Northfield’s Lanthier drafted to MLB by New York Mets

Northfield’s Ethan Lanthier, who completed his junior season as a 6-5 right-handed pitcher for Kansas University in 2024, was selected by the New York Mets in the Major League Baseball draft on Tuesday, July 16.

The 2020-21 Male Athlete of the Year at Northfield High School, Lanthier was drafted in the 12th round by the Mets and was the 353rd overall pick in this year’s MLB draft. He recently signed a professional contract with the Mets and is currently getting ready to start workouts at the organization’s facility in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

“When I got drafted it was kind of nerve-racking during the whole experience,” Lanthier recalled. “I was waiting around on day two and no one called and then about two minutes before the pick, my advisor called and told me the Mets are taking you with their next pick. I was like, oh my God! I just sat there looking at my phone waiting for the Mets’ pick to come in and then I saw my name pop up and it was just unreal to see that happen.”

He added, “The goal for me this summer is to get on their low A team by the end of the summer at Port St. Lucie.”

Port St. Lucie is the Mets’ Class A affiliate in the Florida Coast League, which is typically the entry point into professional baseball for many prospective players. Lanthier said that he would most likely return next to Port St. Lucie in 2025 for spring training.

“You return down here for spring training and all their camps and then you are assigned to a team after that, so it could be anywhere,” Lanthier said.

Lanthier had an outstanding 2024 college season in his first season with the Jayhawks after pitching his first two years of college baseball at St. Cloud State University, one of the upper midwest’s top NCAA Division II programs.

At Kansas, an NCAA Division I program, Lanthier was used as a multi-inning reliever and finished the season with a 4-0 record and a 4.54 ERA during 20 appearances for KU this season.

“Ethan had a fantastic year for us and is a great pick for the Mets,” Kansas head coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “Lanth (Lanthier) has a huge fastball and great feel for a well-above average slider. He’s a great competitor and an outstanding teammate.”

Lanthier gained a spot on the 2024 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List. In the summer of 2023, Lanthier was also named an All-Star in the prestigious Cape Cod League collegiate summer league.

At St. Cloud State, Lanthier had a career record of 7-2 that included a 3.67 ERA with 92 strikeouts in 29 appearances. He earned All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference first team honors as a freshman and was named an All-Region award recipient in 2022.

At Northfield High School, Lanthier was an All-State award winner as a senior and gained All-Big 9 notice as a prep pitcher. He also gained All-Big 9 and team MVP accolades with the Northfield High School football team. In recent years, Lathier played town ball with the Northfield Knights.

Lathier said his move to Kansas proved to be a good one for him in 2024 and it helped with his development as a baseball player.

“The move to Kansas was super good,” Lanthier said. “I got good coaching there, played against some of the best competition in the Big 12 and just the overall exposure you got there was great. There were scouts at almost every one of our intrasquads (practice games) and every one of our games, I think those things just helped me so much to get to this point.”

The college experience was a good one for Lanthier but he said the opportunity to play in the Mets’ organization was something that he did not want to miss.

“There is always so much uncertainly and just knowing that option was right here and right now, I just couldn’t turn it down,” Lanthier said about signing with the Mets.

As he looks back on playing the game during his younger days in Northfield, Lanthier said the experience helped him build an appreciation for the game along with teaching him the fundamentals of the sport.

“Growing up and playing with all my buddies here in Northfield, just helped me fall in love with the game. When you love the game and you can show up everyday no matter how hard it is going to be and know that you are going to enjoy doing it, that makes it so much easier to actually put the work in,” Lanthier said.

“I think being able to put that work in throughout high school and then through the first three years of college helped me get here but it all started back when I was young and I fell in love with the game in Northfield.”