Wikipedia

Will Wilson (baseball)

William Bradley Wilson (born July 21, 1998) is an American professional baseball shortstop in the Cleveland Guardians organization. He played college baseball for the NC State Wolfpack. He was selected with the 15th overall pick of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft by the Los Angeles Angels.

Will Wilson
Cleveland Guardians
Shortstop
Born: (1998-07-21) July 21, 1998 (age 26)
Kings Mountain, North Carolina
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Amateur career

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Alongside baseball, Wilson also played football and basketball in middle school.[1] Wilson attended Kings Mountain High School in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. While playing high school football, he was a nose guard turned quarterback until he quit in order to concentrate on baseball.[1] As a senior, he hit .535/.673/1.253 with 14 home runs in 26 games.[2][3] Undrafted out of high school in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft, he enrolled at North Carolina State University where he played college baseball for the NC State Wolfpack.[1]

In 2017, as a freshman at NC State playing primarily second base, Wilson started all 61 games and batted .300/.377/.504 with 21 doubles (tied for the league lead; the second-highest total of any freshman in the nation), eight home runs, and 48 RBIs.[2][4][5][6] He was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team[7][8] along with being named a Freshman All-American by D1Baseball and Collegiate Baseball Magazine.[9] As a sophomore in 2018, playing shortstop he hit .307/.376/.588 with three triples, 15 home runs, and 53 RBIs in 59 games.[10][11][12] During the season, he was named ACC Player of the Week three times, which set an NC State record.[13] He was also named to the All ACC-First Team.[14] After the season, he played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.[15][16]

Prior to the 2019 season, Wilson was named a preseason All-American by multiple media outlets including Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.[17] He was named the ACC Defender of the Year along with being named to the All ACC-First Team for the second consecutive year.[18] He played shortstop and finished the season slashing .339/.425/.665 with 20 doubles, 16 home runs, and 57 RBIs in 55 games.[19]

Professional career

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Los Angeles Angels

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Wilson was considered one of the top prospects for the 2019 Major League Baseball draft.[20] He was selected by the Los Angeles Angels with the 15th overall selection.[21] He signed with the Angels on June 10 for a signing bonus of $3.4 million.[22] After signing, he made his professional debut with the Orem Owlz of the Rookie Advanced Pioneer League.[23] Over 46 games, he slashed .275/.328/.439 in 189 at bats with 23 runs, five home runs, and 18 RBIs.[24]

San Francisco Giants

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On December 10, 2019, Wilson and Zack Cozart were traded to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.[25] He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[26]

To begin 2021, he was assigned to the Eugene Emeralds of the High-A West.[27] After slashing .251/.339/.497 in 195 at bats with 37 runs, ten home runs, and 26 RBIs over 49 games, he was promoted to the Richmond Flying Squirrels of the Double-A Northeast in early July.[28] Over 51 games with Richmond, Wilson batted .189/.281/.306 in 196 at bats with five home runs and 22 RBIs.[29] He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Scottsdale Scorpions after the season.[30]

He returned to Richmond to begin the 2022 season.[31] In mid-May, he was promoted to the Sacramento River Cats of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, but he was reassigned to Richmond in late August.[32] He missed time during the season due to injury, and rehabbed with the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League Giants.[33] Over a combined 71 games played for the season in three leagues, he hit .250/.346/.452 in 252 at bats with 43 runs, 13 home runs, and 38 RBIs.[34] He played 44 games at shortstop, 19 at second base, and 4 at third base.[35]

Cleveland Guardians

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On December 11, 2024, the Cleveland Guardians selected Wilson in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft.[36]

Personal life

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Wilson's mother, Robin, played softball at Winthrop.[1]

Wilson earned his finance degree from NC State in three years.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e The News and Observer
  2. ^ a b "Will Wilson - 2019 - Baseball - NC State University Athletics". Gopack.com. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  3. ^ "Final baseball & softball stat leaders: KM's Will Wilson leads area in average, runs and homers". Gaston Gazette. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  4. ^ "2017 Atlantic Coast Conference Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. January 1, 1970. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  5. ^ "Wilson geared up for sophomore season". Technician. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  6. ^ "Kings Mountain's Will Wilson is one of the hottest hitters in the ACC". Shelby Star. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  7. ^ "ACC Announces 2017 Baseball Season Honors - Atlantic Coast Conference". Theacc.com. May 22, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  8. ^ "Pack Places Four on All-ACC Teams". 247sports.com. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  9. ^ "Wilson Named Frosh All-American By D1Baseball". 247sports.com. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  10. ^ "2018 Atlantic Coast Conference Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. January 1, 1970. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  11. ^ "Wilson, Bailey lead talented Wolfpack infield". Technician. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  12. ^ "Kings Mountain's Wilson helping N.C. State baseball to its best start, highest ranking in history". Shelby Star. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  13. ^ "NC State's Will Wilson awarded National, ACC Player of the Week". 247sports.com. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  14. ^ "Hometown heroes: Kings Mountain's Will Wilson named All-ACC shortstop". Gaston Gazette. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  15. ^ "N.C. State's Will Wilson Feels At Home With USA Baseball". Baseball America. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  16. ^ "Kings Mountain's Will Wilson enjoying USA Baseball Collegiate Baseball team". Gaston Gazette. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  17. ^ "Hometown heroes: 2019 college baseball preview". Gaston Gazette. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  18. ^ "Kings Mountain's Will Wilson named ACC defender of the year and All-ACC shortstop". Gaston Gazette. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  19. ^ "NC State’s Will Wilson leads in-state contingent in MLB draft"
  20. ^ "MLB.com 2019 Prospect Watch". MLB.com. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  21. ^ "Angels' Will Wilson: Lands with Halos at No. 15 overall". CBSSports.com. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  22. ^ Bollinger, Rhett (June 10, 2019). "Will Wilson, No. 15 Draft pick, signs with Angels". MLB.com. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  23. ^ "Short-season assignments for prospects, draft picks". MLB.com. June 14, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  24. ^ Brian Witt (December 10, 2019). "Giants prospect Will Wilson makes good first impression, hates Dodgers". NBC Sports Bay Area. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  25. ^ Kerry Crowley (December 10, 2019). "SF Giants trade for a prospect, sign a starter and acquire an infielder in flurry of moves". The Mercury News. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  26. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season canceled". MLB.com.
  27. ^ Conklin, Ashley. "A look at the 2021 Eugene Emeralds, who won their season opener". The Register-Guard.
  28. ^ "Giants move up pair of prospects, including Will Wilson | KNBR". www.knbr.com.
  29. ^ "Breakout candidate: Giants infielder Wilson". MiLB.com.
  30. ^ "Arizona Fall League rosters 2021 prospect loaded". MLB.com.
  31. ^ "Giants set initial Flying Squirrels roster".
  32. ^ "Giants' Will Wilson: Moves up to Triple-A".
  33. ^ "Giants' Will Wilson: On injured list at Double-A".
  34. ^ "Will Wilson Stats, Fantasy & News". MiLB.com.
  35. ^ "Will Wilson College, Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  36. ^ https://www.mlb.com/news/rule-5-draft-results-2024
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