• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Chicago Sports Today

Chicago Sports News continuously updated

  • Bears
  • Baseball
    • Cubs
    • White Sox
  • Basketball
    • Bulls
    • Sky
  • Blackhawks
  • Colleges
    • DePaul
    • Illinois
    • Loyola
    • Northwestern
    • Notre Dame
    • UIC
    • Valparaiso
  • Soccer
    • Fire
    • Red Stars
  • Team Stores

Chicago Cubs’ 2025 draft: OF Ethan Conrad at No. 17, OF Kane Kepley at No. 56 and a RHP at No. 90

July 14, 2025 by Chicago Tribune

For the fifth consecutive year, the Chicago Cubs opted to go the college route with their top draft pick.

The Cubs selected Wake Forest outfielder Ethan Conrad at No. 17 in the first round of the 2025 MLB draft on Sunday. He was listed as the No. 28 prospect for the draft by MLB.com.

Conrad was limited to 21 games this season due to a season-ending surgery in April after sustaining a left shoulder injury diving for a ball in March. The 6-foot-3 slugger posted a .372/.495/.744 slash line with seven home runs, eight doubles and 27 RBIs prior to the injury. He showed a good plate approach, drawing 18 walks to 14 strikeouts.

Conrad, 21, spent his first two collegiate seasons at Marist where he produced a .389 average, .467 on-base percentage and .704 slugging percentage with nine home runs and a NCAA Division I-leading 13 triples in 2024.

He followed with a great showing last summer in the Cape Cod League, where he finished second in batting average (.385) and OPS (.919).

“I didn’t know what was going to happen with the draft, and I was really upset not being able to help my teammates out,” Conrad said Sunday night of his injury. “And then being able to get selected 17th is just super crazy. I wasn’t expecting it, and I’m just super grateful, and I’m super excited to get going.”

Conrad is 3½ months post-operation and has full range of motion. He anticipates being at full strength in about one month, at which point he will be able to swing and hit.

“He’s somebody that, had he played out the entire season, would have been considered in the top 10 eventually in the draft, and we felt it was a pretty exceptional value in terms of getting him at No. 17,” scouting director Dan Kantrovitz told reporters on a Sunday night Zoom. “We feel like he’s a potentially dynamic talent, somebody who can stay in center field, somebody that hits for power, can run and average to above average tools across the board.”

Conrad graduated from Saugerties (New York) High School in 2022.

No. 56, 2nd round: Kane Kepley, OF, North Carolina

North Carolina's Kane Kepley runs the bases during an NCAA regional game May 30, 2025, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
North Carolina’s Kane Kepley runs the bases during an NCAA regional game May 30, 2025, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)

With their second-round pick, the Cubs chose Kane Kepley, a left-handed outfielder from North Carolina. At 5-foot-8, Kepley walked on at Liberty in 2023 and then transferred to North Carolina for the 2025 season. In between, he had an All-Star summer in the Cape Cod League in 2024.

The 21-year-old was projected at No. 58 by MLB.com.

In his season with North Carolina he slashed .451/.444/.896 with 30 RBIs and 45 stolen bases in 61 games while playing center field.

Kantrovitz described Kepley as a plus-plus defender in center field and noted how he stole 40 bases in the ACC as the Tar Heels’ leadoff hitter.

“He’s somebody that can put a lot of pressure on the defense, just really impact the game,” Kantrovitz said. “And not too often you see somebody that has his ability to make contact, spray the ball around and play center field the way he can.”

Kepley graduated from South Rowan High School in China Grove, N.C.

No. 90, 3rd round: Dominick Reid, RHP, Abilene Christian

In the third round the Cubs went for pitching, selecting right-hander Dominick Reid from Abilene Christian at No. 90. This was a big jump for Reid, who had been projected at No. 209 by MLB.com.

A graduate of Lone Star High School in Frisco, Texas, Reid spent two seasons at Oklahoma State before transferring to Abilene Christian for the 2025 season. He becomes the school’s highest draft pick.

The 21-year-old had a 3.26 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 15 games started this past season.

Cubs’ Day 2 picks

  • No. 121, 4th round: Kaleb Wing, RHP, Scotts Valley HS (Calif.)
  • No. 151, 5th round: Kade Snell, OF, Alabama
  • No. 181, 6th round: Josiah Hartshorn, OF, Orange Lutheran HS (Calif.)
  • No. 211, 7th round
  • No. 241, 8th round
  • No. 271, 9th round
  • No. 301, 10th round
  • No. 331, 11th round
  • No. 361, 12th round
  • No. 391, 13th round
  • No. 421, 14th round
  • No. 451, 15th round
  • No. 481, 16th round
  • No. 511, 17th round
  • No. 541, 18th round
  • No. 571, 19th round
  • No. 601, 20th round

Filed Under: White Sox

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Bulls Free Agency: Random playoff hero, flamethrowing guard among best remaining fits
  • Aurora considers extending grocery tax that would otherwise expire
  • Bears TE Colston Loveland On Shoulder Recovery
  • Chicago Blackhawks will open the NHL season on the road vs. the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers
  • White Sox steal college bat in the MLB Draft that did something nobody else could do

Categories

Archives

Our Partners

All Sports

  • CHGO
  • Chicago Tribune
  • Chicago Sun-Times
  • 247 Sports
  • 670 The Score
  • Bleacher Report
  • Chicago Sports Nation
  • Da Windy City
  • NBC Sports Chicago
  • OurSports Central
  • Sports Mockery
  • The Sports Daily
  • The Sports Fan Journal
  • The Spun
  • USA Today
  • WGN 9

Baseball

  • MLB.com - Cubs
  • MLB.com - White Sox
  • Bleed Cubbie Blue
  • Cubbies Crib
  • Cubs Insider
  • Inside The White Sox
  • Last Word On Baseball - Cubs
  • Last Word On Baseball - White Sox
  • MLB Trade Rumors - Cubs
  • MLB Trade Rumors - White Sox
  • South Side Sox
  • Southside Showdown
  • Sox Machine
  • Sox Nerd
  • Sox On 35th

Basketball

  • NBA.com
  • Amico Hoops
  • Basketball Insiders
  • Blog A Bull
  • High Post Hoops
  • Hoops Hype
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Last Word On Pro Basketball
  • Pippen Ain't Easy
  • Pro Basketball Talk
  • Real GM

Football

  • Chicago Bears
  • Bears Gab
  • Bear Goggles On
  • Bears Wire
  • Da Bears Blog
  • Last Word On Pro Football
  • NFL Trade Rumors
  • Our Turf Football
  • Pro Football Focus
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Football Talk
  • Total Bears
  • Windy City Gridiron

Hockey

  • Blackhawk Up
  • Elite Prospects
  • Last Word On Hockey
  • My NHL Trade Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Talk
  • Second City Hockey
  • The Hockey Writers

Soccer

  • Hot Time In Old Town
  • Last Word On Soccer - Fire
  • Last Word On Soccer - Red Stars
  • MLS Multiplex

Colleges

  • Big East Coast Bias
  • Busting Brackets
  • College Football News
  • College Sports Madness
  • Inside NU
  • Inside The Irish
  • Last Word On College Football - Notre Dame
  • One Foot Down
  • Saturday Blitz
  • Slap The Sign
  • The Daily Northwestern
  • The Observer
  • UHND.com
  • Zags Blog

Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in