Northwestern baseball sent two players to professional organizations on Sunday, July 12, when shortstop Ryan Kucherak and center fielder Jack Lausch were selected on Day 2 of the 2026 MLB Draft.

The San Diego Padres took Kucherak in the 15th round with the 455th overall pick. The Cincinnati Reds grabbed Lausch two rounds later at No. 512. They are the first Wildcats drafted since 2021, when three Northwestern players heard their names called.

For Lausch, the path to pro baseball ran through the quarterback room first. The Chicago native spent three years playing football at Northwestern, starting 10 games under center as a redshirt sophomore in 2024 and throwing for 1,714 yards with nine total touchdowns. He became NU's first football-baseball dual-sport athlete since Dan Kubiuk in 2015-16 when he joined the diamond in 2025.

The switch paid off fast. In 2026, Lausch led the Wildcats in batting average (.312), home runs (16), RBI (41), runs (52), hits (63) and total bases (132), according to Northwestern Athletics. His 16 homers and 132 total bases both rank second in program history. He earned Third Team All-Big Ten honors and the Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award.

"I always felt like if baseball is meant for me, it would come back to me," Lausch told The Daily Northwestern in a July 7 profile about his transition from football to full-time baseball.

Lausch has already signed with Cincinnati, according to MLB.com.

Kucherak, a Chandler, Arizona native who transferred from LSU after his freshman year, made his mark quickly in Evanston. He set Northwestern's single-season home run record with 18 in 2025, posting a team-high 1.018 OPS. In 2026, he hit .295 with 10 home runs, 39 RBI and 27 walks while earning Third Team All-Big Ten recognition.

His 28 career home runs in just two seasons are tied for fifth in program history, per Northwestern Athletics. He is the first Wildcat to hit double-digit homers in consecutive seasons since Stephen Hrustich in 2021-22.

Kucherak attended Hamilton High School in Chandler, where he played alongside 2026 No. 1 overall pick Roch Cholowsky.

Whether Kucherak signs with San Diego remains unclear. He entered the transfer portal on June 30, and The Daily Northwestern reported he would not return to Northwestern if he declines the Padres' offer.

Head coach Ben Greenspan enters the 2027 season without two of his most productive hitters. Lausch hit 22 home runs across two seasons, and Kucherak's 28 led the program during that stretch. The Wildcats haven't had two players drafted in the same year since 2021, when Michael Trautwein went to the Reds, Tyler Uberstine to the Red Sox and Shawn Goosenberg to the White Sox.