With the 91st pick in the third round of the MLB draft, the Royals selected West Virginia pitcher and Portville alum Maxx Yehl.

For Yehl, his steep rise during his junior season may have caught many by surprise, coming off of Tommy John surgery, which sidelined him for 2025.

He finished 9-3 with a 2.13 ERA, was the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, and helped lead West Virginia University to their first ever College World Series appearance. But, for Portville fans during his tenure with the team, it was less surprising.

“He was that kid where you could just tell there was going to be something a little bit different about him, even from when he was young,” Portville baseball coach Mike Matz said. “As an eighth grader, he was doing things on the mound none of the other players were. And everything just progressed from there.”

At Portville, Yehl helped lead the Panthers to a section title and a Class C state semifinal appearance during his senior year.

That year, he had an immaculate inning against North Collins, nine pitches, three strikeouts. In the Section V final shutout against Gowanda, he struck out eight of the first nine batters. Twice over, he was the Big 30 Player of the Year in baseball, despite missing out on his sophomore season due to COVID-19.