Connect with us

Published

1 year ago

on

(RNS) — Diana Eck, for decades, has been the academician-activist who has delved into the world’s religions and encouraged others to discover and learn about the faiths of their neighbors.

Now, 49 years after she arrived as an instructor at Harvard University, the professor of comparative religion finds herself answering the same question she posed to her “Ritual and the Life Cycle” class on its last day in late April.

“What is the hardest thing that you’ve ever encountered and how did you face it?” Eck, 78, asked the class.

Weeks later, in an interview with Religion News Service, she realized it was a good question for her to answer as well.

“I think the hardest thing has been the realization that though we have — I have and my students have — been very involved in trying to lift up the ways in which people in our society are coming together — in interfaith initiatives, interfaith councils, interfaith projects, literally all across America,” she said, “but to realize that despite our vision of how important this is, there are many people today who are still very surprised that all of these strangers are here with us, and, basically, would like them all to go home.”

RELATED: Harvard religion professor Diana Eck on pluralism’s changes, challenges

After founding the Pluralism Project at Harvard University — through which Eck, her part-time staff and scores of student researchers mapped “the new religious landscape in America” — she realizes that “unfortunately, a lot of people are still waking up to this in some way.”

Professor Diana Eck, center, stands surrounded with students from one of her religion classes near the end of the spring 2024 semester. (Photo courtesy of Harvard Divinity School)

But she hasn’t given up and remains convinced that exploring and engaging across faith lines helps individuals, communities and democracy.

Since 1991, her project has moved from discovering religious communities, such as a Hindu temple meeting in a Friendly’s restaurant, to creating a CD-ROM used in school systems, to having a website whose home page links to information about 17 religious traditions — from Afro-Caribbean to Zoroastrian.

Eck, with dual expertise in Indian studies and comparative religion, invited students to visit the Boston-area temples, gurdwaras and mosques near Harvard but also those in their hometowns. At first, the terminology for those religious communities, many of them birthed in the wake of the 1965 Immigration Act, was little known.

Jonathan Ebel, who graduated in the ‘90s after attending Eck’s “World Religions in New England” class and is now a professor of religion at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, embarked on a project in Chicago under her direction through a Pluralism Project grant.

“I was the one who had to open up the Yellow Pages and look under C for churches because it turned out that’s where almost all of these places were listed — Buddhist temples and Hindu temples and mosques and Sikh gurdwaras,” he recalled in an interview.

The Dalai Lama, from left, speaks with Diana Eck, professor of comparative religion and Indian studies, Janet Gyatso, Hershey Professor of Buddhist Studies, and others inside Loeb House at Harvard University on Sept. 15, 2003, in Cambridge, Mass. (Staff Photo by Kris Snibbe/Harvard University News Office)

Current and former faculty, interfaith leaders and former students of Eck — via the classroom or through her books — speak of her work as changing the trajectory of their academic life or careers.

“Diana was superb at bringing her vision for a better comprehension of the vast religious diversity of the USA together with the diverse array of talent in our university students to build a long lasting research and idea base from which she could realize the project’s goals in very tangible ways,” said William Graham, a former graduate-student colleague who later was dean of Harvard Divinity School.

After studying practices used at Harvard Business School, Eck and her team built a case for the viability of religious pluralism — using the “case study” method, with examples that now fill the project’s website.

One of the first was what she considered a “failure,” where a Muslim organization’s attempt to buy a church that was for sale was met with negative reaction by hundreds of residents at a city council meeting in the Chicago suburb of Palos Heights. But a few years later, another initiative led to the building of an “Islamic house of prayer” in another suburb, Orland Park, with a unanimous council vote.

Emile Lester, author of books about teaching religions in public schools, said the project’s resources have been received well among possible critics. The University of Mary Washington political science professor cited a conservative evangelical teacher who, despite preconceptions, “thought that it was completely legitimate as a subject for public school.” 

Professor Diana Eck, far left, talks with panelists during an event. (Photo courtesy of Ellie Pierce)

Though much of her work is based on research, Eck, who also is a professor at Harvard Divinity School, also has taught and learned through relationships.

Eck invited women from a range of faiths to gather at Harvard in 1983 and again in 2003 for a conference with the theme “Women, Religion and Social Change.”

