Vestavia Hills star Head lands top-60 draft ranking

Vestavia Hills, Ala., native John Paul Head has been ranked the No. 55 overall prospect for the 2027 Major League Baseball Draft by Baseball America. The UAB outfielder earned the spot after a standout sophomore season with the Blazers.

Baseball America also listed Head as the No. 27 college prospect, the No. 7 outfielder overall, and the No. 4 college outfielder in the class. He became one of the most productive hitters in the American Conference in 2026.

Head started 55 games for UAB. He hit a league-best 22 home runs. He led the conference with a 1.167 on-base plus slugging percentage and a .710 slugging percentage. His batting average was .329 with a .457 on-base percentage. He drove in 56 runs and recorded 147 total bases, which is the seventh-most in a single season in UAB history.

His 22 home runs rank second in school history. The school record is 23, set by Shayne Carnes in 1998. Head was the first Blazer to hit 20 home runs and steal 10 bases in the same season. He is one of four players in American Conference history to reach 20 home runs in a year.

A key performance occurred March 6 and 7 against Middle Tennessee. Head went 9-for-14 with six home runs, three doubles, 10 runs, and 10 RBIs in that series. Baseball America named him to its national team of the week.

Head received first-team all-conference honors. He also made the ABCA/Rawlings Southeast All-Region first team, becoming the first UAB player to earn that distinction. He spent the summer with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod Baseball League, hitting three home runs in 14 games. At Vestavia Hills High School, he was a two-time Alabama Sports Writers Association all-state selection in football and baseball and played on the Rebels’ 2023 Class 7A state championship team.