ROUGHEDGE, N.C. – Jackson Nash made history on Sunday evening as the first Parkwood High School baseball player this decade to be drafted by a Major League Baseball (MLB) team.

When the 2023 Parkwood High School graduate got the news of his selection by the Texas Rangers from his agent, he celebrated with his cheering family as they watched the livestream of the Major League Baseball draft. Nash is now the first former baseball player from anywhere in Union County to be drafted by the Rangers.

The celebration began five minutes after Nash got the news from his agent: He had been selected as the 357th overall draft pick in the 12th round of the 2026 MLB draft.

“I was super nervous, but once it happened, I was overcome with excitement,” Nash said.

The 6-foot-6, 235-pounder played his final college baseball season at Longwood University in Farmville, Va. During the 2026 season, Nash pitched a 4-2 record and a 4.26 earned run average across 44 1/3 innings and 19 games for the Lancers. He struck out 59 and walked just 18 with one save on the year.

Nash’s draft selection also caught the attention of baseball fans and youth across Union County. Each of his Longwood teammates congratulated him and were excited for the opportunity.

Longwood baseball head coach Ray Noe also reached out to Nash’s family via facetime to congratulate him. Noes was over the moon tickled for the draft pick.

“He’s the type of guy that you need to love on and nurture, but he’s not scared of hard coaching either, if that’s what it takes for him to kind of have a realization (for the MLB draft),” Noe said. “His mom and dad gave us full reign to do whatever we needed to do to put him into shape. I’m proud of his resilience. I’m proud of his character. I’m proud of his competitiveness. He’s a home run pick.”

Just at the beginning of Nash’s only season at Longwood, he was named Big South Reliever of the Week on Feb. 17, while posting seven scoreless outings on the season. He did not give up an earned run in five of his final six appearances to finish the year.

Nash also led the Lancers to a 34-27 record in 2026. Before transferring to Longwood, he played for two seasons at Cleveland Community College (CCC) in Shelby, N.C. As a sophomore, he made 15 appearances with 10 starts while going 5-0 in 53 innings of work with a 4.42 ERA. He made 17 appearances and had two saves in 30 innings of work while going 0-3 during his first season with CCC, striking out 41 batters.

At Parkwood, Nash was a part of the Wolfpack’s 2022 Rocky River Conference (RRC) championship season. He was also named to the RRC All-Conference baseball team in 2022 and 2023.

Nash credited Longwood’s coaching staff for their belief and development in his baseball mechanics while he was with the Lancers.

“Longwood was amazing,” Nash said. “It was just an amazing group of guys with amazing coaches. Longwood’s atmosphere is incredible. Longwood allowed me to compete against high competition and help get me the exposure I needed. The coaches worked hard with every player to find ways to develop all of us. Overall, Longwood was the best.”

Nash is on his way to Arlington — between Dallas and Fort Worth — where he is already looking forward to making the most out of his time with the Rangers.

“I love the Texas Rangers and I’m so excited to be a part of their organization,” Nash said. “I can’t wait to get out there and meet new people, but especially to compete, too.”