GROVE CITY, Pa. – The New York Yankees selected 2025 Grove City College graduate David Leslie in the ninth round of the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft, held this weekend in Philadelphia. The Yankees took Leslie, a right-handed pitcher, with the Draft's 278th overall pick Sunday afternoon.

Leslie went 17-5 with a 2.68 earned run average while pitching for the Wolverines in 2023, 2024 and 2025. As a senior in 2025, Leslie earned American Baseball Coaches Association and D3baseball.com Division III All-America distinction after concluding the season with a 9-2 record and a 2.05 ERA.

Leslie struck out 84 men in 74 2/3 innings as a senior. He helped lead the Wolverines to a program-record 31 wins, the Presidents' Athletic Conference title and a berth in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament in 2025.

Overall, he fanned 201 batters in 178 career innings at the College.

Leslie graduated from the College in May 2025 with a bachelor's degree in biochemistry. He earned Dean's List and Presidents' Athletic Conference Academic Honor Roll recognition during his four years at Grove City.

Injury sidelined Leslie as a freshman in 2022 at Grove City. He used his final year of eligibility in 2026 as a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh.

Leslie went 4-5 with one save in 18 total appearances as both a starting and relief pitcher this spring for Pitt. He earned wins out of the bullpen at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament against Louisville and Florida State in mid-May. Leslie struck out 15 men in 9 1/3 innings during the tournament, earning All-Tournament Team placement.

Leslie is the first Grove City graduate to be selected in the MLB Draft since 2006, when the Washington Nationals selected right-handed pitcher Erik Arnesen in the 17th round.