She also brought women leaders of U.S. religious communities to the Harvard Club in New York shortly after 9/11 to find solace and develop strategies together for re-creating their initiatives that were disrupted by the terrorist attack and the ensuing backlash against Muslims, Sikhs and other faiths with which many Americans were still unfamiliar.

“We can speak honestly about what it is that is happening in our own community,” said Eck of the post-9/11 gathering of women in New York. “That’s not something that scholars are going to be able to penetrate very immediately.”

As Eck, the longest-serving woman professor at Harvard, is retiring, she has witnessed one of the most religiously driven global conflicts playing out on campus that is threatening interfaith relations and pluralism in real time.

A supporter of the pro-Palestinian protests by Harvard students, she acknowledged the deaths of Israelis and Jews in the Israel-Hamas war but focused on the deaths of the thousands of children in Gaza.

A student protester against the war in Gaza walks past tents and banners in an encampment in Harvard Yard, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

“When I look at the tents that have been in Harvard Yard, I think the most dramatic part of it —and the part that I believe the students care most about — is a long canvas that stretches basically from the gate of the university all the way to the administration building, on which students have written over the last months, the names and ages of the people who have been killed in Gaza,” she said.

And as a longtime member of the United Methodist Church, she celebrated as its General Conference made numerous historic steps for full inclusion of LGBTQ people in early May.

“It’s about time,” said Eck, a lesbian who married her wife, minister and psychologist Dorothy Austin, in 2004 in Harvard’s Memorial Church. “Thanks be to God. It was great to see that happen.”

Eck has modeled how a person can be a member of one faith but be supportive of people of other faiths, in and outside their houses of worship.

Her longtime friend and former student Ali Asani, whose Kenyan Muslim parents Eck once joined in prayer, called on his colleague to join him on a new task force at Harvard he is co-chairing that seeks to combat anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias.

Despite her plan to officially retire as of July 1, he said she has held listening sessions and he expects her to have a role in pending recommendations.

“I said: ‘You’re still part of the university; we’re not going to let you go,’” recalled Asani, a professor of Islamic religion and cultures. “We need you. We need you now more than ever.”

Eck, who noted that Harvard also created a task force on antisemitism earlier this year, also has encouraged people beyond the campus as they sought new ways to foster interreligious understanding.

Among her progeny are Eboo Patel, who once sat on her patio to discuss what would become Interfaith Youth Core, known for engaging college students in interfaith service projects, and is now Interfaith America, distributing grants to other cross-faith initiatives. Another is Simran Jeet Singh, executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Religion and Society Program. Both contributed to “Pilgrimage, Place, and Pluralism,” a volume published earlier this year to pay tribute to Eck, with Patel describing his mentor as “perhaps the single most influential figure in American interfaith work in the 1990s.”

Paul Raushenbush, from left, then editor for the Huffington Post, Professor Diana Eck and Simran Jeet Singh stand together for a portrait, circa 2018. (Photo courtesy of Simran Jeet Singh)

“Professor Eck’s sustained efforts demonstrate how academics can utilize their expertise — from a place of care and compassion — to help make our world a better place,” said Singh, who is a columnist for RNS.

Eck said she hopes the Pluralism Project, which has been a model for affiliates and organizations across the country, will continue to foster dialogue and engagement, even as she hopes to spend more time at home and pursue writing projects.

“I think we’ve kind of got the ball rolling, and we will try to keep what is on our website up to date,” she said. “People can use it, utilize it, build on it, teach from it, and all that stuff until we become that utopian pluralist culture.”

RELATED: White House’s Melissa Rogers affirms religious diversity as interfaith group expands

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

US

Two dead after multiple people were injured in shooting at church in Kentucky

Published

1 hour ago

on

July 13, 2025

By

Two dead after multiple people were injured in shooting at church in Kentucky

Two people are dead after multiple people were injured in shootings in Kentucky, the state’s governor has said.

Andy Beshear said the suspect had also been killed following the shooting at Richmond Road Baptist Church in Lexington.

A state trooper was earlier shot at Blue Grass Airport in Fayette County on Sunday morning, the Lexington Herald-Leader local newspaper reports.

Mr Beshear has said a state trooper “from the initial stop” and people who were injured in the church shooting are “being treated at a nearby hospital”.

