Two Ohio State Buckeyes have a professional home as catcher Mason Eckelman was drafted in the eighth round, and shortstop Henry Kaczmar signed with the Seattle Mariners.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Mason Eckelman was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the eighth round of the 2026 MLB Draft with the 250th overall pick. Now his cousin, Henry Kaczmar, is joining him, signing with Seattle as an undrafted free agent.
The two go back to Walsh Jesuit, where they played together in high school before bringing that partnership to Ohio State for two seasons. Now they’re doing it again as professionals, in the same organization.
Eckelman becomes the fourth Buckeye in program history drafted by the Mariners, and the first Seattle has taken since Bob Worley went in the 20th round all the way back in 1992. He joins former Buckeye Dominic Canzone, a 2019 eighth-round Diamondbacks pick, who’s currently suiting up on Seattle’s Major League roster. Ohio State to Seattle is officially a thing now.
Eckelman’s junior season was the best of his career across the board: a .304 average, plus career highs in runs (42), hits (59), doubles (15), triples (four), home runs (eight), and RBIs (47). That production landed him a Third Team All-Big Ten nod. For his Buckeye career, Eckelman hit .280 with 77 runs, 115 hits, 13 home runs, and 81 RBIs.
Kaczmar’s road back to Columbus wasn’t a straight line, as he spent the 2025 season at South Carolina before transferring back to Ohio State for his senior year. That decision paid off in a huge way.
He set the single-season program record for doubles with 26, hit .316 with 50 runs, 71 hits, 12 home runs, and 47 RBIs, and swiped 7 bags in 8 tries. He picked up All-Big Ten Second Team and ABCA/Rawlings All-East Region Second Team honors, and his teammates named him a team captain in his final year in scarlet and gray.
Over his three seasons at Ohio State (2023-24, 2026), Kaczmar batted .312 with 132 runs, 210 hits, 46 doubles, 26 home runs, 138 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases. For his full college career, he hit .313 with 165 runs, 267 hits, 32 home runs, and 166 RBIs.
Kaczmar and Eckelman have been building this partnership for nearly a decade, and now the Mariners get to be the next chapter of it. Buckeye Nation will be watching Seattle’s farm system a little more closely from here on out.
Blake Biscardi serves as Co-Founder, Lead Reporter, and Senior Editor of The Silver Bulletin. He hosts the Buckeye Cadence podcast, where he breaks down Ohio State football and basketball with an inside look into the programs. Covering Julian Sayin in New York City in 2025 was his Heisman moment, which became a viral moment in its own right. Biscardi is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and has degrees in Business Administration and Strategic Communication & Leadership.