July 13, 2025
The Toronto Blue Jays’ will begin their 2025 draft class tonight, as they will make two selections: 1st round (8th overall) and 3rd round (81st overall) respectively.
The organization made two selections on day one a year ago, too, as the Blue Jays selected a pair of right-handed pitchers in Trey Yesavage and Khal Stephen during the first night of the draft.
Hear what Khal Stephen had to say about his draft process, and his amateur preparation split between Purdue University and Mississippi State University.
“For me, it was a lot of conversations as they wanted to know more about me as a person,” said Stephen. “It was mostly being busy on the phone, having meetings every two to three days. I enjoyed the process.”
Stephen began his NCAA career close to home at Purdue University before transferring to Mississippi State prior to his junior season.
“It was a really hard decision for me to transfer,” explained Stephen. “I grew about 40 minutes away from Purdue, so they were basically in my backyard. I grew up a Purdue fan, I’m extremely invested in them, and I follow them in everything. But it was my sophomore summer, and my pitching coach took a job at LSU, and it would’ve been my third straight year with a new pitching coach, so it felt like a sign to test the waters and see what’s out there.”
“MSU was great,” Stephen added. “I think the biggest thing was being in an atmosphere where things are so intense. You deal with people on the internet; you deal with people in the stands both good and bad. I think that helped me, and the talent in the SEC is great. I had to adapt to that to find success.”