Draft Day Milestones
The 2026 MLB Draft saw two Michigan State alumni hear their names called as the Toronto Blue Jays selected right‑hander Nolan Higgins in the fifth round and the Washington Nationals followed suit by taking outfielder Nick Williams in the tenth round.
Higgins capped a collegiate career that included 75 appearances, a 3.57 ERA, 160 strikeouts over 171.2 innings and a transition to the bullpen where he led the Spartans in saves and games finished.
Williams, who graduated with a degree in advertising management, posted a .304 average, 160 hits and a 16‑game hitting streak that stood as the longest by a Michigan State player since 2024, earning him a share of the Kirk Gibson Co‑Offensive Player of the Year award.
Their selections mark the sixth Spartan player drafted in the past four years, joining recent draftees such as Joseph Dzierwa, who was taken by the Baltimore Orioles in 2025, and continuing a pipeline that began with Brandon Hughes, the last outfielder from Michigan State drafted in 2017.
Both players leave East Lansing with degrees in hand — Higgins in communication and Williams in advertising — and will now pursue professional contracts as they join a long line of Spartans making the jump to the majors.