MLB · Biography
LJ Mercurius
Pitcher (RHP) · Arizona Diamondbacks · MiLB · active · OU 2026
UNLV transfer who won the game that clinched OU's 2026 national title
LJ Mercurius is from Las Vegas, where he pitched at Faith Lutheran High School and also lettered in basketball and football. Perfect Game ranked him the top right-handed pitcher in Nevada in the 2023 class.
He started college at UNLV. In 2025 he went 4–3 with a 3.47 ERA and made the All-Mountain West Second Team, and he threw a complete-game shutout with 12 strikeouts against Nevada. He then transferred to Oklahoma.
In his one season at OU, Mercurius led the staff with 83.1 innings and 103 strikeouts. He went 7–7 with a 4.43 ERA in 22 games, 12 of them starts. He threw the Sooners' only complete game of the year, a seven-inning one-hitter against Gonzaga, and struck out a season-high 13 at Vanderbilt. In the NCAA Tournament he moved into a do-everything role: a 1.19 ERA in seven appearances and four saves. He earned the win in the national championship clincher against North Carolina on June 22, allowing four hits over 5.2 innings.
The Arizona Diamondbacks drafted him in the fifth round (148th overall) in 2026 and signed him for $450,000. He was assigned to the rookie-level Arizona Complex League D-backs. As of October 9, 2026, he is a pitcher in the Diamondbacks organization.