Scotts Valley graduate Kaleb Wing is already living the dream just one month after walking across the stage to receive his high school diploma.
The 18-year-old former Falcon ace pitcher was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the fourth round with the 121st overall pick in the 2025 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft on Monday.
Wing was surrounded by his parents Ryan and Kandyce along with other family members in the living room as they watched the TV until his name appeared on the screen.
“I was just unbelievably excited,” Wing said. “That’s been something that I’ve worked my entire life for, was to hear my name get called and to kind of see it happen, even though I kind of knew it was coming, there’s no preparation for that. It was an unbelievable feeling.”
Going into Monday’s draft, Wing was told by his agent Mark Pieper the Cubs were interested in selecting him early on the second day of the draft. But that hardly took any of the excitement that was brewing inside the Wing household.
Wing’s dad was a pitcher for Riverside City College and later drafted in the second round by the cross-town rival Chicago White Sox in 2001. The lefty spent seven seasons playing pro ball, making it as far as the Triple-A level in the Athletics organization.
“Growing up, my goal was always following my dad’s footsteps and play professional baseball,” Wing said. “I’ve worked my whole life for it, and getting to share this morning with him, going through the whole process and him by my side, it was honestly unbelievable.”
Scotts Valley baseball head coach Kevin Taylor said it felt as if his own son was getting drafted, and it was just another special moment following his first year coaching the program.
“It was extremely blessed to have a player of that caliber on the team,” Taylor said. “Just to experience that moment, not with him, but be a part of it and share a special moment was something I’ll never forget.”
Wing was named the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League’s Pitcher of the Year for the 2025 spring campaign. He finished with a 3-3 overall record in 10 appearances on the mound, and racked up 79 strikeouts in 45 innings pitched, according to statistics on the Max Preps website.
The award was presented to him after spending just one season as the full time starting pitcher for the Falcons. Taylor said all the scouts who saw Wing first pick up a ball to pitch also saw the vast improvement he had during a short six-month period.
“When scouts look at a guy, they see a ceiling,” Taylor said. “With the projectability and how much he can improve and how hard he works, the sky’s the limit for him.”
Wing was No. 87 on the MLB’s list of top baseball draft prospects going into this year’s draft. He dropped a little more than 30 spots in Monday’s draft, yet his pick value is still worth up to $623,300.
According to the MLB website, the scouting report mentioned, “This spring [Wing] came out of the gate showing a fastball up to 95 mph and hasn’t backed off from those gains. His curve now flashes plus as a power breaker with depth, and his changeup is developing into a solid third offering.”
The scouting report went on to say, “Wing’s athleticism helps him repeat his delivery and find the strike zone consistently. There’s a little concern about how much strength he’ll be able to add to his narrow frame.”
Taylor, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2011, said having a narrow frame is not extremely important for pitchers because each player’s body is different.
“Some guys are more whippy, and some guys rely on pure strength,” he said. “You see so many big leaguers like Tim Lincecum and even Jacob deGrom. They are still so skinny, and they throw so hard. I’d be more concerned about the work ethic and the type of person he is, and obviously that’s off the charts.”
Aptos alumnus Reed Moring was also drafted on Monday in the 15th round by the Minnesota Twins. The UC Santa Barbara product went 2-1 in five starts with 21 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched in 2025.
Wing joins a list of other former local standouts to get drafted, including Scotts Valley’s Robert Hipwell by the San Francisco Giants in 2024 and San Lorenzo Valley’s Tyler Gilbert—who tossed a no-hitter in his MLB debut for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2021.
“It’s special,” Wing said. “I think getting a chance to play at Scotts Valley High School, with the great community that Scotts Valley is, they’ve kind of had my back through this whole process. And I can’t wait to get down there and get started to work.”
Taylor said Scotts Valley’s reputation is high in the area despite being a smaller community, and there’s a ton of passion for the game starting with the little leaguers.
“Everybody’s doing such an amazing job with the younger group and we can only do so much by the time they get to us,” Taylor said. “It just starts with the parents and how devoted they are trying to help the kids just get good and get great at everything that they do.”
Wing, a 6-foot-2 right-handed hurler who shined in the Area Code Games as a backup, was committed to Loyola Marymount as a two-way player. Instead, he’s heading off to Mesa, Ariz., to report for rookie ball starting next week.
“It feels good knowing that I’m a fourth rounder and that I was picked in the fourth round,” he said. “But at the end of the day, no matter if they’re a first-rounder or 20th-rounder, I gotta go and find ways to compete.”