The extent of the injuries is not immediately known.

State troopers and the Lexington Police Department had caught up with the suspect at the church following the shooting in Fayette County, according to Sky News’ US partner network NBC News.

Read more US news
Trump threatens to revoke comedian’s citizenship
Farmer becomes first person to die during ICE raids
Trump imposes 30% tariff on EU imports

Mr Beshear said: “Please pray for everyone affected by these senseless acts of violence, and let’s give thanks for the swift response by the Lexington Police Department and Kentucky State Police.”

The Blue Grass Airport posted on X at 1pm local time (6pm UK time) that a law enforcement investigation was impacting a portion of an airport road, but that all flights and operations were now proceeding normally.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the latest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Continue Reading

Environment

Upcoming electric Bentley blends 1930s style with 2030s tech

Published

3 hours ago

on

July 13, 2025

By

Upcoming electric Bentley blends 1930s style with 2030s tech

EXP 15 design vision concept: A story reimagined for the future

British ultra-luxe brand Bentley is teasing the upcoming, first-ever all electric model that will take it into the 2030s with a new concept car inspired by the iconic 1930 “Blue Train” Speed Six coupe – and it looks fantastic!

More than any other brand, Bentley was defined by its engine. For decades, in fact, the only meaningful mechanical difference between a Rolls-Royce and a Bentley was the 6.75L twin-turbocharged V8 engine under the flying B hood ornament.

That all changed at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Rolls-Royce was acquired by BMW, while Volkswagen took the reins at Bentley, setting both brands on distinct paths. Now, without its own engine, Bentley faces the challenge of proving to discerning buyers that its cars justify a premium over its mechanical cousins at VW, Audi, and Porsche. That’s why the company is looking to it pre-Rolls merger past, all the way back to the legendary 1930 “Blue Train” Speed Six coupe.

Bentley Blue Train EXP 15 concept

EXP 15 concept and 1930 Blue Train; via Bentley.

“Bentley’s then-chairman Woolf Barnato had a Speed Six four-door Weymann fabric saloon by H J Mulliner, which he used to race the Blue Train in 1930,” explains Darren Day, Bentley’s Head of Interior Design. “Meanwhile, he had a unique one-of-one Speed Six coupe being built, with a body by Gurney Nutting. Even though the coupe wasn’t finished when the race took place, it’s that car (the coupe) that’s become associated with it and has since become an iconic Bentley. What we were influenced by is the idea of a three-seat car with a unique window line and super slick proportions used for grand tours.”

Advertisement – scroll for more content

The EXP 15 concept car features a unique, three-door, three-passenger layout under a sweeping, dramatic roofline lifted from the 1930 tourer. “The seat can rotate and you step out, totally unflustered, not trying to clamber out of the car like you see with some supercars,” continued Day, before dropping the biggest hint yet as to who they’re building the car for. “You just get out with dignity and the Instagram shot is perfect.”

Bentley EXP 15 interior

While almost no technical specs have been revealed other than “full electric,” Bentley says its new concept’s innovative interior layout allows passengers to stretch out in comfort alongside accessible storage compartments that can house a bar, hand luggage, or even pets. The EXP 15 even offers tailgate seating for outdoor parties or suburban soccer games.

But, while the new concept is tall, Bentley hopes it manages to offer the commanding driving position and comfort of an SUV while giving off the “vibe” of a classic grand tourer – something Bentley thinks could be the next wave of the luxury car market.

“The beauty of a concept car is not just to position our new design language, but to test where the market’s going,” offers Robin Page, Bentley Director of Design. “It’s clear that SUVs are a growing segment and we understand the GT market … but the trickiest segment is the sedan because it’s changing. Some customers want a classic ‘three-box’ sedan shape, others a ‘one-box’ design, and others again something more elevated. So this was a chance for us to talk to people and get a feeling.”

As before: no specs, no range estimates, and no promises about if and nothing definitive about when the oft-promised all-electric Bentley will finally bow – but this is certain: when it does arrive, it will be big, brash, and fast.

