The 2019 Michigan baseball team went on a magical run to the College World Series, only to come up one game short of a national championship. Where are some of the stars of that team now? STORY:
The 2019 Michigan Wolverines will go down as one of the great Michigan baseball teams of all time. Finishing with a 50-22 (16-7) record, the Wolverines finished second in the Big Ten before going on a magical run.
Michigan knocked off No. 22 Creighton in the Corvallis Regional before stunning No. 1 overall seed UCLA in the Los Angeles Super Regional. At the College World Series (CWS) in Omaha, Michigan won its first four games and needed just one more victory over J.J. Bleday-led Vanderbilt to take home the national championship. Sadly, the Commodores won the last two matchups, forcing Michigan to settle as the runner-ups.
Nearly six years have passed since that magical run. Where have the stars of that Michigan team gone since their time in Ann Arbor? Have any made it to the majors yet? Let’s dive in.
Following the 2019 season, five Wolverines were selected in the MLB Draft : LHP Tommy Henry, RHP Karl Kauffmann, OF Jordan Brewer, RHP Jack Weisenburger, and INF Jimmy Kerr. Four more Wolverines were drafted the following year in RHP Jeff Criswell, OF Jordan Nwogu, OF Jesse Franklin V, and INF Jack Blomgren. In 2021, three more were picked in RHP Steven Hajjar, SS Benjamin Sems, and RHP Blake Beers, though only Hajjar and Beers were on the 2019 roster that went to the CWS.
Let’s explore in further detail.
LHP Tommy Henry
Henry exploded onto the scene as a junior and was the highest drafted Wolverine in the 2019 draft class at 74th overall to the Arizona Diamondbacks . He was an honorable mention All-American that season, which propelled him to sign with Arizona.
He has stayed in the Diamondbacks system his entire career so far and has made the major leagues. Henry played just three games in A-ball before joining the fascinatingly-named Amarillo Sod Poodles in AA. In 2022, he was not only promoted to AAA Reno but also made nine starts with the Diamondbacks. From 2023 to now, he has bounced back and forth between AAA and the majors where he has amassed a 10-11 record with a 5.11 ERA, a 1.47 WHIP and a 0.2 WAR.
Most recently, he was optioned to Reno on March 14 of this year.
RHP Karl Kauffmann
Kauffmann finished his last season in Ann Arbor as a Third-Team All-Big Ten and Third-Team All-American performer. He was selected 77th overall by the Colorado Rockies and has remained in their organization. As Covid-19 caused the cancellation of the 2020 season at the minor league level, Kauffman’s professional career began in 2021 where he pitched for the Spokane Indians of High-A. He was quickly promoted to the AA Hartford Yard Goats.
He started the 2022 season with Hartford but continued to ascend by being promoted to the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes in the middle of the season. In May of 2023, Kauffmann made his MLB debut for the Rockies. However, he struggled immensely in Colorado. In 11 games, he went 2-5 with an 8.23 ERA and 1.66 WHIP. He was outrighted to AAA Albuquerque after the 2023 season and has remained there since.
OF Jordan Brewer
Brewer led the Wolverines in 2019 and was rewarded with the Big Ten Player of the Year Award along with First-Team All-Big Ten and Third-Team All-American honors. He was drafted 106th overall by the Houston Astros .
Immediately assigned to the Tri-City ValleyCats in Low-A, Brewer played a few games prior to the 2020 cancellation. Back in action in 2021, he was this time assigned to the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (also of Low-A). In 2022 he finally made it up to AA and played for the Corpus Christi Hooks. Unfortunately, his career stalled out in AA as he remained there for most of 2023 and all of 2024.
The Astros released Brewer on Aug. 5, 2024. He remains a minor league free agent.
RHP Jack Weisenburger
Weisenburger was selected in the 2019 MLB Draft to the Oakland Athletics (614th overall). He quickly worked his way up to the AA Midland RockHounds in 2021, but injuries ended his 2023 season in Midland and he never fully recovered.
He never made it to AAA and was released by the RockHounds on Feb. 24 this year. Weisenburger is currently a minor league free agent.
INF Jimmy Kerr
Kerr was a Third-Team All-Big Ten selection who played all around the infield for the Wolverines. He was selected by the hometown Detroit Tigers with the 982nd overall pick. He played in 25 rookie ball games for the GCL Tigers West in 2019 prior to the pandemic shut things down.
In 2021, he played in 54 games with Lakeland (A) before moving up to the High-A West Michigan Whitecaps for 34 games. At West Michigan, Kerr hit .218 with a .702 OPS and three home runs. On Dec. 31, 2021, Kerr retired from professional baseball.
RHP Jeff Criswell
Criswell went 7-1 with a 2.74 ERA in 2019. Oakland took him 58th overall (second round) in the 2020 MLB Draft. His professional career got off to a rocky start, as he missed most of the 2021 season at High-A Lansing with a shoulder injury. However, he quickly gained steam in 2022 and was elevated from Lansing to the AA Midland RockHounds (where he played with Weisenburger again), and then again to Las Vegas Aviators in AAA.
After the 2022 season, Criswell was traded to the Colorado Rockies where he was assigned to the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes. He was called up to the majors on Aug. 21, 2024. In 13 games with the Rockies, he tallied a 1-0 record with a 2.75 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 27 strikeouts in 19.2 innings pitched.
Unfortunately, he is scheduled to miss the entire 2025 season with Tommy John surgery.
OF Jordan Nwogu
Nwogu was just a sophomore on the 2019 team but earned First-Team All Big-Ten honors. After his junior season in 2020, he was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the third round. He spent 2021 in A-ball with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.
He progressed slowly through the minors, reaching High-A in 2022 and AA in 2023. Sadly, the Tennessee Smokies (the Cubs AA team) was the highest he’d reach, as he played there until he was demoted back to South Bend in 2024. After a brief stint with the Canberra Cavalry of the Australian Baseball League, Nwogu returned back to the Smokies for another shot at the minor leagues.
OF Jesse Franklin V
He was drafted 97th overall by the Atlanta Braves in the 2020 MLB Draft. Franklin started with the High-A Rome Braves in 2021. A year later, he was promoted to the AA Mississippi Braves but missed most of the season after Tommy John surgery.
Franklin returned from surgery with a bang in 2023, hitting .232 with 15 home runs in just 94 games. However, the injury bug bit again as he missed the entire 2024 season with a shoulder issue. Franklin was released by the organization in Jan. 2025.
INF Jack Blomgren
Blomgren was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the fifth round of the 2020 MLB Draft. He was initially assigned to the High-A Spokane Indians before being promoted to the Hartford Yard Goats in 2022. He struggled mightily with injuries, going on and off the injured list.
Interestingly, Blomgren was selected in the minor league Rule 5 Draft by the Houston Astros organization in Dec. 2024. Houston assigned him to the High-A Asheville Tourists where he is currently on the seven-day injured list.