Rory Fox didn’t lock into baseball right away. A standout in three sports at Catholic Memorial (Wis.) High School, he kept his athletic identity broad until it became clear the diamond offered his highest ceiling. He arrived at Notre Dame as a two-way player, projected primarily as a middle infielder but with a live arm that quietly hinted at his future.
Over time, through the ups and downs, steady development and honest self-assessment, Fox realized his future was on the mound. Ahead of his junior season, he met with Notre Dame’s coaching staff and made the full-time move to pitching. The decision has paid off. The right-hander showed encouraging progress this spring and now enters July with a legitimate chance to hear his name called in the first seven rounds of the MLB draft.
“I’m just so thankful to have this opportunity,” Fox said. “A year or two ago, I didn’t really get on the field because I was injured and the idea of me moving on was not really a possibility in my mind. I just wanted to play. Going through the hard times makes the good times a whole lot better.
“Being here now and looking back on everything that I had to go through to get here makes me very grateful and thankful to God that I get to share this opportunity and maximize the gifts that I’ve been given. I’m just so thankful to everyone who’s been along with me through this journey and excited to see where I can take me.”
Throughout his transition to full-time pitching and in preparation for the draft, Rory Fox has leaned on his older brother, Luke, a former standout at Duke and a 2023 draft pick who is now thriving in the Dodgers’ minor-league system.
Rather than feeling pressure to live up to his brother’s success, Fox has embraced it. He regularly seeks Luke’s advice on pitching and development, viewing him as a mentor and a model for the path he hopes to follow.
“He’s obviously set the bar pretty high, and he’s continued to push me in whatever I’m doing,” Fox said. “I definitely would’ve told you something completely different than what I’m saying right now, but I’ve come to really appreciate having someone like that in my life — a role model who’s been through it before me, someone I can learn from his mistakes and lean into the stuff that he did well.
“As I’ve grown into this pitcher identity and he’s doing his thing in pro ball, I’ve come to appreciate being able to communicate with him and kind of bounce ideas off one another. I’ve been thankful for that, and I’m excited to continue to do that going into pro ball and to share that experience with him.”
Fox is a 6-foot-2, 210-pound right-hander with an athletic, clean delivery who pitches from a three-quarters arm slot.
His fastball sits in the low-90s and touches 96 mph, featuring quality movement that keeps hitters off balance. The slider is his most reliable secondary pitch, boasting a tight break that he uses aggressively to generate swings and misses. His 12-to-6 curveball shows promise and remains a pitch he’s actively working to refine, while his changeup consistently induces weak contact. A confident strike thrower, Fox limits free passes and rarely issues walks.
“Being relatively new to pitching and having the stuff I do, I think there’s a lot of potential,” Fox said. “I’m excited to see, as I continue to refine my arsenal, how I can improve. My goal is to continue to maximize my fastball velocity. The shape it has and the results it has shown to get have been a positive and a strength of mine.”
After logging just two plate appearances and five innings on the mound as a freshman, Fox became a key contributor for Notre Dame over his final two seasons. In 2023, he split time between the rotation and bullpen, finishing with a 6.48 ERA, 38 strikeouts, 15 walks and 15 home runs allowed over 50 innings.
Determined to take a step forward, Fox dedicated the offseason to refining his craft, and the results followed. Transitioning to a full-time starter this spring, he posted a 3.58 ERA with 64 strikeouts, 27 walks and just three home runs allowed across 65 1/3 innings.
As he prepares for what’s likely the start of his professional career, Fox is back training at PitchingWRX in Oklahoma City, the facility that played a key role in last offseason’s progress.
“I’m always excited to go work with those guys,” Fox said. “It was a great experience last offseason. I was very happy with the progress that I saw after working with them. It’s been awesome to see the progress I’ve made after focusing only on pitching for the last year. I’m excited for what’s ahead.”
Read more in-depth stories on top 2025 MLB draft prospects at Baseball Prospect Journal.
Dan Zielinski III has covered the MLB draft for 10 years. He has interviewed 580 of the top draft prospects in that period, including four No. 1 overall picks. Multiple publications, including Baseball America, USA Today, MLB.com, The Arizona Republic and The Dallas Morning News, have quoted his work, while he has appeared on radio stations as a “MLB draft expert.” Follow him on Twitter @DanZielinski3.
