentage on the pitch is 6th.
• He was second the Big 12 with 110 strikeouts - good for 23rd in the nation - and his 12.80 K/9 was 3rd in the league and 32th in the country. Five times this season did Martinez recorded double-digit strikeouts, including three of his last five starts.
• His 110 strikeouts were the eighth-most at ASU since the 1998 season.
• His 3.48 strikeout to walk ratio was 8th in the Big 12 in the regular season his 1.22 WHIP  7 was 9th in the league.
• He was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week after the Gonzaga series where he posted a no-hitter through 6.2 innings en route to a 10 strikeout, two walk, one hit performance with no runs allowed.
• Martinez posted a 4.40 ERA for Louisiana in 2024 as helped the Ragin' Cajuns to the Sun Belt Conference regular season title and a spot in the NCAA Baseball Tournament where it advanced to the Regional Final against eventual College World Series runnerup Texas A&M
• He went a combined 10-1 on the mound in 38 career appearances at Division III Trinity University (Texas) and was named first-team All-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, first-team D3baseball.com All-Region and second-team ABCA Second Team All-Region
• He led a stellar pitching staff with a 2.12 earned run average in 2023, finishing the year with a 6-0 record and six saves as he recorded a team-best 81 strikeouts in 51.0 innings of work, holding opponents to a .163 batting average. He finished third among DIII players in strikeouts per nine innings (14.29).