Despite a season-ending shoulder injury just 21 games into his Wake Forest debut, Saugerties High School Class of 2022 alum Ethan Conrad was drafted 17th overall by the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, July 13.
Conrad watched the draft unfold from Cantine Field with family and friends, the field where he triumphed so often playing baseball growing up, including critical games for both the SHS Sawyers and the summer league Saugerties Stallions — a fitting place for his professional journey to begin.
Conrad was the 28th-ranked draft prospect as per MLB Pipeline, but in a press release, Cubs Vice President of Scouting Dan Kantrovitz said the team had their eye on the 21-year-old outfielder for a few years and expected him to be picked somewhere in the top ten. Kantrovitz said that while the expectations for Conrad are high, they didn’t want to overburden him while he recovers.
“You never want to put that tag on somebody,” Kantrovitz said. “I think the first thing is to get him healthy. He’s probably going to take the rest of the summer and fall to recover and rehab and then get to spring training 100 percent.”
Following his first-round selection, Conrad has already inked a deal with the Cubs. While the Chicago ball club did not respond to interview requests, Conrad spoke to The Chicago Tribune after he was drafted.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen with the draft, and I was really upset not being able to help my (Wake Forest) teammates out,” Conrad said. “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.”
In the Cubs’ press release, Conrad said he plans to work hard to make the major league roster.
“That’s definitely the goal for me, is just to get up there as quickly as possible,” Conrad said. “I think the quicker that I can get up there and be helping out the Cubs’ big league team is going to be super special, and I’m just looking forward to making that happen as soon as possible.”
Conrad spent two summers at Marist University before transferring to Wake Forest as a junior last year. Before his March injury, he was batting .372, with a .744 slugging percentage, seven home runs and eight doubles. In his sophomore season with Marist, Conrad was named to the first team of the All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) after hitting .389 with nine home runs and 52 RBIs. He also hit 13 triples and stole 19 bases in 24 attempts. Conrad set an NCAA Division I record on March 22, 2024, with four triples in a single game against Saint Peter’s.
Conrad spent the summer of 2024 in the Cape Cod Baseball League, hitting .385 for Bourne.
“That summer in the Cape was really the turning point for my career,” Conrad said in the Cubs’ press release. “It’s the best of the best going at it. And that was just a huge moment for my career to really just let myself know, ‘I can do this for sure,’ and really just dominate. It was awesome.”
The Cubs agreed, identifying Conrad as a top draft target that summer.
“We feel like he’s a potentially dynamic talent,” Kantrovitz said. “There’s an increasing slug component there. I think he’s somebody that can turn a double into a triple with his speed. And I think he’s somebody that is going to be able to put pressure on a defense in a number of different ways. He’s still filling out. He’s still getting stronger. But his decision-making, his ability to make contact, his ability to hit for damage — really all three of those pillars are there. And we think he’s just getting better across the board.”
SHS Varsity Baseball Coach Mike Pugliese said Ethan was an early high school standout in part because of his dedication and the support of his parents, Kristen and Keven Conrad.
“Ethan and his family were so committed to baseball,” Pugliese said. “As he got older, the physical tools just came, but he worked hard and was so committed to the game and getting better at it.”
That dedication led to Conrad’s impressive college baseball career and put him on the MLB’s radar.
“He didn’t get the looks out of high school that he probably should’ve received,” Pugliese said. “But yeah, once he got to college and started getting attention, we all knew that it was only a matter of time.”
Saugerties High School has a long history of varsity baseball success in a town where the game has been revered for many decades. But with Conrad’s ascent, and with incoming senior pitcher Ty Van Valkenburg already committing to the University of Miami, all eyes are on the Sawyers.
“It will definitely help bring attention to our program,” Pugliese said.
And while the Cubs are high on Conrad’s potential in the majors, Pugliese said he believes the SHS alum will continue to make an impact locally.
“He’ll be an inspiration for all our younger players,” he said.
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