Nate Smithburg, the Libertyville native and University of Oklahoma pitcher who helped lead the Sooners to a national championship this past spring, has been selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 18th round of the 2026 MLB Draft with the 533rd overall pick.
Smithburg, a left-handed reliever, appeared in 19 games for Oklahoma this season, posting a 3.79 ERA and a 2-0 record across 19.0 innings pitched, with 18 strikeouts and just five walks. In three postseason appearances, he struck out three batters across five innings, including a career-long outing of 3.2 innings with two strikeouts in the Lawrence Super Regional that helped the Sooners clinch their spot in the College World Series.
Oklahoma went on to win the national championship, completing one of the most remarkable postseason runs in college baseball history as an unranked team. Smithburg’s selection was part of a strong draft haul for the Sooners — it was the third straight season Oklahoma has had eight or more MLB Draft picks, and the 13th time overall the program has reached that mark.
Smithburg was not the only Sooner to be selected by Tampa Bay — Oklahoma teammate Mason Bixby, a right-handed pitcher, was also drafted by the Rays in the 14th round with the 413th overall pick.
A 2022 Fairfield High School graduate, Smithburg went on to pitch at Indian Hills Community College in Centerville before transferring to Oklahoma, where he fought back from Tommy John surgery to become a key piece of the Sooners’ bullpen.
It remains unclear at this time whether Smithburg will sign with the Rays and begin his professional career or return to Oklahoma for another season. No decision has been announced publicly as of this report.
Smithburg’s selection adds his name to a short but growing list of players with ties to Jefferson County to be drafted by a Major League Baseball organization. He joins Keaton Winn, who grew up in Ollie in Keokuk County but attended Pekin High School in Jefferson County before going on to Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs. Winn was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the fifth round of the 2018 draft and remains an active pitcher in the Giants organization today.
For Smithburg, the draft selection caps a remarkable journey from the little league fields of Libertyville to the doorstep of professional baseball — a journey defined by hard work, perseverance through injury, and a national championship along the way. You can read Ottumwa Radio’s previous stories about Smithburg here and here.
