​The Baltimore Orioles selected Oak Grove outfielder Eric Booth Jr. with the No. 7 overall pick in the first round of the 2026 MLB Draft on July 11, and Booth now faces a pivotal choice: sign with Baltimore or honor his commitment to Vanderbilt baseball under coach Tim Corbin. The 6-foot, 207-pound junior is regarded as a high-upside infielder-outfielder type with a blend of tools that led MLB.com to rank him as the No. 6 prospect entering the draft. The slot value assigned to Booth’s pick is $7,327,200.
Booth comes from Oak Grove, where he helped the team to notable success in the 2026 season. He showcased elite hitting ability, posting an extraordinary .481 batting average and an equally impressive .922 slugging percentage. His offensive production extended beyond the box score, as he drove in 31 RBIs, swiped 23 bases, and hit five home runs. His performance earned him multiple honors, including a spot on the Clarion Ledger’s 2026 Dandy Dozen, the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) 7A Mr. Baseball award, and a place on the Clarion Ledger’s Large Class All-State team. Booth’s outstanding showings continued beyond the regular season, as he captured the home run derby title at the Perfect Game All-American Classic in July 2025.
Booth’s selection marks the third consecutive year that a Mississippi high school player has been chosen in the top 10 of the MLB Draft. In 2024, Jackson Prep’s Konnor Griffin went No. 9 to the Pittsburgh Pirates, and in 2025 Purvis’s JoJo Parker went No. 8 to the Toronto Blue Jays. MLB.com ranks Booth as the top high school prospect within Mississippi and third-best nationally, underscoring his standing as one of the most coveted high school athletes in the draft class. Pro scouts describe Booth as among the fastest runners in the class, praising his bat speed and overall athleticism. There is, however, room for growth in certain areas: arm strength and the ability to read fly balls off the bat more consistently in the outfield.
As Booth weighs his options, the decision will hinge on whether he chooses to forgo his college commitment and pursue a professional career with the Orioles, or honor his Vanderbilt signee status and join Tim Corbin’s program in Nashville. Vanderbilt’s baseball program has a long history of developing professional-ready talent, and Booth’s affiliation with the Commodores reflects a pathway many elite high school performers consider when balancing immediate pro opportunities against college experiences and development.
For those following Mississippi prep sports and the broader MLB Draft landscape, Booth’s ascent has been a talking point for layers of decision-making in the velocity-driven, multi-tool era of baseball. He joins a lineage of Mississippi prospects who have risen to prominence on the national stage, further reinforcing the state’s reputation for producing high-caliber baseball talent.
This report originally appeared in the Clarion Ledger, with Michael Chavez covering high school sports and the broader Mississippi sports scene. For more, follow Chavez’s coverage at mchavez@gannett.com, on X @MikeSChavez, or on Facebook at Michael Chavez. This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger and has been updated to reflect Booth’s No. 7 overall selection by the Orioles in the 2026 MLB Draft.