Anchorage’s Coen Niclai lands with the Miami Marlins in 15th round of MLB draft

Fresh off leading Service High School to the program’s first state baseball title since 2001, Coen Niclai has been selected to compete at the sport’s highest level.

The 18-year-old catcher and recent graduate on Tuesday became the latest Alaskan to be drafted by a Major League Baseball team after he was selected by the Miami Marlins as the 454th overall pick in the 15th round of the 2024 MLB draft.

Dozens of Alaskans have been drafted by MLB teams over the years, but only 12 have appeared in a major-league game.

Niclai is the first Alaskan to hear his name called at the draft since former Anchorage standout Brody Jessee in 2022. The highest-ever draft pick was Daniel Schlereth, who was taken in the first round and 26th overall in 2008. Now Niclai looks forward to being next to join the rare fraternity.

“It’d be a great honor to be among those people,” Niclai said prior to the draft. “I’m just ready to get this next journey started.”

As far as when that time might be, he is keeping an open mind. Last year, Niclai committed to play for the University of Oregon.

From childhood dream to reality

Like most kids who grew up playing T-ball and eventually graduating to baseball, Niclai had dreams of making it to the major leagues.

However, his childhood dreams began to look more like a career path during his first Gatorade Player of the Year winning season as a junior.

“It’s always been a goal but (interest) picked up last year towards the end of the season, and then the beginning of this year was like the big push towards it and when it really became a good realization,” Niclai said.

[Service’s Coen Niclai named Alaska’s Gatorade Player of the Year for baseball for second year in a row]

Niclai’s draft stock got another boost after he turned heads and competed well with and against prospects up to five years older at the MLB draft combine last month.

“I was only able to do so much but I feel like I did my job, did what I needed to do there and it definitely helped for sure,” he said.

The combine has been around since 2021, and he was the first Alaskan to participate in it. He made bat contact with four pitches in excess of 100 mph, including a 412-foot home run to left-center field.

He also took part in the MLB Draft League in June, where he impressed during a seven-game run as a member of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers and posted .360/.484/.440 lines with seven RBIs.

By the time the draft started Sunday, Niclai felt he had done everything he could to set himself up for success.

“It was always a childhood dream but making it a realization and something attainable is something I had to work towards,” Niclai said.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder was gone for most of the summer doing pre-draft prep, so he opted to forgo his final summer of American Legion eligibility and just soak up the last bit of Alaska before heading off to the next phase of his career.

Even though he hasn’t been able to participate in the Legion season one last time, he said he has been keeping up with the Cougars and is hoping they can make a clean sweep and win the state Legion championship as well.

Managing to stand out and shine from afar

Being an aspiring collegiate athlete let alone a professional from Alaska can be a difficult goal, but from a young age Niclai was determined to be one of the few exceptions.

“It’s always a tough thing to get out here and be exposed but I think it has also given me a lot of benefits in the way I am able to work on myself, train and do everything I need to do to make myself better,” he said. “I’m blessed to be here and am excited to be here and representing the state.”

Given that exposure opportunities are rare in the Last Frontier, every time Niclai traveled for a camp or competition, making the most of the opportunity was paramount because there was no telling when the next one would come.

“I knew if I went down there, I would have to be good for sure,” he said. “You’re just betting on yourself and saying ‘If I go down here, I better do good and if I don’t, well I guess we’ll see what next time brings.’ ”

Even though he has essentially been the unofficial face of Alaska baseball for the past two years, Niclai said he doesn’t feel any pressure but rather a great sense of pride and honor.

“Everything that is being said, I hope it’s great and I appreciate the support I’m getting,” he said. “It’s really a great feeling to come from a place like this and know that a lot of people back home are supporting and rooting for me. It’s an amazing honor to represent a state like this.”