This time of year is often exciting for high school and college baseball players across the country, who collectively hold their breaths for the next few days in anticipation of being drafted and taking one massive step toward fulfilling a childhood dream: playing Major League Baseball.

Just as important as the prospects who get picked, however, are the programs that produce them, and over the past few seasons, Maryland baseball has been churning out professional talents at a factory rate. Last season alone, the Terps saw seven members of their 2023 squad get selected, which was the sixth-greatest tally in college baseball. The headliner of that class was Matt Shaw, who became the highest-drafted player in program history after being taken 13th overall by the Chicago Cubs.

Matching some of those historic program figures will be practically impossible this time around. Nevertheless, there are a couple of current Terps–and even a few incoming freshmen–who may be set to get their shot with a big-league organization in the coming days.

With just hours to go until the picks start flowing in at 7 p.m. EST this Sunday, let’s look at which Terps have the best odds of hearing their names called between now and Tuesday.

Eddie Hacopian (Rising SR, INF/UTL)

While Hacopian can play practically anywhere on the field, his 6 ft. 3 in. frame and nifty glove work saw him most commonly feature at 1B for the Terps over the past two seasons. From an offensive standpoint, however, Hacopian doesn’t profile as your typical power-hitting first baseman.

Hacopian began his collegiate career with Cypress College in Southern California, where he earned a Divison I move thanks to a freshman campaign that saw him hit .387. Despite the jump, Hacopian has continued his offensive trends since arriving in College Park by hitting .328 and .377 during his sophomore and junior seasons respectively.

Not only does Hacopian get hits and get on base at an extremely efficient clip, but he also does so while hardly striking out, a trait that is becoming increasingly rare to find in the modern game. In his 220 at-bats this season Hacopian K’d just 25 times which was good for an 11.4% strikeout rate.

One of the lone knocks on Hacopian’s profile is his age, being that he’s nearly 23. It’s unknown just how much of an effect this will have on his draft stock, but nevertheless, the Big Ten first-teamer has a very solid chance of hearing his name called at some point over the next three days.

In the event that Hacopian isn’t selected or chooses not to sign, he still has remaining NCAA eligibility and can return to Maryland.

Elijah Lambros (Rising SR, OF)

On paper, Lambros doesn’t necessarily pop out as a potential draftee. This past season the 21-year-old outfielder slashed a modest .267/.373/.439, while hitting just six home runs. Those numbers—as well as some of Lambros’ other counting stats—were all down from an impressive sophomore campaign.

With that being said, this past season’s numbers don’t paint a full picture of Lambros’ prospect profile.

At 6 ft. 2 in. with immense closing speed and agility, Lambros certainly has the defensive tools that allow him to project as a big-league outfielder. In his two seasons with the Terps thus far, Lambros also has more outfield assists (4) than errors (3).

Alongside these defensive tools is durability that’s seen Lambros miss just one of Maryland’s 119 games over the past two seasons.

Even without gaudy offensive numbers, Lambros’ raw tools continue to garner some buzz, just as they did when he was coming out of high school. Lambros ultimately went undrafted in 2021 but as the top-ranked outfielder from Virginia in his class (and the state’s seventh-ranked player overall), some considered him to have draft potential back then.

Like Hacopian, Lambros also has college eligibility in the event that he’s not drafted, or chooses not to sign.

Jake Yeager (Incoming FR, RHP/1B; Odenton, MD)

While Yeager offers two-way capabilities, the 2023-24 Gatorade Maryland Baseball Player of the Year likely projects as a pitcher. As stated in Gatorade’s press release announcing the honor, “Yeager compiled a 5-3 record on the mound with a 1.25 ERA, recording 84 strikeouts in 56 innings of work.”

Those numbers helped Yeager stand out as the ace of an Archbishop Spalding rotation that included four NCAA Divison I commits, according to the Baltimore Sun. The Sun also named Yeager as its Maryland Player of the Year as well.

While the numbers and accolades look pretty, the most tantalizing aspect of Yeager’s profile is his measurables. At 6ft. 4in, 200 lbs, Yeager is essentially a grown man in an 18-year-old body, and he uses his height-weight combination to power an elite fastball that’s been clocked up to 95 mph according to Perfect Game.

Yeager’s PG page also mentions that he features a changeup and slider to round out his three-pitch mix, both of which offer effective deceptive movement by tunneling off of his heater.

Here on draft day, PG has Yeager ranked as the 82nd overall high schooler in the class.

Cristofer Cespedes (Incoming FR, RHP; Haverstraw, NY)

Cespedes finalized his commitment to Maryland fairly recently but given his raw metrics, it’s certainly possible that the righty never toes the rubber at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium.

Cespedes is actually bigger than Yeager, at 6 ft. 4in., 220 lbs, but just like his class counterpart Cespedes features a high-velocity fastball. Prep Baseball Report has his heater clocked to a maximum of 97 mph, so it’s likely that he often sits around 94-96.

Like Yeager, Cespedes also totes two other pitches. One of these is a changeup that helps keep hitters off-balance by working around 10 mph slower than his fastball. Cespedes’s third offering is a sharp curveball that helps create even more deception. PBR clocks the righty hook between 81 and 84 mph.

As terrific as it would be for Yeager and Cespedes to be selected, there’s no denying that losing one or both to the draft would be a tough blow for Maryland’s 2025 squad, especially following on from a season where pitching woes were ever-present.