By Rich Chrampanis
PHOENIX – The Shore Conference is once again poised to make its mark in the upcoming MLB Draft. Two local products – Reece Moroney from Rumson-Fair Haven and AJ Gracia from Ranney School – earned invitations to the 2026 MLB Draft Combine at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The event, which ran from June 23 to 26 and hosted 335 of the nation’s top draft-eligible prospects, put these two college juniors under the microscope in front of all of Major League Baseball.
Ranney’s Gracia Poised to
Hear His Name Called Early
At 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, Gracia profiles as one of the premier left-handed power bats in this draft class. Entering the combine, Gracia ranked as high as the No. 12 overall prospect on Baseball America’s board and the No. 15 prospect on MLB Pipeline’s, both grading him as a Top 5 outfielder in the class.
To give perspective, the Los Angeles Angels have the 12th pick in the 2026 MLB Draft and the slot value is over $5.8 million dollars. Teams can sign over or under the slot value. Either way, Gracia is in line for a big payday if he is drafted in the middle of the first round.
Across three varsity seasons, Gracia hit a staggering .503 with a 1.172 slugging percentage, racking up 85 hits, 101 RBIs, 29 home runs and 66 stolen bases in just 169 career at-bats. He saved his best for last as a junior in 2022-23, batting .500 with a 1.191 slugging mark, 12 home runs, and 32 RBIs. He helped Ranney School win a state championship in 2022 and a Monmouth County crown in 2023.
As a freshman at Duke in 2024, Gracia broke the program’s freshman home run record with 14 and its freshman RBI record with 58, while posting a .440 on-base percentage and .559 slugging mark en route to Perfect Game Freshman All-American and All-ACC Freshman Team honors. He followed head coach Chris Pollard to Virginia for his draft-eligible junior season in 2026, and the power has carried over: across his two seasons at Duke, Gracia hit .299, .445 and .559 with 29 home runs and 24 doubles.
Moroney’s Stock Continues to Rise
Reece Moroney was a fixture in the Rumson-Fair Haven infield with a career batting average of .368 with 82 hits, 41 RBIs and 20 stolen bases, helping the Bulldogs win section titles in 2022 and 2023. He was also on the Jersey Shore Carpenter Cup team that won the Philadelphia Phillies all-star tournament to close out his high school career. From there, he went on to the University of Rhode Island, where he became an MLB prospect thanks to an outstanding career playing for the Rams in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
As a true freshman in 2024, Moroney started 43 of Rhode Island’s 44 games, hitting his way to a spot on the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team. He finished that season with 38 hits, 22 RBIs and 15 stolen bases on 16 attempts. He built on that breakout as a sophomore in 2025, earning Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors. For his college career, he hit .336 with 132 runs scored and 48 stolen bases. With the Southeast and West regions dominating top MLB prospects, Moroney has emerged as one of the very best out of the Northeast.
Draft Prospects Look
Strong for the Duo
As two of the 335 prospects in attendance (195 college players and 140 high schoolers), both will now wait to see where they land when the 2026 MLB Draft gets underway July 11. Last year, 82.8% of the MLB Draft Combine invitees were selected in the 2025 MLB Draft, including 87 of the Top 100.
The article originally appeared in the July 2 – 8, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
