​As is our tradition at Amazin’ Avenue (2025, 2024, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019), we take a look back at the high school players who declined to sign with the Mets out of high school to attend college, and we assess how their careers have progressed now that they’re draft eligible again. In 2023, the Mets drafted six high school players. Of those six, five signed with the club—Colin Houck, A.J. Ewing, Boston Baro, John Valle, and Jake Zitella—while one, Gavyn Jones, chose not to sign. Jones is a junior and is now eligible for the 2026 MLB Draft, so let’s catch up and see what he’s been doing and how his development has progressed.
With their 18th-round selection in the 2023 MLB Draft, the Mets picked Gavyn Jones, a left-handed pitcher from White Oak High School in White Oak, Texas. The southpaw earned Texas District 15-3A Most Valuable Player honors that spring, hitting .490 with 12 doubles, 2 triples, 11 home runs, and 16 stolen bases in 18 attempts, and posting a 0.97 ERA over 79 innings on the mound, with 47 walks and 144 strikeouts. Standing 6’2” and weighing 205 pounds, Jones possessed a fastball that sat in the low-to-mid-90s at the time, supplemented by a raw but projectable slider and a raw but projectable changeup.
Initially, Jones had a commitment to Texas Tech, but that plan fell through, and he enrolled at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas. In eight appearances, four starts, he posted a 14.54 ERA in 13.0 innings, allowing 21 earned runs on 20 hits and 18 walks while striking out 13. At the plate, he also had 48 at-bats, hitting .271/.352/.458 with 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 1 stolen base in 2 attempts, and drawing five walks to thirteen strikeouts.
Draft eligibility returned as Jones remained a junior college student, and he went unselected in the 2024 MLB Draft. He entered the transfer portal and joined the University of Oklahoma baseball program. In his sophomore season with the Sooners, he appeared in 22 games, starting one, and posted a 6.37 ERA in 29.2 innings, allowing 33 hits, walking seven, and striking out 28. Jones also appeared in two additional games as a hitter, going 3-for-3, which gave him a 1.000 batting average, a 1.000 on-base percentage, and a 2.000 slugging percentage for the year—a lighthearted reminder of his occasional two-way potential, and enough to land him on the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year watch list.
That summer, the lefty pitched in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Chatham Anglers. He appeared in seven games, starting four, and posted a 5.33 ERA in 25.1 innings, allowing 32 hits, walking nine, and striking out 14. Upon returning to Oklahoma in the fall, Jones was officially transitioned to a full-time pitcher by head coach Skip Johnson.
Jones continued to develop as a pitcher, appearing in 22 games for the Sooners in 2026 and working 26.2 innings for the eventual College World Series champions. He posted a career-best 4.73 ERA, allowing 24 hits, walking 17, and striking out 28. In NCAA regional play, he made one appearance and threw two scoreless innings against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, permitting one hit and one walk. This outing underscored his maturation and adaptability as he continued to refine his repertoire and command at the college level, contributing to Oklahoma’s deep postseason run.
As Jones advances toward the 2026 MLB Draft, the Mets’ 2023 decision to select him in the 18th round remains a talking point for evaluating late-round ceiling and development paths. His journey—from a high school standout in Texas, through junior college, to a Division I program, summer league experience, and now a full-time pitcher at a national powerhouse—highlights the unpredictable but ultimately rewarding routes players can take on their path to professional baseball. As always, the Mets’ front office will be watching closely to gauge whether his latest strides translate into continued growth and potential future consideration at the major league level.