Second-round draft pick Angel Cervantes announces he’s going to UCLA

UCLA baseball coach John Savage got a pleasant surprise on Wednesday when second-round draft pick Angel Cervantes from Warren High announced via X he would attend UCLA rather than sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who selected him with the 50th pick in the amateur draft.

Savage, however, did not celebrate even after receiving lots of text messages congratulating him on his new pitching standout. Cervantes’ decision doesn’t become official until Monday at 2 p.m. when the deadline to sign a pro contract passes.

Savage declined to comment pending the deadline, but let’s imagine what he will say when it becomes official: “It is huge.”

Cervantes said Thursday night that negotiations with the Pirates had ended.

“No more surprises,” he said.

Cervantes called Savage to give him the news, but he didn’t answer, so Cervantes texted him to call him. Two minutes later, Savage called and Cervantes told him, “Coach Savage, you got your Friday night starter. I’m all in.’ And by the tone of his voice, he sounded real happy.”

The hard-throwing right-hander immediately becomes a candidate to compete for a starting job on a Bruins team looking to improve its starting pitching. UCLA could be the No. 1-ranked team in the nation in preseason rankings in 2026 with the return of shortstop Roch Cholowsky and many others from the No. 1 recruiting class of 2023.

Cervantes’ slot value as the 50th pick was $1.934 million. His representative, Wasserman sports group, is the same as the Pirates’ first-round pick from Corona, pitcher Seth Hernandez, who signed for $7.25 million as the No. 6 pick.

“After my advisor gave me a call that the Pirates didn’t meet in the middle with my number, I was comfortable going to college,” he said. “Going pro was one of my biggest dreams. I had another big dream to play for UCLA. I had a field trip to UCLA in elementary school. and by my sophomore year, I’m committed. It’s pretty awesome thinking about it.”

Cervantes threw a 1-0 shutout in Warren’s Division 3 playoff opener last May.

Savage is known for turning promising high school pitchers into high draft picks, from Gerrit Cole to Trevor Bauer to Griffin Canning.

The 6-foot-3 Cervantes has hit 95 mph on his fastball and doesn’t turn 18 until next month. When he took his official recruiting visit, it was Cholowsky showing him around.

“He bet on himself and it’s working well,” Cervantes said. “That’s how I am right now. I’m betting on myself.”