The Wildcats had their first player selected to the MLB since 2021.
Northwestern's single-season home run king is headed to the MLB.
In the 15th round of the 2026 MLB Draft on Sunday, the San Diego Padres selected Northwestern shortstop Ryan Kucherak, making him the first Wildcat drafted directly from NU in five years.
The 21-year-old was the No. 455 overall pick and will go to San Diego, which currently ranks third in the NL West with a 48-48 record this season. He was the Padres' 16th choice in the draft, including their fifth infielder.
Kucherak began his collegiate career at LSU, where he batted .250 over 16 games in 2024. He then transferred to Northwestern and made an immediate impact.
As a true sophomore, Kucherak broke the program's single-season home run record by going deep 18 times, with a Big Ten-leading 15 of those coming during conference play. He had just one long ball over the first month of the season, but logged multi-homer games against Nebraska, Ohio State and UCLA — and a three-homer game against Illinois — to help break the record.
Kucherak finished the 2025 season with a .289 batting average, an OPS of 1.019, an on-base percentage of .379 and a slugging percentage of .639. He also led the 'Cats in RBIs (41) and total bases (124) while starting all 52 games.
Although he didn't hit as many home runs in 2026, Kucherak still posted a strong season for the Wildcats. In 51 starts, he hit a career-best .295 with a .911 OPS and a slugging percentage of .521. His homer tally went down to 10, but by virtue of drawing seven more walks, Kucherak's on-base percentage increased to .390.
Kucherak also stole 11 bases on 13 tries. The year prior, he nabbed just two of the four bases he attempted to take. He and outfielder Jack Lausch were named to the All-Big Ten Third Team for their efforts.
Northwestern had not had a player drafted directly from the university since 2021, when catcher Michael Trautwein (Cincinnati Reds, Round 13), pitcher Tyler Uberstine (Boston Red Sox, Round 19) and shortstop Shawn Goosenberg (Chicago White Sox, Round 19) were all selected.
However, several players since then have been drafted after transferring from the Wildcats to another team. The 2023 MLB Draft alone featured pitcher Sean Sullivan (Colorado Rockies, Round 2, Wake Forest transfer), centerfielder Ethan O'Donnell (Cincinnati Reds, Round 6, Virginia transfer) and first baseman Jay Beshears (Miami Marlins, Round 6, Duke transfer), who were each drafted one season after leaving NU.
Pitcher Ben Grable (New York Yankees, Round 11, Indiana transfer) also found a home in the 2025 MLB draft.
Kucherak attended Hamilton High School in Chandler, Ariz., where he played alongside No. 1 overall pick Roch Cholowsky.
