The Braves announced Tuesday that they’ve signed all 21 draftees from their 2025 class, adding an influx of talent to their minor-league system.
This group is headlined by prep shortstop Tate Southisene, whom the team selected No. 22 overall. Because he’s an outstanding athlete, the hope is that Southisene’s offensive prowess grows as he does. Southisene hit .495 with nine homers, 33 RBIs and 50 runs scored for Basic High School near Las Vegas, the Nevada Class 5A state champions. He was named first-team All-State three times.
In the second round, the Braves selected Florida State shortstop Alex Lodise, who was ranked higher than Southisene by some evaluators. Lodise is coming off a prolific season for the Seminoles that earned him the Dick Howser Trophy, given annually to the best player in college baseball. He hit .394/.462/.705 with 17 home runs. He could be a quick riser.
The Braves went to another shortstop in the third round in Cody Miller of East Tennessee State. After homering four times across his first two seasons, Miller belted 20 in his final collegiate campaign.
The team then went over slot value to sign fourth-round draftee Briggs McKenzie, a lefty who was committed to LSU. Their savings on earlier signings allowed them to ink McKenzie, who was a top-50 prospect by Baseball America but fell to pick No. 127.
Here’s the Braves’ entire 2025 draft class:
First round (No. 22): SS Tate Southisene, Basic HS (Nevada)
Second round (No. 60): SS Alex Lodise, Florida State
Third round (No. 96): SS Cody Miller, East Tennessee State
Fourth round (No. 127): LHP Briggs McKenzie, Corinth Holders HS (North Carolina)
Fourth round (No. 136): 2B Dixon Williams, East Carolina (pick was compensation for losing left-hander Max Fried in free agency)
Fifth round (No. 157): OF Conor Essenburg, Lincoln-Way West HS (Illinois)
Sixth round (No. 187): LHP Landon Beidelschies, Arkansas
Seventh round (No. 217): RHP Zach Royse, Texas-San Antonio
Eighth round (No. 247): RHP Carter Lovasz, William & Mary
Ninth round (No. 277 overall): OF Logan Braunschweig, Alabama-Birmingham
10th round (No. 307 overall): RHP Kade Woods, LSU
11th round (No. 337 overall): RHP Colin Daniel, Alabama-Birmingham
12th round (No. 367 overall): RHP Jay Woolfolk, Virginia
13th round (No. 397 overall): RHP Logan Forsythe, Louisiana Tech
14th round (No. 427 overall): RHP Mathieu Curtis, Virginia Tech
15th round (No. 457 overall): OF Dallas Macias, Oregon State
16th round (No. 487 overall): RHP Nico Wagner, West Valley College (Calif.)
17th round (No. 517 overall): RHP Brody Fowler, North Greenville University
18th round (No. 547 overall): RHP Aiven Cabral, Northeastern
19th round (No. 577 overall): RHP Ryan Heppner, British Columbia
20th round (No. 607 overall): 1B Hayden Friese, Western Carolina
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