Since All-Star Weekend began in 1985, only 14 college stars have finished first in the MLB Home Run Derby. The most recent one at Truist Park in Atlanta, GA was won by Florida native Cal Reilly with the Seattle Mariners in 2021. It was his first win in the derby.
Before the rally, Pete Alonso became the first college baseball player to win back-to-back derbies. That makes Alonso third all-time, joining Ken Griffey Jr. (1998-99) and Yoenis Cespedes (2013-14).
Let’s take a look back at the complete list of college baseball players who will hoist the trophy.
| YEAR | PLAYER | MLB TEAM | COLLEGE | CAREER MLB HRS | CAREER NCAA HRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Wally Joyner* | California Angels | BYU (1981-83) | 204 | 43 |
| 1987 | Andre Dawson | Chicago Cubs | Florida A&M (1973-75) | 438 | No statistics available |
| 1992 | Mark McGwire | Auckland Athletics | USC (1982-84) | 583 | 53 |
| 1995 | Frank Thomas | Chicago White Sox | Auburn (1987-89) | 521 | 49 |
| 1996 | Barry Bonds | San Francisco Giants | Arizona State (1983-85) | 762 | 45 |
| 1997 | Tino Martinez | New York Yankees | Tampa (1986-88) | 339 | 54 |
| 2001 | Luis Gonzalez | Arizona Diamondbacks | South Alabama (1987-88) | 354 | 23 |
| 2002 | Jason Giambi | New York Yankees | Long Beach State (1990-92) | 440 | Statistics for 1992 No |
| 2006 | Ryan Howard | Philadelphia Phillies | Missouri State (1998-01) | 382 | 50 |
| 2015 | Todd Fraser | Cincinnati Reds | Rutgers (2005-07) | 218 | 42 |
| 2017 | Aaron Judge | New York Yankees | Fresno State (2011-13) | 350** | 18 |
| 2018 | Bryce Harper | Washington Nationals | Southern Nevada College (NJCAA)# (2010) | 346** | 31 |
| 2019 and 2021 | Pete Alonso | New York Mets | Florida (2014-16) | 247** | 23 |
| The year 2025 | Cal Raleigh | Seattle Mariners | Florida State (2016-18) | 131** | 32 |
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#JuniorCollege
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*Means the player was a co-winner
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**Represents the active total as of July 15, 2025
That’s 14 different winners spread across 10 different NCAA conferences and two divisions — while Dawson was playing for the Division II Rattlers at Florida A&M — with another guy in college (Harper). The only two NCAA conferences with more than one representative are the Pac-12 (McGwire, Bonds) and the SEC (Frank Thomas, Pete Alonso).
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