Ten former University of Pennsylvania baseball players participated in professional baseball during the 2025 season, according to an announcement from the program. Eight of these athletes played at Penn within the last three years.
Among the group, Joe Miller and Matt O’Neill reached Triple-A, while Jake Cousins was placed on the New York Yankees’ major league injured list after a season-ending injury. W. Joseph Blood Head Coach John Yurkow commented on their achievements: “We couldn’t be prouder to see 10 of our alumni competing in professional baseball this season,” said Yurkow. “It’s a testament to the work they put in here at Penn and the culture we’ve built within our program. Watching them move on to the next level shows prospective student-athletes that you can come to Penn, get a world-class education, and still pursue your dream of playing professionally.
“It’s an exciting time for our program, and we’re looking forward to seeing even more Quakers follow in their footsteps in the years ahead.”
Jackson Appel spent most of his year with High-A Winston-Salem Dash before moving up to Double-A Birmingham with the Chicago White Sox organization. He batted .248 with a .387 on-base percentage over 258 at-bats and stole 11 bases.
Jake Cousins missed all of 2025 due to Tommy John surgery after appearing in 37 games for the Yankees in 2024 with a 2.37 ERA over 38 innings. He had become the first Penn Quaker in over a century to play in a World Series game during his previous season.
Ryan Dromboski signed as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies following his time at Penn and split his year between Single-A Clearwater Threshers and High-A Jersey Shore Blue Claws. In total, he made 22 appearances (13 starts), pitched 80.1 innings, posted a 9-6 record with a 2.69 ERA, struck out 76 batters, and maintained a WHIP of 1.13.
Wyatt Henseler was selected by the Washington Nationals in July’s MLB Draft and debuted professionally this summer across two minor league levels, ending his season at High-A Wilmington after initially excelling at Low-A Fredericksburg.
Joe Miller primarily pitched for High-A West Michigan Whitecaps (Detroit Tigers system) but also made spot starts for Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens. Over 26 appearances (23 starts), he went 8-4 with a 2.95 ERA across 116 innings.
Noah Millikan played for independent Pioneer League team Oakland Ballers after graduating from Penn this spring, finishing with a league-leading ERA among starters (2.12) over 14 starts.
Matt O’Neill split time between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse within the New York Mets organization, hitting .250 across both levels during limited action due to serving as depth at catcher.
Eli Trop completed his first full professional season as a reliever for Single-A Clearwater (Phillies), striking out more than one batter per inning despite some inconsistency through much of the year.
Cole Zaffiro worked out of Single-A Tampa Tarpons’ bullpen (Yankees system) for all of his appearances this season and also appeared briefly during spring training against major league competition.
Brian Zeldin provided effective relief pitching for independent Atlantic League’s Lexington Legends, posting one of their top ERAs among qualified pitchers through short stints out of the bullpen.
For further updates about Penn baseball alumni or current players’ progressions into professional ranks, fans are encouraged to follow @PennBaseball on X or visit PennAthletics.com.
