Yankees Draft Kaeden Kent: Texas A&M Star and Son of MLB MVP Jeff Kent

The Yankees drafted Kaden Kent with the 103rd overall pick in the MLB draft, the son of former Giants star and 1999 NL MVP Jeff Kent.

Kaden is a shortstop out of Texas A&M and was a key piece in the Aggies' run to the National Championship last year, where they came up just short against the eventual champions, the Tennessee Volunteers. 

Kent, a shortstop out of Austin, Texas, presents considerable upside in a 6-foot-2-inch frame and a sweet left-handed swing. He's handled right-handed pitching well to this point with strong contact rates and some loud exit velocities, though his track record in lefty-lefty matchups will need to improve over time.

 Kent is by no means a power hitter at this stage, but he plays solid defense and can run a little. With time and strength, he could shoot up boards.

Kent walked more than he struck out during his 2025 campaign with the Aggies. However, like the Yankees' first-round draft pick, Dax Kilby, most scouts don't expect Kent to stick at shortstop long term and project him more as a second or third baseman. 

The elder Kent slashed .290/.356/.500 to go with 377 homers in 2,298 career games. The younger Kent played parts of three seasons at Texas A&M and hit .279/.398/.544 to go alongside 13 home runs across 56 contests this past season.

“He’s a left-handed hitter, athletic, and can really play shortstop, which he showed us this past year,” Damon Oppenheimer, Yankees vice president of domestic amateur scouting, said in a team release. “Growing up around his father, Kaeden has experienced elite baseball, so he knows what it takes and has seen what his dad had to do to be a successful ballplayer. For us, Kaeden has made a name for himself.”

FanGraphs ranked Kent as the No. 102 overall prospect in this year's class. The soon-to-be 22-year-old had one season of collegiate eligibility remaining.

The Yankees have the smallest bonus pool of any team in the league at $5,383,600, and the slot value for the No. 103 overall pick sits at $744,400. Considering he's a college bat, New York could cut a team-friendly deal with Kent so it can take some swings later in the draft.

That concludes the Yankees’ selections for the first day of the MLB Draft. Tune in tomorrow morning as the broadcast picks back up with the fourth round and rolls on until the Round 20 finale! It starts up at 11:30 am ET on MLB.com, and I'll have plenty more draft coverage to come.

2023 (Freshman)

• Played in 28 games, made 21 starts

• Batting average: .265, with 1 HR, one triple, four doubles, and 23 RBI

2024 (Sophomore)

• Appeared in 51 games, starting 24

• Slash line: .327/.414/.491, with 4 HR, 10 extra-base hits, 28 RBI, and 23 runs

• Postseason: hit a grand slam vs LSU on May 5, another vs Oregon on June 9, and earned a spot on the 2024 CWS All‑Tournament Team

• In the College World Series, he slashed 10-for-24 with 7 RBI.

2025 (Junior)

• Started all 56 games

• Slash line: .279/.398/.544, with 13 doubles, 13 home runs, and 49 RBI

• Scored 52 runs, walked 37 times, and stole four bases

• Led team with 19 multi-hit games and 13 multi-RBI games

• Notable performances: first career multi-homer game vs Rice (3/2) and walk-off grand slam vs South Carolina on April 12