Former Bergen County baseball star selected by Boston Red Sox in MLB Draft first round

Three years ago, Kyle Teel gambled on his own talent. On Sunday night, his bet paid off.

The University of Virginia junior and former Mahwah High School standout was selected by the Boston Red Sox with the No. 14 overall pick of Major League Baseball’s First-Year Player Draft.

The Bergen County native is the first player from North Jersey to be selected in the first round since Rob Kaminsky of St. Joseph (Montvale) was chosen 28th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013.

Teel is the Garden State’s highest draft pick since pitcher Jason Groome of Barnegat High School went 12th overall to the Boston Red Sox in 2016.

Teel likely would have been drafted high out of high school, but opted out of the 2020 Draft that April after the high school and NCAA seasons were canceled due to the COVID pandemic. At the time, Teel was a senior at Mahwah and projected to be picked in the top three rounds.

Three years later, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Teel is fresh off one of the greatest individual seasons in Virginia program history. As a left-handed hitting catcher, he hit 13 home runs and batted batted .407, the sixth-highest batting average ever for a Virginia hitter. He racked up a school-record 25 doubles and drove in 69 runs all while starting each of Virginia’s 65 games behind the plate.

He won the Buster Posey Award and Johnny Bench Award − two honors distinguishing the best catcher in college baseball. The 21-year old was one of 25 semifinalists for the 2019 Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the nation’s top amateur player.

As a four-year starter at Mahwah, Teel was named Gatorade New Jersey High School Player of the Year in 2020. In his final season at Mahwah, his junior year, he batted .574 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs. He was rated as New Jersey’s top prospect in the class of 2020 by multiple organizations.

A dual-sport athlete, Teel was also a three-year starter at quarterback for the Thunderbirds. He signed with Virginia in late fall 2019 after verbally committing to the Cavaliers as a freshman.

This is a developing story. Check back later for updates.