Northern Illinois lefty signs pro deal with the New York Yankees – WREX

DeKALB — Northern Illinois University pitcher Max Vaisvila signed a free agent contract with the New York Yankees.

Vaisvila becomes the fourth player from NIU’s 2026 Mid-American Conference championship team to sign a professional contract, joining Gavin Baldwin, Cole Smith and Ivan Dahlberg. The left-handed pitcher earned First-Team All-MAC honors after going 8-0 with a 3.09 earned run average this season. He struck out 87 batters in 85.2 innings pitched and finished in the top five of the MAC in complete games, ERA, WHIP and strikeouts.

The Villa Park, Ill. native was named MAC Tournament Most Valuable Player after throwing eight shutout innings across two appearances. Vaisvila threw a seven-inning shutout on May 20 in NIU’s 11-0 win over Western Michigan, striking out 10 Broncos while allowing just one hit and one walk. He threw a perfect ninth inning against Toledo in the championship game with two more strikeouts.

Vaisvila earned Midwest All-Region First Team honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings this season. He is the first Huskie since Kam Smith in 2021 to earn All-Region First Team recognition and the first All-Region First Team pitcher since Matt German in 2006 and 2007.

The pitcher was named National Pitcher of the Week on March 31 after throwing a nine-inning, one-hit shutout against Bowling Green with 14 strikeouts. Vaisvila is the fourth player in program history to sign a professional contract with the Yankees. NIU Hall of Famer Fred “Fritz” Peterson played for the Yankees from 1966-1974 and was an All-Star in 1970.

NIU won a program-record 36 games in 2026 and was the No. 3 seed in the Tallahassee Regional. The Huskies earned their first NCAA Tournament win in program history on May 29 in a 12-10 victory over Coastal Carolina.