Electrek’s Take

Now that SUVs are everywhere and in every segment, automakers are desperate to explore or open new niches, hoping to find that next “SUV-like” growth segment. As weird as the three-door, three-seat EXP 15’s interior layout is, you have to admit that it’s different. And, for a vehicle that spends 90% of its time with just one person inside it, it might be more than practical enough.

Let us know if you think Bentley has a winner, or just another concept car gimmick on its hands in the comments.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Bentley.

he 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Sports

Final 2025 MLB mock draft: Updated picks just hours before Round 1 begins

Published

3 hours ago

on

July 13, 2025

By

Final 2025 MLB mock draft: Updated picks just hours before Round 1 begins

  • Kiley McDanielJul 13, 2025, 02:00 PM ET

    Close

    • ESPN MLB Insider
    • Kiley McDaniel covers MLB prospects, the MLB Draft and more, including trades and free agency.
    • Has worked for three MLB teams.
      • Co-author of Author of ‘Future Value’

The 2025 MLB draft begins at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN, so it is time for one final update as teams lock in their Day 1 boards.

The drama starts right at the top this year, as the Washington Nationals have a difficult decision to make with the No. 1 pick a week after firing their general manager.

In a year without a slam-dunk top player, Oklahoma high school star Ethan Holliday (yes, the son of former major leaguer Matt) and a group of college left-handers (LSU’s Kade Anderson, Tennessee’s Liam Doyle and Florida State’s Jamie Arnold) rank among the top prospects in the class.

Which direction will the Nationals go — and how will the Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners follow with the No. 2 and No. 3 picks?

Since this is a last-minute update on what teams could do Sunday night, my writeups here are focused on what has changed since the previous edition. You can find a more detailed look at each team’s strategy in my mock draft 3.0. And remember, this is the order in which I think the players will come off the board, while my draft rankings are the order in which I’d pick the players.

Draft tracker: Results, analysis for every Day 1 pick

More coverage: Mock draft 3.0 | Big question for all 30 teams

Watch: Sunday at 6 p.m. on ESPN

1. Washington Nationals

Kade Anderson, LHP, LSU
Rank: 1

There have been a lot of rumors flying around over the past few days about what is happening in the wake of the firing of GM Mike Rizzo.

The industry feeling is that what has changed is 1) Anderson is a little more likely to be the pick mostly because Holliday is now a little less likely to be the pick, and 2) taking a bigger cut is a real option, with Eli Willits the main cut-rate possibility, though Aiva Arquette has also been mentioned.

All but Willits are advised by Scott Boras, and he’ll never tip his hand until he has to; now is not the time yet. Nothing is decided here and price will be a factor. If I turned this in 15 minutes before the draft, the Nats might still not have made the decision, so I’ll stick with what seems most likely, even if I don’t feel great about it. Landon Harmon is a rumored later round, overslot target.

For context, a scouting director for a team picking in the top 10 said I shouldn’t feel confident about anything happening in the top three picks specifically, adding, “I’m hearing there’s wars happening in all of those rooms right now” (as of Friday night). I ran that by another director picking up high: “Yeah, we’re hearing the same thing.”

2. Los Angeles Angels

Liam Doyle, LHP, Tennessee
Rank: 6

I’m going to stick with Doyle because he makes the most sense for what the Angels have proved they’re looking for in recent drafts: a polished, quick-moving college player who will come at a savings.

I’ve heard at least six players seriously connected to this pick in the past few days: Anderson, Doyle, Arnold, Arquette, Ike Irish and Willits. There are a couple more I’ve been told are under consideration who I’m not taking seriously as options here.

It could be any of these players based on final conversations and bonus pricing info on each player coming in at the last minute. Doyle has a real shot to slide to No. 9 or No. 10 if he doesn’t go here, so he is motivated to give a competitive number.

play

0:55

Liam Doyle’s MLB draft profile

Kiley McDaniel explains what makes Tennessee’s Liam Doyle one of the top prospects in this year’s MLB draft.

3. Seattle Mariners

Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona HS (CA)
Rank: 4

The hot rumor of the past few days is that Tyler Bremner will be the pick here at big savings, and that holds up to further analysis because, in style, Bremner and Hernandez (long connected to this pick) are pretty similar.

It’s pretty widely known that Anderson is the No. 1 player for Seattle and will be the pick if he gets here, which still has maybe a 20-30% chance of happening.

