Select Tulane Green Wave baseball players are receiving high praise heading into the 2026 season.
College baseball season is just a week away, and excitement is already building up for the Tulane Green Wave in what's expected to be a solid 2026 season.
D1 Baseball has high praise for a handful of Green Wave standouts, who are among the top potential MLB Draft picks in the American Conference over the next two seasons.
Aidan Rath is the No. 13 American prospect heading into this year's draft, while Nolan Nawrocki is the No. 40 prospect. Tulane also has a pair of players that are among the conference's top prospects in the 2027 MLB Draft: Tanner Chun comes in at No. 11, while Jason Wachs is the No. 15 prospect.
Rath is the oldest of the four prospects, entering this year as a graduate transfer after spending the past two seasons with the Eastern Kentucky Colonels. Prior to that, the right-handed pitcher was a standout at Kirkwood Community College. Rath has made just four appearances over the past two years, as he's been plagued by season-defining injuries in his career. However, he showed potential in his 2024 season, pitching three complete innings across two games with two strikeouts and just one hit allowed.
Nawrocki is a senior transfer who brings some Power Four experience to the Big Easy: he spent two seasons with the Clemson Tigers before joining the South Carolina Gamecocks in 2025. The infielder had a strong career at Clemson, where he ended his 2024 campaign with a .264 batting average, 28 runs scored, 24 RBI, five doubles and four home runs. Nawrocki was set to make an even bigger impact for the Gamecocks, but he suffered a season-ending injury early in the year. Like Rath, he'll look to bounce back in a place where he can get a fresh start.
Chun is a sophomore who had an outstanding start to his college baseball career, ultimately becoming one of the Green Wave's top players in 2025 and earning a spot on the American Conference All-Freshman Team. The outfielder was a major threat on offense, hitting .259 with 35 runs scored, 34 RBI, nine doubles, two triples and eight home runs. He was also a strong defender for Tulane, posting a .969 fielding percentage on 96 chances.
Wachs wraps up the list of top American draft prospects, and it's not much of a surprise that he's already got plenty of eyes on him. The sophomore was named to the 2025 American Conference All-Freshman Team and is a 2026 Preseason All-Conference selection by league coaches. He made 45 starts for Tulane in 2025, hitting .335 on the year with 56 hits, 46 runs, 25 RBI, 14 doubles, two triples and two home runs. The outfielder held things down defensively for his team, with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage on 68 chances.
The Green Wave will get its first taste of action on February 13th, as it will take on the Loyola Marymount Lions in Los Angeles. First pitch is set for 8 p.m.