Florida State junior shortstop Alex Lodise was chosen by the Atlanta Braves in the second round of the 2025 MLB Draft. He was the 60th overall pick on Sunday evening, marking a major milestone for both Lodise and Florida State baseball.
With Lodise’s selection, Florida State has now had two players picked in the first two rounds of the MLB Draft for the seventh time in its history. The Seminoles also achieved this feat in 1991, 1992, 1995, 2001, 2004, and 2024. Earlier on draft day, Florida State’s junior left-handed pitcher Jamie Arnold was picked 11th overall by the Oakland Athletics.
Lodise is the 300th player drafted from Florida State since outfielder Jim Lyttle was the 10th overall pick by the New York Yankees in 1966. A native of St. Augustine, Florida, Lodise is the first Florida State shortstop taken since Mike Salvatore went in the ninth round in 2019. He is also the highest-picked Seminole shortstop since Stephen Drew, who was taken 15th overall in 2004.
This selection marks the 15th time a Florida State player has been picked by the Braves. Lodise is the first Seminole chosen by Atlanta since Sean Gilmartin, who was selected in the first round in 2011. He is the first shortstop and only the second infielder picked by the Braves from Florida State, joining second baseman Edwin Alicea, taken in the ninth round in 1988. Among all Florida State players drafted by the Braves, Lodise is the fifth to be selected within the first three rounds.
Lodise earned several top honors during his standout junior season. He won the 2025 Dick Howser Trophy as the nation’s best amateur player. He was a consensus All-American and earned the ACC Player of the Year and ACC Defensive Player of the Year awards. Additionally, he was named the NCBWA District 3 Player of the Year and was included on the ABCA Southeast All-Region First Team. Lodise was a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award and the Brooks Wallace Award. Midseason, he was ranked as the country’s No. 1 shortstop and named the National Player of the Year. He previously earned Freshman All-American honors and First Team All-ASUN recognition in 2023 while at North Florida.
Lodise was one of the nation’s top hitters and defenders in 2025. He ranked ninth in the country for hits with 95, 12th for hits per game at 1.64, 13th in total bases with 170, and 23rd in batting average at .394. Within the ACC, he was second in RBIs per game (1.17), third in total RBIs (68), fourth in slugging percentage (.705), and fifth in triples (3). He hit 17 home runs, added 18 doubles, scored 62 runs, and drew 27 walks. Lodise was perfect in stolen base attempts, going 6-for-6. Defensively, he had a .977 fielding percentage, helped turn 34 double plays, and committed only five errors in 216 chances.
Lodise started all 58 games at shortstop for Florida State in 2025. He recorded at least one hit in 48 games, with 31 multi-hit performances. He had three or more hits in 13 games, more than the 10 games in which he was held hitless. Lodise also posted 17 games with just one hit. Notably, he is believed to be the first player in major college or professional baseball to hit for the cycle with a walk-off grand slam. This historic feat helped Florida State beat rival Florida in Jacksonville on March 25. Lodise contributed seven game-winning hits throughout the 2025 season.
In his two years at Florida State, Lodise started every one of the 120 games he played. He posted a .341 batting average with 156 hits in 458 at-bats. Over that span, he hit 26 home runs, 32 doubles, and tallied 112 RBIs and 112 runs scored. He had a .594 slugging percentage and a .415 on-base percentage, drawing 46 walks and successfully stealing 12 of 13 bases.
Lodise was a key part of Florida State’s return to the College World Series in 2024, the program’s first appearance in five years. He also helped lead the Seminoles to a Super Regional in 2025 and their first ACC runner-up finish in 11 years.
The 2025 MLB Draft continues with the remainder of the first three rounds on Sunday night. The draft’s final rounds, 4 through 20, are scheduled for Monday morning. Teams have until July 28 to finalize contracts with players selected from four-year colleges and high schools.