If Anderson isn’t here, I think the decision comes down to Bremner at the most savings, Irish at a little less savings or Hernandez at the least savings, broadly speaking. Some sources have said Arquette, Arnold and Kyson Witherspoon are also in play here, but they seem like tertiary options.

I think Bremner having more support in the No. 11-15 area that was reflected in the last mock will raise his price a bit to where Hernandez will be the pick, but this one is also wide open at the moment and will come down to a last-minute bonus price check if Anderson isn’t available.

Ethan Holliday, 3B, Stillwater HS (OK)
Rank: 2

There has been some waffling late in the process from sources who think maybe the Rockies wouldn’t pay the overslot price to get Holliday down here — but much of what I hear very late in the process is wrong or intentional misinformation, so I’ll stick with what I’ve been hearing for a literal year.

I think the other options for Colorado if Holliday doesn’t get here are all college pitchers: Anderson, Arnold and Witherspoon, with Willits and Arquette getting some mentions.

play

1:10

Ethan Holliday’s MLB draft profile

Kiley McDaniel explains what makes Ethan Holliday one of the top prospects in this year’s MLB draft.

Eli Willits, SS, Fort Cobb-Broxton HS (OK)
Rank: 3

Willits seems securely in play at the top two picks and possibly at No. 4, so the Cardinals landing him here would be considered a solid outcome. I think Anderson and Holliday are the primary targets for this pick and Willits is next up, with Arnold and Irish as the possible underslot options.

Jamie Arnold, LHP, Florida State
Rank: 5

It sounds like Hernandez or Willits will be the pick if either is here, so the Pirates are rooting for Seattle to either land Anderson or opt for a cheaper alternative to Hernandez.

Otherwise, JoJo Parker, Arnold, Arquette and Irish are believed to be the four leading options here. Arnold has the most late support, but this one might also come down to money.

I hope you feel sympathy for me having to do this in public when none of these teams know what it will do and won’t for hours.

play

1:05

Jamie Arnold’s MLB draft profile

Kiley McDaniel explains what makes Florida State’s Jamie Arnold one of the top prospects in this year’s MLB draft.

JoJo Parker, SS, Purvis HS (MS)
Rank: 7

I think this will come down to Parker, Iris, and Billy Carlson — and I think Parker has the edge.

Aiva Arquette, SS, Oregon State
Rank: 9

I think the Jays will pick Parker if he gets here and will consider Arnold along with Arquette and Irish if they are still available here. This decision seems to come down to Arquette or Irish, with Carlson and Witherspoon also under consideration.

4:15 p.m. ET UPDATE: Ike Irish, RF, Auburn
Rank: 13

I’m getting some late-breaking info that Irish is more of a fit here than Hall, so shuffling a few picks that follow to accommodate for that.

Cincinnati seems to be the floor if Hernandez or Doyle slip, and otherwise the Reds seem to be the ceiling for Hall. Irish, Witherspoon and Carlson are also in the mix.

Billy Carlson, SS, Corona HS (CA)
Rank: 8

Carlson’s range seems to be No. 7 to No. 12 (or maybe No. 14). I think the White Sox really want to land the Parker brothers (JoJo and Jacob) but can’t get JoJo to this pick.

The White Sox have been all over high school hitters all spring, and Carlson gets the nod over Gavin Fien.

Tyler Bremner, RHP, UC Santa Barbara
Rank: 18

Bremner is picking up steam at this pick, and I think his floor is now Boston’s pick at No. 15. It’s a bit surprising he could go ahead of Witherspoon, but Bremner clearly has been getting interest in the top half of the first round that just hadn’t leaked out to the industry at large until late. I think this will be a college player, likely a pitcher, with Witherspoon and Brendan Summerhill also mentioned here a lot.

4:15 p.m. ET UPDATE: Steele Hall, SS, Hewitt-Trussville HS (AL)
Rank: 13

A few names shuffled around late Sunday, and now one of the Rangers’ top targets will be available. Marek Houston is also in the mix here.

I think Hall and Carlson are the targets here, but neither will make it to the pick, so Cunningham will become the pick, narrowly over Josh Hammond. I was hearing Cunningham would fit more 20-30, and the late chatter is that he has multiple homes in the teens. As with the White Sox, the belief all spring was that the Rangers want a prep hitter here.

