Alabama’s CF Selected in the Seventh Round of the MLB Draft

On Monday, Alabama’s center fielder, Richie Bonomolo Jr., was selected in the seventh round with the 224th overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees, who decided to take their chances on the hometown kid who attended Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, New York.

In Bonomolo Jr’s one season at Alabama, he won the starting job in center field and started the season batting at the bottom of the lineup. The 21-year-old played a vital role in the Tide’s 41-win season in 2025, with Bonomolo Jr recording 40 walks, two hit-by-pitches, 53 runs scored, and 16 stolen bases in 17 attempts, with the center fielder showcasing his speed this season against SEC teams. He also went on to finish the season with a batting average of .311, recording 17 doubles, two triples, and eight home runs while finishing the season tied second for RBIs with 52.

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The Yankees seventh round draft pick started his college career at Wabash Valley College in Mount Caramel, III where he earned Second Team All-America honors from Prep Baseball Report following his standout Freshman season which saw him play in 65 games while batting .449 with 19 doubles, three triples, and seven home runs while knocking 62 RBIs.

Bonomolo Jr. is a player who can bat wherever you put him in the lineup, with the center fielder showing time after time last season that no matter if he’s the lead-off batter or hitting in the nine hole, either way, he’s going to give you a productive at-bat. He’s very effective at getting on base, with Bonomolo Jr. finding his way on base in each of his first 21 games this past season. He’s also just a very efficient hitter who is patient and knows how to make contact with the ball, with the Tide’s former center fielder having at least five different games this season that saw him come away with three or more hits.

This was the second player from the Tide’s 2025 team to be selected in this draft. Alabama’s starting pitcher, Riley Quick, was selected yesterday in the first round by the Minnesota Twins with the 36th overall pick in the draft. Both of these players can opt out of signing the contract with their respective teams to come back and play for Alabama next season, but that seems unlikely with Quick’s selection slot value being around $2.7 Million, and Bonomolo Jr. whose selection slot is valued $252,000 and he’s signing with his hometown team. There’s still a chance, but the likelihood of this happening is low.

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