It was a banner year for baseball in Virginia, especially at the Major League level.
Seven natives of the state made their MLB debut in 2025 – one less than in 2023. That year eight Virginia natives broke into The Show, which was the most for the state in one year in nearly 30 seasons.
Those 2025 MLB debuts do not even include Chase DeLauter, who was born in Maryland, went to high school in West Virginia then starred at JMU and with Broadway in the Rockingham County Baseball League (RCBL). And that debut came in the postseason for Cleveland, as the lefty slugger became just the sixth player to make his MLB debut in the playoffs.
In addition, those debuts do not include non-Virginia natives who came through the state while playing in the minor leagues for Lynchburg, Salem, Fredericksburg, Richmond or Norfolk.
Here is a look at the seven Virginia-born players, per baseballreference.com, that made their MLB debut this season, with birthplace, date of debut, position, and team.
Virginia MLB debuts
Noah Murdock (Richmond, March 29, RHP, A’s)
The right-handed pitcher was drafted in the 38th round out of Colonial Heights High by the Washington Nationals in 2016.
He opted to attend Virginia, where he was selected in the seventh round by the Kansas City Royals in 2019. His signing scout was Jim Farr, the former coach at William & Mary.
The first batter he faced in his MLB debut was Seattle’s Victor Robles; the former Washington center fielder who struck out. The third batter Murdock was faced was Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh (born in Harrisonburg), who was retired on a flyball. Murdock retired five batters without giving up a run in his first game.
But he finished the season with an ERA of 13.24 in 17 innings over 14 games out of the bullpen.
Ben Williamson (Fairfax, April 15, 3B, Seattle)
The infielder from Freedom High in Northern Virginia was taken in the second round by Seattle out of William & Mary in 2023.
He rose quickly through the farm system and went 1-for-3 in his first MLB game, on the road against the Cincinnati Reds.
One of the pitchers in that game for Cincinnati was Graham Ashcraft, though he did not face Williamson. Ashcraft played for Waynesboro in the Valley League in 2018.
Williamson hit .253 in regular season play for Seattle with one homer in 277 at-bats.
Zach Agnos (Haymarket, April 20, RHP, Colorado)
A product of Battlefield High in Haymarket, Agnos was drafted in the 10th round by the Colorado Rockies out of East Carolina in 2022.
His first game in the Majors came at home against the Washington Nationals, and he got a hold as he pitched one clean inning. The second batter he faced was Nathaniel Lowe, who was born in Norfolk. Agnos gave up a single to Josh Bell with two outs in the eighth but retired Luis Garcia Jr. for the third out of the inning.
He ended the year appearing in 30 games out of the bullpen with a record of 1-3 and an ERA of 6.61 with four saves.
Zak Kent (Henrico, April 23, RHP, Cleveland)
In his first game, against the New York Yankees, he went three innings and allowed three hits and one run. In his first inning, he fanned slugger Aaron Judge.
He was drafted in the ninth round out of VMI in 2019 by the Texas Rangers.
Kent ended the year with a record of 1-0 with an ERA of 4.58 in 12 games out of the bullpen for Cleveland.
Nic Enright (Richmond, May 25, RHP, Cleveland)
Enright was drafted by the New York Mets in 2015 in the 19th round out of The Steward School in Henrico, but opted to head to Blacksburg to play for Virginia Tech. In 2019, he was taken in the 20th round by Cleveland.
In his first MLB game, against Detroit, he went two innings and allowed no runs with three strikeouts as the Tigers shut out Cleveland.
In 27 games out of the bullpen for Cleveland, the former Hokie was 2-1 with an ERA of 2.03, with one save.
Connelly Early (Midlothian, Sept. 9, LHP, Boston)
He went five innings and fanned 11 while not allowing a run in his MLB debut, against the A’s. Early made four regular-season starts and was 1-2 with an ERA of 2.33.
In the playoffs, he went 3.2 innings on Oct. 2 against the Yankees and was saddled with the loss in a 4-0 game despite fanning six and giving up three earned runs.
From James River High, Early was drafted by the Red Sox out of Virginia in the fifth round in 2023.
Bryce Eldridge (Fairfax, Sept. 15, 1B, Giants)
A first-round pick by the San Francisco Giants out of James Madison High in Vienna in 2023, Eldridge began the season as the No. 1 prospect in the San Francisco system.
He started the year at Double-A Richmond, then was called up from Triple-A for the last two weeks to give the Giants another bat in the lineup. His first hit in the Majors was a bases loaded double against the future champion Los Angeles Dodgers on his mother’s birthday. He had three hits in 28 at-bats in the majors.
Eldridge is the fifth graduate of James Madison High to reach the Majors. That is believed to be the most of any public school in the state. The previous Madison alum to appear in The Show was catcher Jim McNamara, who played for the Giants in 1992-93.
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