4:15 p.m. ET UPDATE: Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Oklahoma
Rank: 10

In a last-minute update, I shuffled four players and Witherspoon fits here as a solid value.

Irish is in play at most picks starting at No. 2 all the way down to the middle of the first round, but I think his slide would stop here. The Giants have long been tied to Marek Houston and Charles Davalan (a long shot at this pick, but gone by their next one), with Andrew Fischer getting some love as well.

4:15 p.m. ET UPDATE: Kayson Cunningham, SS, Johnson HS (TX)
Rank: 25

I think this pick will come down to Cunningham or Sean Gamble in this situation; Gamble could make it to their next pick.

The Rays are tied to prep position players for later picks and could pull a shocker, as I projected in my previous mock, by taking Jaden Fauske here.

I think Hall, Carlson and Cunningham are the main targets, but none of them is available in this projection. Witherspoon is from Florida and is a great value, while the Rays still have a chance to land Fauske at their next pick.

Gavin Fien, 3B, Great Oak HS (CA)
Rank: 12

I’ll stick with Fien here as one of the steadiest projections all spring. It sounds like Tyler Bremner will be the pick if he gets here, but that’s now looking unlikely.

Gavin Kilen, SS, Tennessee
Rank: 20

Kilen fits the type of prospect the Twins have targeted for a while. I could see Houston, Caden Bodine or Gage Wood being options here, too.

Josh Hammond, SS, Wesleyan Christian HS (NC)
Rank: 17

I think the Cubs are targeting in-game power here, and Hammond makes a lot of sense. They’ve scouted Quentin Young pretty hard this spring as well, but this is too early for that kind of risk. Xavier Neyens, Wehiwa Aloy and Wood all fit, as well.

Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest
Rank: 22

I think Cunningham is the target here, but he isn’t available in this scenario. Hammond and Bodine are also mentioned here and I think Slater de Brun will be the selection at Arizona’s next pick.

Jace LaViolette, CF, Texas A&M
Rank: 21

LaViolette should go in one of the next three picks and fits Baltimore’s style. He won’t get to the Orioles’ next pick, but they may be able to float targets down there with their extra pool muscle, as covered in the previous mock.

Brendan Summerhill, CF, Arizona
Rank: 14

Summerhill has a very unclear and wide range of teams that are interested but could fit here. Daniel Pierce, Houston, Bodine and Coy James are all in the mix for this pick.

Wehiwa Aloy, SS, Arkansas
Rank: 15

I think LaViolette, Neyens, Southisene and Aloy are all in the mix here, along with possible underslot deals for Davalan or de Brun.

Gage Wood, RHP, Arkansas
Rank: 16

It now looks like Bremner won’t get here, but the Braves have been tied to Wood for about a month. Otherwise, the hit-first shortstops like Houston and Pierce are tied here.

Daniel Pierce, SS, Mill Creek HS (GA)
Rank: 19

Hammond seems to be the target, but he doesn’t make it to K.C. in this edition. I think the Royals will take a prep pitcher with one of their high picks, likely either Watson or Fisher, and maybe another later on Day 1. Eyanson and Wood are two college arms being considered.

Coy James, SS, Davie County HS (NC)
Rank: 69

James has a good shot at being a Tiger, and some of Detroit’s primary options go right ahead of this spot in this scenario, so I think this could be a curveball pick to most viewers.

Fauske is another possibility here, along with Kruz Schoolcraft, Pierce, Watson, Dax Kilby (more at their next pick), de Brun (same), Southisene and Fischer.

Anthony Eyanson, RHP, LSU
Rank: 45

There’s lots of late momentum for Eyanson here, which is counter to the history of A.J. Preller’s time making picks for the Padres, so I’m going out on a limb.

Kilby on a cut, Young, Schoolcraft, Alec Blair, Josh Owens and de Brun all seem like high schoolers in the mix here.

Caden Bodine, C, Coastal Carolina
Rank: 23

Philly normally takes high-ceiling high school players, but this is too good of a value to pass up. Matthew Fisher, Sean Gamble and Blair are the leading prep targets, and Fischer is also mentioned.

