RHP MADDOX LONG HEADED TO TIGERS' ORGANIZATION THROUGH CONTRACT PURCHASE
WASHINGTON, Pa. (June 29) – The Washington Wild Things are proud to announce that right-handed pitcher Maddox Long’s contract has been officially purchased by the Detroit Tigers organization, following the completion of his entry physical, sending the righty to affiliated ball after a tremendous start to his professional career with the Wild Things. He’s the fifth Wild Things since the start of the season to have his contract officially purchased.
Maddox will join the Tigers farm system and start in the complex with the FCL Tigers.
“Maddox had a great start to the year and we’re happy to see him earn his shot in affiliated ball,” said Wild Things manager Tom Vaeth. “He came in, commanded the zone and did everything we asked of him which led to his success and his chance to go pitch at the next level. Even though his time with us was short, we’re thrilled to have helped him along and to have provided him the platform to take the next step. We’ll be watching and rooting for continued success for Maddox with the Tigers.”
Long will be the first Wild Thing to head to the Tigers in a contract purchase directly from the Wild Things. Maddox was 4-1 with a 1.81 ERA to start the season in 44.2 innings pitched. He struck out 32 and walked five. The ERA was the second best in the league amongst qualified pitchers while his WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) of 0.780 was the best in the league.
He had a great career at Harding University and capped his amateur career with a phenomenal 2025 between Harding University and Green Bay in the Northwoods League. At Harding in 2025, Long was 11-3 with a 2.16 ERA in 16 games (15 starts). Over 108.1 innings, he fanned 122 to just 28 walks and 87 hits allowed. In the Northwoods in 2025, he was 3-1 with a 0.95 ERA in eight games (six starts) for the Rockers and whiffed 37 with nine walks over 38.0 innings. He was a 2025 Northwoods League Midseason All Star and the team won the league championship.
Long was with Green Bay in 2023 when the team won the Northwoods title as well, as he was 3-0 with a 1.76 ERA in six starts there and struck out 27 in 30.2 innings. The 2025 season at Harding earned him NSB Pitcher of the Year honors, the winner of the NSB Natural Award (given to an Arkansas native in the conference), a selection to the All-Arkansas team and numerous honors at the national level including consensus First-Team All-American honors. He was also consensus Central Region Pitcher of the Year and First-Team All-Central Region.
The 2024 season wasn’t a whole lot different at Harding. He was 6-1 with a 3.33 ERA in 16 starts and struck out 107 against 22 walks in 105.1 innings pitched. He was an All-American, Central Regional Pitcher of the Year, All-Region and GAC Pitcher of the Year. He was 7-4 with a 4.86 ERA in 14 games (all starts) and struck out 90 against 26 walks in 83.1 innings in 2023. In 2022, he fanned 67 with a 5-6 record.
Prior to arriving at Harding, Long worked in 2021 at Rich Mountain (University of Arkansas, NJCAA) and was 6-4 in 15 games and 73 innings. He also made five appearances at Ouachita Baptist, another Division II GAC school, in 2020.
The Wild Things congratulate Maddox on his contract purchase and wish him the best as he gets his first chance in affiliated baseball in pursuit of a dream to make the big leagues. He’ll join former Wild Things Dariel Fregio (2023-24) and Joe Campagna (2020-21) in the Tigers’ farm system. Both Fregio and Campagna are in Double-A Erie.
