Jackson Matthew Holliday (born December 4, 2003) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

in the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

organization. He was selected first overall by the Orioles in the

2022 Major League Baseball draft The 2022 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on July 17–19, 2022, in Los Angeles. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The draft order was based on the reverse order of the 2021 ...

Amateur career

Holliday attended Stillwater High School in

Stillwater, Oklahoma Stillwater ( iow, Ñápinⁿje, ''meaning: "Water quiet"'') is a city in, and the county seat of, Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. Route 177 and State Highway 51. As of th ...

. After his freshman year, he committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. As a junior in 2021, Holliday batted .500 with six home runs and fifty RBIs. He was also named the Central Oklahoma Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. That summer, he played in various national events including the Perfect Game All-American Classic at

Petco Park Petco Park is a baseball stadium in Downtown San Diego, California. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres, and has also been used as a venue for concerts, soccer, golf, and rugby. The ballpark is located between Se ...

. He also was named to

USA Baseball USA Baseball is the national governing body for organized baseball in the United States, and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The organization selects and trains the World Basebal ...

's 18U team. Holliday entered his senior year in 2022 as a top prospect for the upcoming draft. During a game against Union High School, he hit three home runs. In another game, he hit two home runs in the same inning. He finished the season batting .685 with 17 home runs, 79 RBIs, 29 doubles, and thirty stolen bases over forty games. He set a national record for hits in a season for an amateur player with 89, surpassing the previous record of 88 set by

J. T. Realmuto Jacob Tyler Realmuto ( ; born March 18, 1991) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Between 2014 and 2018, he played in MLB for the Miami Marlins. Realmuto was born in Del Ci ...

in 2010. He was named the Oklahoma Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year. He was the third in his family to win the award alongside his father and uncle. He was also awarded an ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove.

Professional career

The

selected Holliday with the first overall pick in the

. He signed with the team for $8.19 million, the largest signing bonus ever for a high school player. Holliday made his professional debut on August 11, 2022 with the Rookie-level

Florida Complex League Orioles The Florida Complex League Orioles are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Before 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Orioles. The team plays its home ...

, going 1 for 3 with a stolen base. He was later promoted to the

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shore ...

of the

Single-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classif ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. Over twenty games between both teams, he batted .297 with one home run, nine RBIs, and four stolen bases.

Personal life

Holliday is the son of former major leaguer and seven-time All-Star

Matt Holliday Matthew Thomas Holliday (born January 15, 1980) is an American professional baseball coach and former left fielder who is the bench coach for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB from 2004 to 2018 for the Col ...

. His brother, Ethan, also plays baseball at Stillwater and is committed to play

for the

Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball is the NCAA Division I varsity intercollegiate baseball team of Oklahoma State University, based in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The team competes in the Big 12 Conference. The Cowboys' current head coach i ...

team. Holliday's uncle,

Josh Holliday Joshua S. Holliday (born September 14, 1976) is an American college baseball coach and former professional player in Minor League Baseball. Currently the head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball team, he was hired to this position pri ...

, is the head baseball coach at Oklahoma State. Holliday is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. He has said, "Faith plays a major role in baseball and my life. I want to honor the Lord in everything that I do and I try to represent that on the field, through my actions and how I carry myself on and off the field."

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holliday, Jackson 2003 births Living people Baseball players from Oklahoma Baseball shortstops United States national baseball team players Florida Complex League Orioles players Delmarva Shorebirds players