(Cover photo: Aaron Fitt/D1 Baseball)

The 2025 MLB Draft is fast approaching. The draft will be 20 rounds over 3 days and starts on Sunday, July 13.

It will be a part of the MLB All Star Game festivities in Atlanta with the first 3 rounds on Sunday, July 13, starting at 5:00 p.m. (CDT) and can be seen on both the MLB Network and ESPN. Rounds 4-20 will begin on Monday, July 14, at 10:30 a.m. and will be streamed on MLB.com.

Just like previous years, the Sooner State will be well represented and this year it should be represented early. A total of 3 Sooner State alums are expected to go no later than the first 15 pick with 2 of them possibly going in the top 5 with some “experts” projecting either of those 2 going number 1.

Leading up the the draft, we will take a look at a total of 10 players projected to go in the draft from the state of Oklahoma, but expect more names from the Sooner State to be called over the 2 days. (Caden Powell was not talked about by anyone last year and he was taken in the 6th round by the Astros.)

Today’s player: Kyson Witherspoon

---

To say that Kyson Witherspoon lived up to expectations in 2025 for OU would be an understatement. “K-Bone” exceeded them. He was 10-4 in 16 starts for the Sooners with a 2.65 ERA. He gave up only 73 hits in 95 IP with. Witherspoon averaged over 9 K/Game with 124 total on the season against only 23 walks.

The accolades came in droves to Witherspoon: 1st Team All American with Baseball America, D1 Baseball, NCBWA, and Perfect Game; 2nd Team All American by ABCA; Golden Spikes Semifinalist; All SEC 1st Team; 2 time SEC Pitcher of the Week just to name a few.

It is safe to say that Witherspoon had the best season a Sooner has had on the mound in several years.

---

Prospect Rankings

*Prospect Ranking: MLB Top 250 (MLB), ESPN Top 150 (ESPN), Keith Law Top 100 (Law)

• MLB: 10
• ESPN: 10
• Law: 9

---

Scouting Grades Reports

*When looking at the scouting grades, MLB uses a “20-80” system: 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average, 70-80 is well above average.

MLB Pipeline

Scouting grades: Fastball: 65 | Curveball: 60 | Slider: 60 | Cutter: 60 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 55

Scouts have followed the Witherspoon twins since high school, with the Diamondbacks trying to sign Malachi to an over-slot bonus as a 12th-rounder in 2022. Though they have similar stuff, Kyson since has surpassed him as a prospect after performing significantly better in their time at Northwest Florida State JC and Oklahoma. He has much more of a starter look and should be the first college right-hander drafted in 2025.

Witherspoon has swing-and-miss stuff, starting with a mid-90s fastball that peaks at 99 mph and stands out more for its power than its modest life. His mid-80s slider can touch 91 mph while featuring both horizontal action and depth, and he’ll turn it into an upper-80s cutter that he uses just as often. He’s showing more consistency with his low-80s downer curveball, giving him another plus offering, while his upper-80s changeup is a work in progress that gets too firm but will show interesting fade at times.

Witherspoon uses a compact arm action to generate quality stuff with little effort. His athleticism and mechanics have translated into improved control and command this spring, and better location has made it easier for him to get hitters to chase outside of the strike zone. He has all of the ingredients to become a frontline starter.

Keith Law

Scouting Report

Bats: R, Throws: R

Witherspoon was dominant in his second year with the Sooners after he spent a year in junior college, cutting his walk rate almost in half even though he’s gained about a full mph on his heater since last year. Witherspoon will hold 95-97 deep into games, topping out at 99, with a five-pitch mix that includes a slider and cutter that run into each other, along with a 55 changeup that he needs to use more often. He has such good arm speed on that last pitch that it looks like it should be a real weapon for him, especially against lefties, but he prefers to go to the cutter against them despite worse results. His arm action is very short — after separation, he barely brings his pitching hand down, tapping an imaginary button behind him with the ball before he begins moving forward — which is the trend right now but in his case has produced plus control. He looks very athletic and should be able to make adjustments to the delivery to get him to a more consistent release point out front, which should boost the command, especially on those two breaking pitches, which he can leave up in the zone. There’s so much to work with here, and a strong foundation of arm strength and strikes, with No. 2 starter upside if he gets the right development help. He won’t turn 21 until a month after the draft, just like his twin brother Malachi (what a strange coincidence), who has similar velocity and a 55 slider, but doesn’t throw enough strikes to start because he doesn’t repeat his longer arm stroke.

---

Outlook

At any level of baseball, it is a great feeling when you have a certain starting pitcher that you have a great chance of winning that game he’s on the bump. That’s what OU had in 2025 with Kyson Witherspoon. As the numbers and accoladed show, he was that good this past season.

Alas, pro scouts only consider that a fraction of the equation. They want to look at the “stuff” that a pitcher has and fortunately for Kyson, he has that. Everyone wants to talk about the fastball that sits in the mid to upper 90s and they should, but any astute baseball fan will tell you, Witherspoon has several plus pitches in his arsenal. His slider, curve ball, and cutter all are plus and play off his fastball well. Also, his 124 strikeouts to only 23 walks this season show he has control as well.

Witherspoon is in a good spot in that he has 3+ years of post high school baseball and is still only 20 years old. He has both experience and youth on his side that MLB teams love.

Along with Ethan Holliday and Eli Willits, Witherspoon will be one of three players from the Sooner State that will hear his name called on Sunday and it should be relatively early. Kyson is the top collegiate RHP in this draft class (a high schooler from California is rated higher) and it is a good chance he’ll go in the top 13 if not in the top 10. (Read a report today that he could go as high as #4 to Colorado as the Rockies like him and the pitcher from Florida State.)

---

Show your support for Sooner State Baseball Report by clicking the link below and purchasing some SSBR swag.

Official Sooner State Baseball Report Merch

Like this content? Don’t miss any posts. Enter your email in the box below and have Sooner State Baseball Report content delivered right to your inbox.