Tate Southisene, SS, Basic HS (NV)
Rank: 37

Kane Kepley on a big cut, Devin Taylor on a smaller one, Kilby and Watson are all options here.

Note: No. 27 is the final pick of the first round of the 2025 MLB draft. You can read mock draft 3.0 for my thinking and potential targets for teams making the comp and second-round picks that follow and see the full draft order here.

28. Kansas City Royals: Aaron Watson, RHP, Trinity Christian HS (FL)
29. Arizona Diamondbacks: Slater de Brun, CF, Summit HS (OR)
30. Baltimore Orioles: Xavier Neyens, 3B, Mount Vernon HS (WA)
31. Baltimore Orioles: Andrew Fischer, 3B, Tennessee
32. Milwaukee Brewers: Charles Davalan, LF, Arkansas
33. Boston Red Sox: Marcus Phillips, RHP, Tennessee
34. Detroit Tigers: Jaden Fauske, RF, Nazareth Academy HS (IL)
35. Seattle Mariners: Zach Root, LHP, Arkansas
36. Minnesota Twins: Devin Taylor, LF, Indiana
37. Baltimore Orioles: Jordan Yost, SS, Sickles HS (FL)
38. New York Mets: Patrick Forbes, RHP, Louisville
39. New York Yankees: Dax Kilby, SS, Newnan HS (GA)
40: Los Angeles Dodgers: Quentin Young, 3B, Oaks Christian HS (CA)
41. Los Angeles Dodgers: Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP, Sunset HS (OR)
42. Tampa Bay Rays: Sean Gamble, 2B, IMG Academy HS (FL)
43. Miami Marlins: Alec Blair, CF, De La Salle HS (CA)
44. Chicago White Sox: Ethan Conrad, RF, Wake Forest
45. Colorado Rockies: Cam Cannarella, CF, Clemson
46. Miami Marlins: Josh Owens, SS, Providence Academy HS (TN)
47. Los Angeles Angels: J.D. Thompson, LHP, Vanderbilt
48. Athletics: J.B. Middleton, RHP, Southern Miss
49. Washington Nationals: Max Belyeu, RF, Texas
50. Pittsburgh Pirates: Luke Stevenson, C, North Carolina
51. Cincinnati Reds: Taitn Gray, C, Grimes Community HS (IA)
52. Texas Rangers: Michael Oliveto, C, Hauppauge HS (NY)
53. Tampa Bay Rays: Dean Moss, CF, IMG Academy HS (FL)
54. Minnesota Twins: Josiah Hartshorn, LF, Orange Lutheran HS (CA)
55. St. Louis Cardinals: Cooper Flemming, SS, Aliso Niguel HS (CA)
56. Chicago Cubs: Alex Lodise, SS, Florida State
57. Seattle Mariners: Malachi Witherspoon, RHP, Oklahoma
58. Baltimore Orioles: Mason Neville, CF, Oregon
59. Milwaukee Brewers: Mitch Voit, 2B, Michigan
60. Atlanta Braves: Kane Kepley, CF, North Carolina
61. Kansas City Royals: Riley Quick, RHP, Alabama
62. Detroit Tigers: Dean Curley, 3B, Tennessee
63. Philadelphia Phillies: Matthew Fisher, RHP, Evansville Memorial HS (IN)
64. Cleveland Guardians: A.J. Russell, RHP, Tennessee
65. Los Angeles Dodgers: Chase Shores, RHP, LSU
66. Cleveland Guardians: Cade Obermueller, LHP, Iowa
67. Tampa Bay Rays: Briggs McKenzie, LHP, Corinth Holders HS (NC)
68. Milwaukee Brewers: Daniel Dickinson, 2B, LSU
69. Baltimore Orioles: Brandon Compton, LF, Arizona State
70. Cleveland Guardians: Aiden Stillman, LHP, Trinity Prep HS (FL)
71. Kansas City Royals: Angel Cervantes, RHP, Warren HS (CA)
72. St. Louis Cardinals: Joseph Dzierwa, LHP, Michigan State
73. Pittsburgh Pirates: Ethan Petry, 1B, South Carolina
74. Colorado Rockies: Easton Carmichael, C, Oklahoma
75. Boston Red Sox: Jake Cook, CF, Southern Miss

Continue Reading

Trending