Four Mainers have a chance to make history this year as the largest group from the Pine Tree State to ever be selected in the Major League Baseball Draft.

We talked to four players who have a high likelihood of being selected in the 20-round draft that begins Sunday night and concludes Monday. If all four are drafted, it would be the most Maine players ever selected since the amateur draft began in 1965.

The group includes recent Gorham High graduate Wyatt Nadeau and three college players, Cody Bowker of Bowdoinham, Jacob Humphrey of Standish and Brady Afthim of Windham. None are guaranteed to be drafted, as Afthim learned last year when he wasn’t selected despite earning all-Big East honors as a junior relief pitcher at the University of Connecticut.

“This draft. It’s like a circus. No one really knows,” Afthim acknowledged.

Players who get drafted have the option to return to school if they don’t sign a contract and have college eligibility remaining.

Each selection in the first 10 rounds is assigned a signing bonus slot value. The total of a team’s slot values determines how much it can spend on all its picks in rounds 1-10 without incurring penalties. Individual signing bonuses do vary from the slot value, but high school players with a strong college option are seldom signed at a discount.

The first overall pick in 2025 comes with a slot value of just over $11 million.

This year, the 27th and final pick in the first round has a slot value of $3.3 million. The values stay over $1 million for the first 80 selections, through the fifth pick in the third round.

Here’s a look at four former Southwestern Maine Activities Association players who hope to hear their names called by an MLB team during the draft.

WYATT NADEAU: THE PHENOM

If the 6-foot-6, 235-pound Nadeau wasn’t on the radar of MLB teams after he committed to Vanderbilt prior to his sophomore year in high school, he certainly was when his fastball hit 97 mph at a showcase event last winter.

Calls and workout requests soon followed.

He’s talked to every major league team this spring and could end up being Maine’s highest drafted player since Trejyn Fletcher of Deering was selected in the second round (58th overall) of the 2019 draft by St. Louis.

“All the teams I’ve talked to have been (predicting) third to fourth round, and I’ve talked to every single team,” said Nadeau, 18, the son of former Gorham High coach Chuck Nadeau. “They’ve given me projections down to the fifth round and then as high as second round.”

Gorham coach Ed Smith said MLB scouts are impressed with Nadeau’s makeup.

“The size, his frame, is certainly something that came up,” he said. “A kid who’s 6-6, built sturdy and already throws that hard, there’s just less worry about injury.”

MLB teams interested in drafting Nadeau must determine if he will sign. What will it cost to convince Nadeau and his family that going pro is a better option than playing and learning at Vanderbilt?

Two years ago, South Portland’s Hunter Owen, a left-handed pitcher out of Vanderbilt, signed with the Kansas City Royals for $631,700, which was essentially right at slot value for the 106th overall pick. In that same draft, Eliot’s Quinn McDaniel, an infielder at UMaine, signed for about $100,000 under slot value as a fifth-round pick of the San Francisco Giants.

This year, the 106th pick is the first pick in the fourth round (there are numerous compensation picks after each of the first three rounds). Its slot value is $722,600.

Would that be enough for Nadeau to forego three years of education at a top school and potentially develop into a first-round talent? Nadeau could also earn significant money at Vanderbilt in addition to his scholarship offer now that schools can pay their athletes directly.

“I definitely have an amazing option here for Vanderbilt,” said Nadeau, who is already in Nashville taking a summer class (“Families in Turbulent Times”) and working out with other incoming freshmen and returning Vandy players.

Nadeau said he expects to be in a Nashville hotel room with his dad on Sunday, watching the first three rounds of the draft and waiting for the potentially life-changing phone call.

“It doesn’t matter which team picks me, but the money is definitely the key factor, as everybody knows,” he said.

CODY BOWKER: THE RISER

As Vanderbilt’s No. 2 starter, Bowker struck out 99 batters in 72 innings and has, according to MLB.com, “one of the more unhittable fastballs in the draft.” Its high spin rate and low release point creates the effect of Bowker’s fastball rising through the strike zone.

Baseball America has pegged Bowker, a Bowdoinham native and Thornton Academy grad, as a third-round pick at No. 99 (Padres’ third-round pick; slot value of $733,100) in its top 500 draft prospects. Nadeau checks in at No. 298.

At 6-foot-1, 212 pounds, Bowker has steadily risen up the amateur baseball ladder since he led Thornton Academy to the Class A championship in 2022 and was named Varsity Maine Player of the Year.

