2 Riverhawks pitching grads taken in MLB draft

Former Edmonton Riverhawks pitchers Mikiah Negrete, left with Cal State Fullerton, and KJ Ward, right with Park University Gilbert, were drafted by Major League Baseball teams on July 12, 2026. (Photo credit: Cal State Fullerton/Park Univ. Gilbert)

Two pitchers who took the mound during the Edmonton Riverhawks’ inaugural season are a step closer to The Show.

KJ Ward and Mikiah Negrete heard their names called during last weekend’s Major League Baseball draft, Ward becoming a prospect of the Detroit Tigers and Negrete a hopeful on the Colorado Rockies.

The 24-year-old Ward, taken by the Tigers 276th overall in the ninth round of the draft, pitched two seasons at Park University’s campus in Gilbert, Ariz., after starting his U.S. collegiate career at Oklahoma Panhandle State University.

The Houston native pitched for the Riverhawks in 2022, going 3-2 in eight starts, striking out 30 over 40.2 innings.

This past season, the six-foot-five 255 lb., right-hander went 2-4 in 10 starts with a 5.36 earned-run average (ERA) and 52 strikeouts while walking 15 batters over 40.1 innings pitched.

The Rockies made Negrete their 10th-round pick, 284th overall, on Sunday. The 22-year-old wrapped up his four-year collegiate career last season at Cal State Fullerton, where he posted a record of 9-4 in 15 starts while earning a 2.70 ERA, striking out 94 batters and walking 17 over 100 innings pitched.

Like Ward, the six-foot-one, 205 lb. left-hander also played the 2022 short-summer West Coast League campaign in Edmonton. The Oceanside, Calif., native made relief appearances in 10 Riverhawks games that year, going 1-1 and making one save while striking out 18 batters over 16.2 innings pitched.

• Each Riverhawks home game in 2026 features a theme

The Riverhawks are starting a four-day break in their schedule for the WCL all-star game. They return to action on Friday for a three-game weekend set in Port Angeles, Wash., against the Lefties before returning to Re/Max Field for three home games against the Kamloops NorthPaws.

Edmonton sits fourth in the WCL’s North Division nine games into the second half of the seaeason with a 5-4 record after finishing the first half of the 2026 campaign in fifth with a 14-12 record, four-and-a-half games behind first-place Wenatchee.