Hempfield grad and former Pitt Panther Phil Fox was taken in the seventh round of the MLB draft by the Chicago White Sox. Fox was the 199th overall pick.

Fox is the first player who graduated from Hempfield to be drafted since 2013 when Andy Haines was selected and the third player to formerly play in the Big 56 drafted in the 2024 MLB Draft.

After Hempfield, Fox attended Gardner-Webb before getting injured a few months into being on the team. He had Tommy-John surgery and had to sit out the 2022 season.

In 2023, Fox returned and made the Big South All-Freshman team pitching 30 1/3 innings, picking up three saves and a 4.71 ERA. Fox transferred to Pitt for the 2024 season where he threw 36 2/3 innings, striking out 45 and only walking three guys. He had a 3-2 record with a 1.47 ERA and eight saves for the Panthers. Fox was named a third team All-American and second team All-ACC.

The Pennsylvania State Baseball Coaches Association released the all-state baseball teams yesterday. The Big 56 had 10 players represented including six on the first team. The teams are listed below, Big 56 players are bolded:

CLASS 6A

First Team

Brody Gebhard – Landisville Hempfield – P

Connor Lawrence – Red Lion – P

Nate Payne – Central Dauphin – P

David Shields – Mt. Lebanon – P

Drew Turner – Downingtown West – P

Gavin Kelly – Central Catholic – C

Jay Slater – Downingtown West – C

Ben Farley – North Penn – INF

Nick Flores – Spring-Ford – INF

Matt Gannon – La Salle College – INF

Chase Harlan – Central Bucks East – INF

Mason Haupt – Northampton – INF

Carson Shuglie – Hempfield – INF

Nick Fiorini – Wilson – OF

Chris Florentino – Hazelton – OF

Brayden Hostetter – Landisville Hempfield – OF

David Lillis – Kennett – OF

Jacob Rivera – Liberty – OF

Matthew Marsten – Quakertown – UTIL

Cooper Natisin – Quakertown – UTIL

Second Team

Jimmy Boyle – Haverford – P

Damian Frayne – Central Bucks East – P

Noah Gyauch-Quirk – Liberty – P

Matt Van Ostenbridge – Liberty – P

Van Willner – Lower Merion – P

Creed Erdos – Seneca Valley – C

Brandt Johnson – Northeastern – C

James Bottger – Wilkes Barre – INF

Aimon Chandler – La Salle College – INF

Louis Inserra – Parkland – INF

Will McCoach – St. Joseph’s Prep – INF

Reece Moody – Central Bucks East – INF

Kaden Schoenly – Cumberland Valley – INF

Aidan Autovino – Perkiomen Valley – OF

Braylen Gonzalez – Liberty – OF

Dante Larocco – Altoona – OF

Jack Mislan – Central Bucks East – OF

Sebastian Rhoades – State College – UTIL

Tanner Stroup – Altoona – UTIL

CLASS 5A

First Team

Austin Dahl – Upper Dublin – P

Luke D’Ancona – Stath Haven – P

Ethan Grim – Governor Mifflin – P

A.J. Levandowski – West Scranton – P

Reese Young – Mechanicsburg – P

Manny Cartagena – Susquehannock – C

Hunter Strohm – Lower Dauphin – C

Aidan Crochier – Upper St. Clair – INF

Bryce Detwiler – Governor Mifflin – INF

Jeff Lougee – Mechanicsburg – INF

Carson Kensinger – Hollidaysburg – INF

Mason Richter – Selinsgrove – INF

Matthew Robaugh – Trinity – INF

Brady Alexander – Shaler – INF

Colby Dealing – South Western – OF

Chad Helwich – Obama Academy – OF

Alex Kelsey – Exeter Township – OF

Tucker Teats – Selingsgrove – OF

Josh Domaracki – Selingsgrove – UTIL

Travis Jenkins – Governor Mifflin – UTIL

Second Team

Adam Horvath – Pocono Mountain East – P

Tegan Kuhns – Gettysburg – P

Jake Lenahan – Abington Heights – P

Danny Nelson – Hershey – P

Luca Urdaneta – Unionville – P

Troy Chamberin – Shippensburg – C

Trey Wingard – DuBois Area – C

Nick Diehl – Unionville – INF

Rocco DelGiudice – Pocono Mountain East – INF

Darren Deriggi – Franklin Regional – INF

Silvio Giardina – Pittston Area – INF

Ryan Petras – Bethel Park – INF

Chaz Wright – Crestwood – INF

Ben Gearhart – Selingsgrove – OF

Jake Hileman – Hollidaysburg – OF

Kye Watson – Manheim Central – OF

Eli Wittman – Carrick – OF

Ryland Yinger – Northern York – OF

Wil Gubba – West Allegheny – UTIL

M.J. Vottero – West York – UTIL