He started his college career at Georgetown as a two-way player before focusing solely on pitching as a sophomore. After a successful stint in the Cape Cod League following his sophomore year, he transferred to Vanderbilt.

“My goal was to go (to Vanderbilt) and learn as much as possible. That, and proving you can play against the best players in the country every weekend,” Bowker said. “I have learned more in one year than the rest of my baseball career in total. That helps your ability and helps raise your ability to play professionally.”

Bowker was one of 322 draft-eligible players to attend the MLB scouting combine in Arizona. He did not throw for scouts. Instead, he focused on 1-on-1 interviews with MLB personnel.

“Everything about the draft is an unknown, but I’m thinking I’ll go in the 2-to-5 round range,” Bowker said. “Obviously, you won’t know until that day.”

Bowker does have one year of college eligibility left. The door back to Vanderbilt is open, he said, but he’s ready to take the next step.

“I would say I’m ready to be a pro and learned enough to do it,” Bowker said.

JACOB HUMPHREY: THE UNDERDOG

A three-sport standout at Bonny Eagle, Humphrey started his college career at UMass Lowell, where he terrorized America East catchers and pitchers by stealing 78 bases over two seasons. He hit .337 as a freshman, and .317 with increased power as a sophomore.

Under-recruited out of high school, his success at Lowell made him a coveted transfer commodity and led him to Vanderbilt.

Injuries as a junior limited Humphrey to only 44 at-bats. As a senior, he was the Commodores’ starting right fielder and was hitting over .300 for most of the season before finishing at .279, with a .400 OBP, 39 runs scored and 22 RBI. He hit four home runs, five doubles and four triples.

In two seasons with the Commodores, he committed one error and became known for superior defensive plays. He didn’t run as often as at Lowell, but his success rate was still remarkably high — 31 steals in 34 attempts. Heearned an undergraduate degree in Medicine, Health, and Society.

“A lot of people use it as a pre-med route. I’m more interested in getting into medical sales, something more along the lines of that,” said Humphrey, who has completed his collegiate eligibility.

After a baseball career, that is.

“I’m hopeful to get drafted. If not, I’ll sign a free-agent deal and go play,” he said. “I really just want to play as long as I can, to not have to stop lacing up the cleats quite yet.”

Why should a team draft, or at least sign, Humphrey?

“I’ve got two plus-plus tools in speed and defense. I showed I can hit in the SEC, which is the strongest conference in college baseball, and I could be an everyday guy for a program,” Humphrey said. “Objectively, my power numbers have gone down going into the SEC (he hit nine homers as a sophomore at Lowell). But this year, I limited my strikeouts, so my swing and misses have also gone down, which is good.”

Humphrey understands he isn’t at the top of any team’s draft board. He just wants a chance.

“I believe I can play at the pro level. I’ve always been doubted, so I believe I can overcome another challenge,” he said.

BRADY AFTHIM: THE REALIST

Afthim, a 6-foot, 211-pound right-handed reliever and the 2021 Varsity Maine Player of the Year, was so confident he’d be drafted after his junior season that he moved out of his college apartment and said his goodbyes to the UConn coaching staff.

He drove home to Windham on the first day of the draft and then began waiting by his phone on Day 2.

“I was getting some interest, but then the draft ends, I don’t get picked. My first call was to my UConn coaches,” Afthim said.

Could he come back for his senior year?

“Fortunately they said yes. All my stuff is still in my mom’s car. I said, ‘I’ll be at school tomorrow.’ I just decided to go all in on my senior year. For me, I had to. I want to play baseball,” said Afthim, who earned a degree in communications.

Afthim’s senior season was his best. He pitched more innings (36 2/3) than any previous season. Relying primarily on his fastball and changeup, he struck out 53 hitters and recorded nine saves and two wins. Opponents hit .217 against him. Most importantly, he was able to consistently throw his fastball in the 94-95 mph range.

“Last year, there was inconsistency with my stuff. Some outings, I’d be at 91-92, and others I’d be 94-95, and it almost depended on the day what I looked like,” Afthim said. “This year, almost every time, whether it was mid-week, twice in a weekend, cold, hot, whatever, I had it. The results might have varied, but the velocity and all that stuff was there every time.”

Afthim has had summer workouts with the Angels, Tigers, Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies and Twins.

“I would say I’m hopeful. I think I’m in a pretty good spot to be drafted,” Afthim said. “I think everyone wants to be drafted, to get the call on the phone and hear that.”