Ethan Storm, a right handed pitcher from Rock Valley College, was just selected in the 13^th round of the Major League Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays on July 14^th, 2025.  Ethan pitched for the Golden Eagles for three years using a medical redshirt in year two. As the team opened up their 2025 season, the team headed down south for their spring trip stopping in the St. Louis area to play another junior college.  Storm had a strong outing and was seen by the University of Oklahoma.  As time went on, Ethan decided to commit and sign with the University of Oklahoma.  "We were all proud of Ethan and his accomplishments to go play in the SEC and become a Sooner" Coach Herren mentioned. Ethan was always, and still is, excited about his commitment. He thanks the coaches at Oklahoma for the opportunity to become a Sooner.  Ethan continued to pitch and gain looks from the pro level.
 
Ethan continued to impress pro scouts along the way, knowing they started to watch him in late winter and into early spring.  Storm continued to have several pro teams come out to watch his outings.  He continued to climb in velocity and improve and impress in pitch ability.  His best outing of the year was in post season of the Region 4 tournament!  RVC's season of 42 wins came to a close at the Region 4 tournament. Heading into the summer, Ethan signed to go play in the collegiate league called the MLB Draft League as well as play for State College.  Storm continued to put up great numbers and show he was definitely ready for the draft.  The MLB Draft kicked off on July 13th; Ethan was pretty sure if he was taken it would be day two and not day one.  The former Golden Eagles pitcher was hopeful he would hear his name called!  
 
Hope was in the air as Day 2 of the draft came on July 14th. Ethan had done all he could; now it was time to wait… and try to be patient. Several teams expressed real interest in Ethan.  Coach Herren was playing in a fundraising golf outing with former MLB umpire Larry Young, an RVC alumni (quite the coincidence), when the Tampa Rays reached out to Coach Herren asking about Ethan's arm and character.  "Ethan is the guy you want. He comes from a great family, he's coachable, a hard worker, and the arm is in great shape!" Coach Herren communicated with the scout that Ethan was 94-96 fastball just the previous night in the draft league.  That quickly triggered a conversation between Tampa Bay and Ethan's corner.  Not long after that, the coaches got the text: it was going to happen.  He will be taken in the 13^th round of the MLB draft!  As everyone sat, watched and listened, his name was finally called: pick 397 by the Tampa Bay Rays!  Ethan Storm is a MLB Draft pick out of Rock Valley College. 
 
Ethan will begin his professional career this summer!