Sitting alongside his mother and girlfriend in his Los Angeles home on Thursday, July 17, Bennett Markinson discussed the approaching family vacation for his grandmother’s 90th birthday. Just three days prior, the catcher went undrafted in the 2025 MLB Draft.
Mid-conversation, his phone buzzed. At the top, it read Derrick Ross, a scout for the Philadelphia Phillies organization that Markinson had been in contact with since the pre-draft process.
“I jumped up, took the call. He said that the Phillies were interested in signing me,” Markinson said. “I went straight to my mom, and I said ‘I’m sorry, I’m not going to be able to go on our family trip. I just signed with the Phillies.'”
On the ensuing Sunday, he flew to Clearwater, Florida — the home of the Phillies’ development complex. And on Tuesday, he officially signed his contract with the Phillies organization.
Phillies got better today. #GoCats #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/2QhV7UtPFI
— Ben Greenspan (@bengreenspan22) July 22, 2025
Although Markinson said his path wasn’t always linear, his childhood dream was finally actualized with just one phone call.
A different phone call — one made long before July 17, 2025 — changed the course of Markinson’s baseball career. During his senior year of high school in March 2021, unsure whether he’d play at the next level, Markinson’s phone rang. It came from Northwestern’s coaching staff, and they called to offer the Harvard-Westlake product a preferred walk-on spot on the team.
“I committed on the spot,” Markinson said. “At the time, I wasn’t even sure I’d have the opportunity to play baseball in college, let alone professionally, as I was still uncommitted in March of my senior year. From there, I just focused on earning a spot in the starting lineup. I just wanted to play and help us win in any way possible, and I think as a preferred walk-on that committed late, that wasn’t guaranteed.”
Over his freshman and sophomore campaigns in Evanston, Markinson played in 67 games, making 53 starts, and posted a .274 batting average, adding 31 runs and 30 RBI.
After Markinson’s sophomore season, a new face entered the program. In August 2023, Northwestern announced the hiring of Ben Greenspan as its head coach.
Long before the two became a head coach and player tandem for the Wildcats, the two encountered each other on the recruiting trail. Markinson had spoken with Greenspan in September 2020, when the latter was Arizona State’s associate head coach. When the two were both on campus in Evanston, they had an hour-long meeting.
“It was clear to see the excitement, how much wisdom and baseball knowledge he had, his vision for the program, and the upside potential for Northwestern baseball,” Markinson said. “We aligned with a lot of views about the program and some ways we could elevate it.”
Markinson said that since Greenspan took the reins of Northwestern baseball, the culture shift and winning attitude instilled in the program have been palpable.
Alongside Greenspan, hitting coach Tyler Rost entered the fold, and he helped Markinson refine his craft.
“On the hitting side, Coach Rost did such a good job analyzing a few things I could improve on mechanically, approach-wise, and tap into a little bit more power,” Markinson said. “I think just being able to have him in my corner throughout the year (to) talk approaches, talk hitting, talk gameplan, it played a massive part.”
Markinson’s junior year marked his breakout season as a Wildcat. Starting all 52 games, he led the team with a .337 batting average and .408 on-base percentage, while also posting team-highs with 68 hits and 20 multi-hit games.
Dreams started to seep into reality. At this juncture in his baseball career, Markinson realized that his hopes of a career as a professional baseball player had become a realistic opportunity for him.
Playing for the Orleans Firebirds in the Cape Cod Baseball League, he led the team with a .340 batting average. “I was at an internship in New York when BG called to tell me he landed me a spot on the Cape. I left the next day and it ended up being the best summer of my life,” Markinson said.
Chat clip that ??
Bennett Markinson (@NUCatsBaseball) sends this one deep to give the Firebirds a 5-0 lead ?? pic.twitter.com/7dJZSrGvis
— Orleans Firebirds (@FirebirdsCCBL) August 4, 2024
After a standout summer on Cape Cod, his pre-draft process began before his senior season. Over three-quarters of a year before he received a call from the Phillies while in his living room, Markinson began discussions with ball clubs.
“Starting in the fall, throughout the winter, kind of before the year, I had a bunch of phone calls, Zoom calls, questionnaires with teams — just doing preliminary stuff,” Markinson said. “And then after the season concluded, I had a few workouts, phone calls, and Zoom meetings with some different teams.”
During Markinson’s senior year, the Wildcats posted their most wins in a season since 2017. Greenspan’s impact on both him and the program became undeniable.
Despite the transfer portal becoming increasingly prominent in collegiate sports during his four years in Evanston, Markinson’s loyalty to the program that had offered him a chance when he thought his baseball career might be over never wavered.
“There was no doubt, even through a lot of ups and downs, that I wanted to stay,” Markinson said. “I fell in love with the university and wanted to graduate from Northwestern. I wanted to see it through. And I’m just really happy how these last few years were and how I left the program compared to the position it was in when I got there.”
Since Thursday, calls and texts from both current and former teammates have flooded Markinson’s phone. He described these calls as some of the most exciting he has received and as incredibly special, given the close bond formed between him and the people who took the field with him day in and day out.
Most importantly, Markinson’s parents have been by his side throughout his baseball journey. A constant support system, he said they motivated him and believed in him endlessly — even when he doubted himself. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them and their support,” Markinson said.
Now that Markinson has gotten a taste of his lifelong dream, he wants to keep moving up and grind through the minor leagues. He hopes to make the MLB, but knows that he has to take it a day at a time. And through it all, he wants to keep ten toes down and remain grateful for ending up in the opportunity he’s in.
“I want to soak it all in and appreciate every day I get to play at the professional level,” Markinson said. “I’m so grateful to have this opportunity and to continue playing the game I love.”
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