Ben Watson Signed by Wild Things, Will Be Active Tonight at Windy City
CRESTWOOD, Il. (July 22) – The Wild Things have made one final move prior to tonight’s series opener in Crestwood with the addition of outfielder Ben Watson, a Division III turned Division I standout at Virginia Tech who was playing for Mahoning Valley in the MLB Draft league prior to inking his deal with the Wild Things for his first professional contract.
The native of West Chester, Pennsylvania, played his high school ball at Bayard Rustin, where he was an All-Chesmont Second Team utility and an All-Chesmont First-Team outfielder. He started his collegiate career at Division III Elizabethtown, where he played from 2020 through 2023. He was named Elizabethtown’s STAR Award Winner for Rookie of the Year in 2021, his first full season. That year, he appeared in 26 games and had six doubles, eight triples and a homer with 24 RBI in 104 plate appearances. It came off the shortened 2020 season, where he had 50 trips to the plate and had five extra-base hits to go with 11 RBI.
In 2022, he was Landmark All-Conference First Team, d3baseball All-Region Third Team, ABCA All-Region Second Team and a Landmark Athlete of the Week during a season that saw him hit .429/.500/.790 (1.290 OPS) with 10 doubles, two triples, eight homers and 40 RBI. He’d go on to slash .486/.559/.814 (1.372 OPS) in 2023 with 21 doubles, eight triples, seven homers and 42 RBI with 25 walks to 15 strikeouts in 42 games for Elizabethtown College. He was named a First Team All-American by ABCA/Rawlings and d3baseball.com, All-Region First Team by both those publications, Landmark Conference Player of the Year, All-Conference First Team and the STAR Award Winner for the school for Most Outstanding Student-Athlete.
Once his time at the school wrapped up, he transferred to Virginia Tech and appeared in 54 games in 2024, making 53 starts. He hit .419 through 222 at bats, registering 93 hits, 21 doubles, three triples and four home runs. He drove in 48 and walked 20 times to 24 strikeouts for the ACC school. He was named ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I Atlantic All-Region Second Team (OF) and All-ACC Second Team (OF) to go with a Third-Team All-America Selection that season.
In 2025, he was named a Preseason All-America Third Team outfielder. He slashed .313/.398/.500 this season with 15 doubles, eight home runs and 35 RBI in 52 games. He walked more than he struck out. He then appeared in four games for the West Virginia Black Bears and was 6-for-20 with two RBI before he ended up with the Scrappers, where he was before signing with the Wild Things. In 20 games with Mahoning Valley, he slashed .319/.367/.500 with four doubles, three homers and 18 RBI.
Watson will be active tonight for the Wild Things at Windy City. No corresponding move was made Tuesday to activate Watson. First pitch for the first of three with the Bolts is slated for 7:35/6:35 p.m. CT.
