EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Evansville senior pitcher Max Hansmann (Elmhurst, Ill./York) was selected by the Washington Nationals in the eighth round of the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft on Sunday afternoon, becoming the first Purple Ace since 2022 to be picked in the MLB Draft.
 
Hansmann was the 226^th overall selection in the draft, the highest selected Ace since Kyle Freeland was selected eighth overall in 2014 and the 10^th highest pick in program history. He is the 47^th draft pick in program history and the fourth Ace to be drafted by the Nationals organization, joining Jamey Carroll, Kai Tuomi, and Sam Johns.
 
Hansmann is coming off a 2026 season in which he established himself as one of the top pitchers in the Missouri Valley Conference and earned First Team All-MVC honors. This past season, Hansmann ranked among MVC leaders in ERA (3.99 – fifth), strikeouts (83 – third) and innings pitched (85.2 - fourth). In conference play, Hansmann was even better, leading the league with a 2.03 ERA in 48.2 innings. Making a start in all 14 regular season weekend series, Hansmann gave the Aces five or more innings 12 times, including 10 starts of five-plus innings while allowing three or less runs.
 
A four-year standout for the Purple Aces, Hansmann ranks seventh in program history in appearances with 83 and 15^th in program history with 217 strikeouts. As a sophomore in 2024, Hansmann played an integral role in Evansville's run to the MVC Tournament title and first-ever trip to the NCAA Super Regionals. In the MVC Tournament championship game against Indiana State, Hansmann struck out four over 2.1 innings of relief, helping the Aces clinch their first MVC Tournament title since 2006. In the decisive game of the NCAA Greenville Regional, Hansmann blanked host East Carolina over four innings out of the bullpen to earn the win and send the Aces to the Super Regional.