Anderson Selected By Texas Rangers In Fifth Round Of MLB DraftAnderson Selected By Texas Rangers In Fifth Round Of MLB Draft

Anderson Selected By Texas Rangers In Fifth Round Of MLB Draft

Anderson, two signees selected on day two

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Baseball senior Michael Anderson (5th round, 149th overall, Texas Rangers) and signees Alex Weingartner (6th round, 166th overall, Chicago White Sox) and Dalton Harper (16th round, 472nd overall, Atlanta Braves) were selected on Day Two of the 2026 MLB Draft on Sunday.

 

Anderson, a first-team All-American in 2026, became the first Nittany Lion to be drafted as a two-way player. He is the 85th overall player selected out of Penn State and the 21st since 2016.

 

Anderson is Penn State’s highest selection since Matt Wood (4th Round, 132nd overall) was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2022.

 

With Anderson’s selection, Penn State has 19 players selected among the Top 10 rounds and has a Top 10 round selection in six of the last eight MLB Drafts.

 

Anderson joins former Nittany Lion Paxton Kling in the Texas Rangers’ organization. Kling, a 2025 draftee, is currently playing in High-A with the Hub City Spartanburgers.

 

Anderson is the sixth Nittany Lion drafted under head coach Mike Gambino.

 

Weingartner, the brother of former Nittany Lion Ryan Weingartner (St. Louis Cardinals organization), has spent time as an outfielder and pitcher in high school but was selected as an outfielder by the Chicago White Sox. Weingartner was the 2026 New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year.

 

Harper was the 2026 NJCAA Division III Player of the Year as a catcher at SUNY Niagara.

 

If Weingartner and Harper choose to attend Penn State, they would become the 15th and 16th Nittany Lions to be selected in the draft prior to playing at Penn State.

 

Weingartner is the first Penn State signee to be selected out of high school in the MLB Draft since Lonnie White (64th overall, Pittsburgh Pirates) in 2021. White signed with the Pirates and did not attend Penn State.

 

Penn State entered the draft with 10 former players in MLB Organizations: Justin Hagenman (MLB, Mets), Jay Harry (AAA, Blue Jays), Conor Larkin (AAA, Blue Jays), Matt Wood (AA, Brewers), Paxton Kling (High-A, Rangers), C.J. Pittaro (High-A, Athletics), Chase Renner (High-A, Marlins), Ryan DeSanto (Single-A, Guardians), Daniel Ouderkirk (Single-A, Mariners) and Ryan Weingartner (Single-A, Cardinals)

MLB-Draft2026 - Anderson

Michael Anderson · Sr. · DH · 6-3 · 230 · Havertown, Pa. · Monsignor Bonner

Texas Rangers, 5th round, 149th overall (Drafted as two-way player)

  • Voted first-team ABCA All-American.
  • Selected second-team NCBWA All-American.
  • Tabbed Honorable Mention College Baseball Foundation All-American.
  • Became Penn State’s 14th All-American selection, first since 2010, and its fifth first-team All-American, first since 2000.
  • Named first-team ABCA/Rawlings All-Region.
  • Was PSU’s 18th All-Big Ten first-team selection.
  • Finished his collegiate career with a .308 average, .616 slugging percentage and .422 on-base percentage.
  • Tallied 173 hits with 38 doubles, three triples and 43 home runs. Collected 137 RBI and 120 runs.
  • In 2026, Anderson batted .358 with 68 hits, 11 doubles, 20 home runs, 53 RBI, 43 runs, a .742 slugging percentage and a .470 on base percentage.
  • In Big Ten games, he hit .367 with 10 doubles, 11 home runs, 30 RBI, a .725 slugging percentage and a .450 on base percentage.
  • He led the Nittany Lions in average, hits, runs, RBI, home runs, total bases (141), hit-by-pitches (18), slugging percentage and on base percentage.
  • Anderson tallied 24 multi-hit games, 15 multi-RBI games and three multi-homer games this season.
  • Anderson set Penn State season records with 20 home runs and 18 hit-by-pitches, while ranking fourth in a season in slugging percentage and total bases.
  • Through the regular season, the Pennsylvania native led the Big Ten in OPS (1.212; 18th nationally) and total bases (141; 41st), while sitting second in home runs (20; 17th) and slugging percentage (.742; 22nd), third in home runs per game (0.40; 17th), fifth in on base percentage (.470), sixth in hit-by-pitches (18), seventh in RBI per game (1.06) and ninth in batting average (.358) and RBI (53).
  • He was one of two D1 players this season averaging 414+ feet on 20+ home runs this season.
MLB-Draft2026 - Weingartner

Alex Weingartner · Signee · RHP/OF · 6-2 · 205 · Berlin, N.J. · St. Augustine Prep

Chicago White Sox, 6th round, 166th overall (Drafted as an outfielder)

  • Ranked as the No. 159 prospect in the draft by MLB Pipeline and the No. 209 prospect in the draft by Baseball America.
  • Competed at MLB Draft Combine.
  • Selected New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year.
  • Tabbed as the South Jersey Sports Zone Player of the Year in 2026.
  • Led St. Augustine Prep to a state championship in 2024, a conference championship in 2025 and a conference championship and sectional final in 2026.
  • Earned All-Conference and All-South Jersey honors.
  • As a senior, batted .495 with 46 hits, 46 runs, 7 home runs and 36 RBI.
  • On the mound, went 6-1 with an 0.87 ERA and 81 strikeouts.
  • As a junior, batted .397 with 31 hits, 31 RBI and 16 extra-base hits.
  • Rated as the No. 75 overall prospect, No. 15 overall outfielder and top prospect in New Jersey by Perfect Game.
  • Ranked as the No. 86 overall prospect, No. 17 outfielder and top prospect in New Jersey by Prep Baseball Report.
  • Brother of former Nittany Lion Ryan Weingartner (currently in St. Louis Cardinals organization).
MLB-Draft2026 - Harper

Dalton Harper · Signee · C · 5-9 · 205 · Cheektowaga, N.Y. · Maryvale/SUNY Niagara

Atlanta Braves, 16th round, 472nd overall

  • Led SUNY Niagara to a national championship in NJCAA Division III.
  • Earned NJCAA Division III Player of the Year honors.
  • Tabbed NJCAA Division III Baseball World Series MVP and a first-team All-American.
  • Named Region III Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
  • Batted .556 with 105 hits, 17 home runs, 91 RBI and 85 runs in 2026.
  • Tied for the NJCAA Division III lead in hits, while finishing second in average, fourth in RBI, tied for fourth in home runs and eighth in runs.
  • At the DIII world series, batted .621 with three homers, 23 RBI and 16 runs.

Penn State won 16 games in 2026, including three over RPI Top-100 teams and one over an NCAA Super Regional team.

 

The Nittany Lions finished the year with 72 home runs, including 20 by Anderson, 15 by Bryce Molinaro and 10 by Spencer Barnett.

 

Over the last three seasons, PSU has slugged 224 home runs, including 71 in 2024, 81 in 2025 and 72 in 2026. Nine Nittany Lions have hit 10+ home runs in a season.

 

Molinaro ended the year ranking second all-time at Penn State with 39 career home runs and became the second Nittany Lion to hit 10+ home runs in three-straight seasons.

 

For updates on the Penn State baseball team, please check @pennstatebase on X and Instagram.

 

The 2026 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.