After opening Day 1 of the 2026 MLB Draft by taking toolsy high school outfielder Trevor Condon at No. 13, the St. Louis Cardinals went for pure stuff and upside in the first round’s Competitive Balance Round A, selecting right-handed pitcher Tegan Kuhns from the University of Tennessee with the 32nd overall pick.
Kuhns, a 21-year-old draft-eligible sophomore, becomes the third Tennessee product selected by St. Louis in recent years (following lefty Liam Doyle and Tanner Franklin in 2025) and gives the organization a high-ceiling arm with frontline starter potential.
The Scouting Report
At 6-foot-3 and 189-193 pounds, Kuhns possesses a projectable frame with an athletic, loose, and whippy delivery. Scouts consistently praise his ability to generate force from a strong lower half and repeat an athletic motion that has improved as he has filled out.
Pitch arsenal and grades (MLB Pipeline):
- Fastball (60): Sits 93-96 mph and touches 98-99 with excellent spin, ride, and carry up in the zone. It generates swing-and-miss at the top of the zone and plays as a true plus offering.
- Curveball (60): Upper-70s with sharp, downer break. Long considered a wipeout pitch and still a major weapon.
- Slider (45): Low-to-mid 80s, tighter and with better feel in 2026. Shows tunneling potential off the fastball.
- Changeup (45): Flashed significant improvement this spring with fade and depth; still a work in progress but showing higher whiff rates.
- Control (55): Biggest leap in his game. Walked just 1.78 batters per nine this season.
Overall Future Value: 55. Ceiling comparisons have included George Kirby if the development staff can further refine the third and fourth pitches and continue building strength.
Kuhns turned down seven-figure offers to turn pro out of Gettysburg Area High School (Pennsylvania) in 2024, when he was a top-100 prep prospect. He enrolled at Tennessee and has steadily climbed draft boards.
As the Vols’ clear ace under first-year head coach Josh Elander, Kuhns posted a 5-5 record with a 3.56 ERA over 81 innings (14 starts in 15 appearances). He struck out 106 batters (11.8 K/9) against just 16 walks (1.8 BB/9), finishing with a 1.185 WHIP and ranking among the SEC leaders in strikeout-to-walk ratio and walk rate. He earned All-SEC Second Team honors.
Standout performances included a career-high 15 strikeouts in a shutout win over then-No. 4 Texas, a complete-game shutout of Alabama, and multiple double-digit strikeout outings against ranked SEC competition. After a solid but uneven freshman year (5.40 ERA in 36⅔ innings), he dominated in the Cape Cod League last summer (1.35 ERA, 20 K in 13⅓ innings) and carried that momentum into a true breakout campaign.
Kuhns fits the organizational preference for college arms with plus pure stuff, athleticism, and room to grow. His ability to miss bats with two plus pitches already gives him a high floor as a mid-rotation starter or high-leverage reliever, while the projectable frame and improving secondary offerings point to higher upside. The Cardinals’ pitching development group has shown an ability to refine command and secondary pitches in recent years, and Kuhns arrives with the raw ingredients that make scouts excited.
Academically strong, he was named to the CSC Academic All-District Team.
Kuhns gives Cardinals fans another high-upside arm to dream on — one with the stuff to eventually push for a rotation spot in St. Louis if everything clicks. Welcome to the organization, Tegan.
