Pair Of Spartan Baseball Players Drafted In MLB Draft Sunday

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- A pair of former Michigan State baseball players, Nolan Higgins and Nick Williams, were both drafted in the Major League Baseball Draft on Sunday afternoon.

Higgins, a pitcher, was drafted in the fifth round with the 164th overall pick by the Toronto Blue Jays, while Williams, an outfielder, was selected in the 10th round with the 286th overall pick by the Washington Nationals.

Higgins is the second Spartan pitcher drafted in as many years after Joseph Dzierwa was selected in the 2nd round and the 58th overall pick of the 2025 MLB Draft last year by the Baltimore Orioles. Williams is the first Spartan outfielder drafted since Brandon Hughes was selected in the 16th round and 495th overall pick of the 2017 MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs.

The former Spartan hurler Higgins is MSU's first selection by the Toronto Blue Jays since outfielder Ryan Basham in the 2006 Draft (29th round/870th overall pick). Higgins is the second Spartan pitcher drafted by the Blue Jays, joining pitcher Tim Crabree in the 1992 Draft with the 2nd round and 63rd overall pick. Overall, Higgins is the fourth drafted by the Blue Jays, also joining outfielder Steve Johnson in the 1993 Draft (22nd round/630th overall pick).

Williams is the first Spartan selection by the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals since pitcher Alex Troop was selected in the 2017 Draft (9th round/283rd overall pick). Overall, Williams is the third overall MSU player but the first Spartan outfielder, drafted by the Expos/Nationals, joining pitcher Mick VanVossen in the 2015 Draft (28th round/854th overall pick).

With Higgins and Williams being selected in the 2026 MLB Draft, Michigan State has now had 41 draft selections under head coach Jake Boss Jr.

Higgy is a Blue Jay!!

Nolan Higgins was selected by the Toronto @BlueJays in the 5th round, pick No. 164 of the @MLBDraft!!

Congrats Nolan!!#GoGreen | @nohiggy77 pic.twitter.com/Gquo7df23m
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) July 12, 2026

A native of Wixom, Michigan, Higgins made 75 career appearances in his four seasons as a Spartan, with nine wins and six saves, firing 160 strikeouts in 171.2 IP. While he was a starter for the majority of his Spartan career, including all 15 appearances coming as starts in junior season of 2025, he shifted to the backend of MSU's bullpen and was primary closer as a senior in 2026.

Higgins made 27 appearances in 2026, all in relief, leading MSU and ranking tied for ninth in the Big Ten with four saves, part of topping the team by finishing 17 games, including back-to-back games in the Big Ten Tournament, finishing off both of No. 12 seed MSU's historic wins as the first No. 12 seed to win not only one but two games in the B1G Tournament with an 8-4 win over No. 5 seed Purdue on May 19 and a 4-3 nail-biter over No. 8 seed Iowa the next day.

The Spartan reliever led MSU in appearances, games in relief, saves and games finished, while sharing the team lead for strikeouts with starter Aidan Donovan, chalking up 62 Ks. For the season, Higgins, posted a 12.4 strikeouts/9 inning average, while logging a 5.20 ERA with a 3-4 record with four saves, with 62 strikeouts in 45.0 IP in his 27 relief appearances.

Off the diamond, Higgins was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and graduated from MSU in the summer of 2026 with his degree in communication.

Nick is a National!!

Nick Williams was selected by the Washington @Nationals in the 10th round, pick No. 286 of the @MLBDraft!!

Congrats Nick!!#GoGreen | @NicklasWilliam1 pic.twitter.com/dJM6qWVCUV
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) July 12, 2026

Williams, a native of Racine, Wisconsin, was a Spartan for three seasons, coming to MSU after two years at Wabash Valley CC. He played in 153 games in his three seasons in the Green & White, with 145 starts, hitting .304 for his three-year career with 160 hits, including 39 doubles, four triples and 18 HR, compiling 93 RBI and 15 stolen bases.

For the 2026 season, Williams shared the Kirk Gibson Co-Offensive Player of the Year MSU Team Award with Parker Picot, finishing the season with a 16-game hitting streak, the longest of the season by a Spartan player and the longest since 2024, matching teammate Ryan McKay's streak from 2024. Williams hit .508 during the 16-game hit streak, averaging 2.0 hits per game, with 32 total hits, logging 15 RBI, nine doubles, two triples and three HR, as well as drawing 12 walks, and only striking out four times in the 63 at bats. Out of the 16 games during the streak, Williams had 12 multi-hit games, including his season-high of three hits done four times during the hitting streak, doing so in back-to-back games with 3-for-4 with three RBI vs. No. 1 UCLA on May 3, then a 3-for-3 outing two days later vs. Bowling Green.

Williams also led MSU and ranked fifth in the B1G in toughest to strikeout, with just one K every 8.7 at bats, with just 20 strikeouts on the season in 174 at bats. He also topped MSU and ranked tied for 21st in the B1G in average (.333). Additionally, Williams ended the season reaching base in 22-straight games, as the 22-game reached base streak was the second longest of the season, just one shy of team-leader Khamaree Thomas. Williams also led MSU with 20 multiple hit games, logging the aforementioned season-high of three hits in four games, while knocking two hits in 16 games.

Additionally, Williams was also second on the team in both on-base percentage (.434) and doubles (14), tied for second in triples (2), along with third in slugging percentage (.667) and runs (39), and tied for third in both hits (58) and home runs (6). For the season, he played in 49 games making 46 starts, including 45 in left field and one in center field. Of the 49 games played, Williams had at least one hit in 34 games.

Williams graduated this spring with his degree in advertising management.

The selections by Higgins and Williams marks the sixth Spartans drafted in the last four years. Prior to Dzierwa last year, a trio of Spartans were drafted in 2023, marking the first time that MSU had three draft selections in the same draft since 2019, with Mitch Jebb (2nd round, Pittsburgh Pirates), Brock Vradenburg (3rd round, Miami Marlins) and Bryan Broecker (13th round, Tampa Bay Rays).

One Michigan State player was selected in the 2021 draft: Mason Erla (17th round, Los Angeles Angels). Three Spartans were selected in the 2019 draft: Mitchell Tyranski (12th round, Los Angeles Dodgers), pitcher Indigo Diaz (27th round, Atlanta Braves) and infielder Marty Bechina (32nd round, Oakland Athletics). One MSU player was selected in the 2018 draft: Riley McCauley (14th round, Chicago Cubs), after four Spartans were selected the 2017 draft: Alex Troop (ninth round, Washington), Brandon Hughes (16th round, Chicago Cubs), Nathan Witt (17th round, Los Angeles Dodgers) and Joe Mockbee (29th round, Chicago White Sox). Michigan State had four juniors selected in the 2016 draft: Cam Vieaux (sixth round, Pittsburgh), Jordan Zimmerman (seventh round, Los Angeles Angles), Dakota Mekkes (10th round, Chicago Cubs) and Matt Byars (24th round, Minnesota). The 2015 draft saw a school-record eight players taken: Cam Gibson (fifth round, Detroit), Ryan Krill (ninth round, New York Yankees), Anthony Misiewicz (18th round, Seattle), Cam Vieaux (19th round, Detroit), Jeff Kinley (28th round, Miami), Mick VanVossen (28th round, Washington), Blaise Salter (31st round, Detroit) and Mark Weist (37th round, San Francisco).