Will Wilson (baseball)

William Bradley Wilson (born July 21, 1998) is an American professional baseball shortstop in the San Francisco Giants organization. He was drafted in the first round, with the 15th overall pick, of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft by the Los Angeles Angels.

Will Wilson
San Francisco Giants
Shortstop / Second baseman
Born: (1998-07-21) July 21, 1998
Kings Mountain, North Carolina
Bats: Right Throws: Right

Early and personal life

His mother, Robin, played softball at Winthrop and is now a second-grade teacher.[1] His father, Brad, is a commercial banker.[1]

Wilson played football and basketball in middle school.[1]

High school

Wilson attended Kings Mountain High School in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. In high school, he was a nose guard turned quarterback until he gave up football to concentrate on baseball.[1] As a senior, he hit .535/.673/1.253 with 14 home runs in 26 games.[2][3] Undrafted out of high school in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft, he enrolled at North Carolina State University where he played college baseball for the NC State Wolfpack.[1]

College

In 2017, as a freshman at NC State playing primarily second base, Wilson started all 61 games and batted .300/.377/.504 with 21 doubles (tied for the league lead; the second-highest total of any freshman in the nation), eight home runs, and 48 RBIs.[2][4][5][6] He was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team[7][8] along with being named a Freshman All-American by D1Baseball and Collegiate Baseball Magazine.[9] As a sophomore in 2018, playing shortstop he hit .307/.376/.588 (10th in the league) with three triples (tied for 8th), 15 home runs (tied for 7th), and 53 RBIs (10th) in 59 games.[10][11][12] During the season, he was named ACC Player of the Week three times, which set an NC State record.[13] He was also named to the All ACC-First Team.[14] After the season, he played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.[15][16]

Prior to the 2019 season, Wilson was named a preseason All-American by multiple media outlets including Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.[17] He was named the ACC Defender of the Year along with being named to the All ACC-First Team for the second consecutive year.[18] He played shortstop and finished the season slashing .339/.425/.665 (5th in the league) with 20 doubles (tied for 5th), 16 home runs (tied for 5th), and 57 RBIs in 55 games.[19] Wilson earned his finance degree from NC State in three years.[1]

Wilson was considered one of the top prospects for the 2019 Major League Baseball draft.[20] He was selected by the Los Angeles Angels with the 15th overall selection.[21] He signed with the Angels on June 10 for a signing bonus of $3.4 million.[22]

Professional career

After signing, he made his professional debut with the Orem Owlz in the Pioneer League.[23] Over 46 games, Wilson slashed .275/.328/.439 with five home runs and 18 RBIs.[24]

On December 10, 2019, Wilson and Zack Cozart were traded to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.[25]

References
  2. "Will Wilson - 2019 - Baseball - NC State University Athletics". Gopack.com. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  3. "Final baseball & softball stat leaders: KM's Will Wilson leads area in average, runs and homers". Gaston Gazette. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  4. "2017 Atlantic Coast Conference Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  5. "Wilson geared up for sophomore season". Technician. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  6. "Kings Mountain's Will Wilson is one of the hottest hitters in the ACC". Shelby Star. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  7. "ACC Announces 2017 Baseball Season Honors - Atlantic Coast Conference". Theacc.com. 2017-05-22. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  8. "Pack Places Four on All-ACC Teams". 247sports.com. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  9. "Wilson Named Frosh All-American By D1Baseball". 247sports.com. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  10. "2018 Atlantic Coast Conference Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  11. "Wilson, Bailey lead talented Wolfpack infield". Technician. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  12. "Kings Mountain's Wilson helping N.C. State baseball to its best start, highest ranking in history". Shelby Star. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  13. "NC State's Will Wilson awarded National, ACC Player of the Week". 247sports.com. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  14. "Hometown heroes: Kings Mountain's Will Wilson named All-ACC shortstop". Gaston Gazette. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  15. "N.C. State's Will Wilson Feels At Home With USA Baseball". Baseball America. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  16. "Kings Mountain's Will Wilson enjoying USA Baseball Collegiate Baseball team". Gaston Gazette. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  17. "Hometown heroes: 2019 college baseball preview". Gaston Gazette. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  18. "Kings Mountain's Will Wilson named ACC defender of the year and All-ACC shortstop". Gaston Gazette. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  19. "NC State’s Will Wilson leads in-state contingent in MLB draft"
  20. "MLB.com 2019 Prospect Watch". MLB.com. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  21. "Angels' Will Wilson: Lands with Halos at No. 15 overall". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  22. Bollinger, Rhett (2019-06-10). "Will Wilson, No. 15 Draft pick, signs with Angels". MLB.com. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  23. "Short-season assignments for prospects, draft picks". MLB.com. 2019-06-14. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  24. Brian Witt (December 10, 2019). "Giants prospect Will Wilson makes good first impression, hates Dodgers". NBC Sports Bay Area. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  25. Kerry Crowley (December 10, 2019). "SF Giants trade for a prospect, sign a starter and acquire an infielder in flurry of moves". The Mercury News. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
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