Photo by Shawn Bowles
Hewitt-Trussville INF Steele Hall (19) in a game against Hewitt-Trussville and Oak Mountain at Phil English Field on Thursday, April 10, 2025.
Hewitt-Trussville shortstop Steele Hall, one of the most dynamic prep baseball players in Alabama history, was selected by the Cincinnati Reds with the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 2025 MLB Amateur Draft on Sunday night.
At just 17, Hall is among the youngest players in this year’s draft class. The University of Tennessee commit reclassified last fall to graduate a year early and become draft-eligible. He is the first Alabama high school middle infielder to go in the first round since 1971.
Hall capped his final season at Hewitt-Trussville with a .484 batting average, eight home runs, 35 RBIs and 33 stolen bases, earning Starnes Media’s All-South Metro Player of the Year honor and being named Alabama’s Mr. Baseball. His elite speed — he’s been clocked running a 60-yard dash in as fast as 6.0 seconds — and defensive prowess drew comparisons from Reds officials to big league stars like Trea Turner and Dansby Swanson.
“If you stacked him up against juniors out there, we thought that if you lined him up at the end of the summer and into next year's Draft, he might be a guy you're talking about at the No. 1 overall pick,” Reds amateur scouting director Joe Katuska said. “Dansby Swanson was one. Trea Turner was one. That type of player that is ultra-athletic, can run, can throw, can play defense and provides value with the bat, as well as a leadoff type of guy. That's how we saw Steele and what ultimately led us to be comfortable with the pick.”
Hall moved back to Trussville after three years on the varsity team at Daphne, returning to his hometown and stepping seamlessly into a leadership role with the Huskies. Head coach Jeff Mauldin called him an “elite” player with the kind of intangibles that inspire teammates.
“If your players see your best player pick up a trash can lid when he's walking by, they'll go do the same thing,” Mauldin said.
Hall helped lead Hewitt-Trussville to a 21-0 start this season before the nationally ranked IMG Academy handed the team its first loss. The Huskies went on to qualify for the Class 7A playoffs.
He remains committed to Tennessee but will now weigh his options with the Reds. The slot value of the ninth pick is just over $6.5 million.
“It means a lot, thanking [the Reds] for taking a chance on a 17-year-old, and it’s an honor,” Hall said.
Hall turns 18 on July 24.
Not long after Hall's selection, another former Hewitt-Trussville star was also taken in the first round of the draft. Riley Quick was chosen 36th overall by the Minnesota Twins following three years as a pitcher at the University of Alabama.
At Hewitt-Trussville, Quick was named the Class 7A Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year in 2022 by the Alabama Sports Writers Association, and was also a standout offensive lineman on the football team. In his senior season, he posted a 13-1 record with a 0.92 earned run average in 82 2/3 innings of work. He had 130 strikeouts and pitched nine complete games, including six shutouts.
In 2025, Quick returned from injury and put together a strong redshirt sophomore year. He finished with an 8-3 record over 14 starts, with a 3.92 ERA.
