Taylor's Pentecost Drafted by Houston Astros in Sixth Round of 2025 MLB Draft
UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor University's Gabel Pentecost was selected in the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft by the Houston Astros on Monday afternoon. The Taylor ace and NAIA All-American was taken in the sixth round with the 186th overall pick.
Pentecost was the first NAIA player to hear his name called in the 2025 draft, becoming the fourth player in the history of the Taylor baseball program to be drafted. Pentecost followed Josh DeGraaf (2015, Round 31), Taylor Kinzer (2009, Round 24) and Randy Mohler (1969, Round 4) in being drafted out of the Trojan program.
The six-foot, three-inch, 200-pound righty hurler from Fremont, Indiana repeated as the Crossroads League Pitcher of the Year in 2025, closing his junior campaign on the mound ranked sixth in the NAIA with 116 strikeouts and sixth with 12 wins.
Pentecost set Taylor's single-season records for wins and strikeouts with those totals and finished his 2025 season with a 12-2 record, a 3.04 earned-run average, a 1.05 WHIP, 116 strikeouts and 21 walks in his 80.0 innings of work.
During his time in Upland, Pentecost has racked up a 26-9 record on the bump with four saves, 276 strikeouts and just 70 walks in 226.1 innings of work. Those numbers stack Pentecost favorably in TU's all-time program records, ranking him second in strikeouts, third in wins and seventh in innings pitched in just three seasons with the Trojans.
Pentecost, who could return to Taylor for his senior season, will have until 5:00 pm (ET) on Monday, July 28 to reach an agreement on a contract with the Houston Astros. If an agreement is reached, Pentecost would likely be assigned to one of the Astros' minor league organizations to begin his professional career.
Those minor league destinations include the FCL Astros (Rookie League) in West Palm Beach, Florida, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Single-A) in Fayetteville, North Carolina, the Asheville Tourists (High-A) in Asheville, North Carolina, the Corpus Christi Hooks (Double-A) in Corpus Christi, Texas and the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Triple-A) in Sugar Land, Texas.