Limited, thanks to penalties accumulated through free agency, the Mets didn’t have a lot of MLB Draft pool money to play with. For 2026, the Mets went with upside in the first round, and then complemented the risk with some proven, well-known college players from the SEC.
The picks
| Round | Player | School | Signed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carson Wiggins | Arkansas | Y |
| 3 | Aiden Robbins | Texas | Y |
| 4 | Shane Sdao | Texas A&M | Y |
| 5 | Luke McNeillie | Florida | Y |
| 6 | Alex Petrovic | Auburn | Y |
| 7 | Aidan Keenan | Stanford | Y |
| 8 | Landon Koenig | Ole Miss | Y |
| 9 | Ryan Tayman | Cal Poly | Y |
| 10 | Nate Isler | Dartmouth | Y |
| 11 | Kuhio Aloy | Arkansas | Y |
| 12 | AJ Krodel | UC Santa Barbara | Y |
| 13 | Jacob Madrid | Notre Dame HS | Y |
| 14 | Zach Crotchfelt | Troy | Y |
| 15 | Dustin Hagens Jr. | Missouri-St. Louis | Y |
| 16 | Gavin Guidry | LSU | Y |
| 17 | Cooper Dossett | Arkansas | Y |
| 18 | Marcus Ward | King’s Ridge Christian School | N |
| 19 | John Smith | UCF | Y |
| 20 | Kooper Schulte | Iowa | Y |
The players
If you had said at the beginning of the year that Aiden Robbins would be a first-rounder, and Carson Wiggins a third-rounder, perhaps there wouldn’t be a ton of eyebrows raised. But instead, it was flipped, as the Mets took Wiggins in the first, then saw Robbins drop to the club in the third.
Carson, the younger brother of Cubs prospect Jaxon Wiggins, did not pitch much in college. A draft-eligible sophomore, Wiggins worked out of the bullpen on an incredibly deep pitching staff in 2025, striking out 20 over 14 innings. However, he required UCL reconstruction surgery and missed half of 2025, plus all of 2026.
In terms of upside, it’s immense. With a blistering fastball that consistently hit the upper-90s at Arkansas and was in the triple digits at times, it’s a plus-plus fastball on paper. Additionally, he’ll also work with a hard slider. But the risk is also quite high. That, though, can be said about any prospect.
Robbins played two seasons in college with Seton Hall, part of the Big East and situated just outside Manhattan. But after Robbins was one of the top college hitters with the Pirates in 2025, he transferred to Texas and was excellent. The junior led the Longhorns in home runs (24) and also stole 12 bases in 60 games.
The Pennsylvania native is a complicated prospect. Robbins didn’t strike out a ton with Seton Hall. However, as power came into his game, so did the swing-and-miss. It showed up last summer in the Cape Cod League in 2025, as his Whiff% of 36.5% was among the 10 highest in the circuit. And this past year with Texas, Robbins struck out 65 times over 60 games.
The Mets stayed in the SEC for the following three rounds, taking college pitchers in Rounds 4-6.
Shane Sdao led the Texas A&M Aggies in both innings pitched (74) and strikeouts (83) this season. The velocity was low-to-mid-90s, and Sdao had a deep arsenal. The left-hander worked with a changeup, curveball, and mid-80s slider.
Luke McNeillie was mostly a reliever for the Florida Gators, a team that produced two starters who went pro this year, plus a third who’ll likely be a top pick in 2027. McNeillie struck out 48 over 34 frames for Florida this season. Fastball/slider pitcher, with his fastball running into the mid-90s.
Alex Petrovic, the Auburn team leader in wins (10), struck out 92 over 92 innings for the Tigers as one of their three primary starters. Not a hard fastball, only sitting in the low-90s. But Petrovic does have the secondary stuff to play off it, including a changeup with run and sink. Good value pick.
Aidan Keenan didn’t pitch much in 2026, as the junior tossed 21.2 IP. Keenan walked 21 batters but struck out 25. The positives? Keenan didn’t allow a home run and boasted a good fastball with desirable IVB metrics, plus mid-to-upper-90s velocity.
High ERA (6.35) from Landon Koenig this season with Ole Miss. However, a good mid-90s fastball and a cutter. Koenig struck out 33 over 22.2 IP for the Rebels this past season.
Aside from those players, there were some other interesting names. The Mets took two more Razorbacks aside from Wiggins: Kuhio Aloy and Cooper Dossett. Yes, Dossett had a 6.88 ERA as a junior but that figure doesn’t matter with college pitchers too much. What does matter is a hard 96-98 MPH fastball.
Kuhio, the younger brother of Wehiwa Aloy, hit .317 with 13 home runs as a sophomore. However, his numbers took a step back in 2026. He slashed .293/.352/.486 this past season for the Razorbacks.
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