WALDORF, Md. — The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs have added former Philadelphia Phillies second-round draft pick Ethan Wilson to their outfield roster for the 2025 season, the team announced. The signing brings a versatile and experienced player to the Atlantic League club. Additionally, the Blue Crabs confirmed the return of right-handed pitcher Ian Kahaloa, a key starter for the past two seasons, bolstering their pitching rotation.
Wilson, a 25-year-old from Andalusia, Alabama, was selected 49th overall by the Phillies in the 2021 MLB Draft out of the University of South Alabama. Standing 6-foot-1 and weighing 210 pounds, he has played all three outfield positions during his professional career. He began in the Phillies’ minor league system in 2021 with Low-A Clearwater, where he hit three home runs and drove in 17 runs over 30 games. In 2022, Wilson advanced to High-A Jersey Shore in the South Atlantic League, posting 101 hits in 112 games, including 20 doubles, seven home runs, and 45 RBIs. That year, he also debuted in Double-A Reading.
In 2023, Wilson earned a full-time spot in Double-A as the Phillies’ 14th-ranked prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. He batted .250, hit 17 home runs, and drove in 61 runs while collecting 105 hits in 114 games. He also recorded 24 doubles, marking his second consecutive season with 20 or more. However, his 2024 season was interrupted by an appendectomy during spring training, sidelining him for several weeks. He returned to the active roster on April 25, splitting time between Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley. In Triple-A, he played five games, recording three hits, including a home run. In Double-A, he appeared in 91 games, hitting nine home runs, driving in 36 runs, and adding 14 doubles.
Wilson’s defensive stats highlight his reliability, with a .990 fielding percentage in over 1,000 innings in left field and a .979 percentage in over 1,500 innings in right field, per Minor League Baseball records. This will be his fifth professional season and his first with the Blue Crabs.
Meanwhile, Ian Kahaloa, a 27-year-old native of Hawaii, returns for his third season with Southern Maryland. A former fifth-round pick by the Cincinnati Reds in 2015, Kahaloa has been a standout in the Atlantic League. In 2024, he led the league with 138 strikeouts and posted a 10-9 record with a 5.48 ERA, ranking ninth in the league, according to Atlantic League stats. He logged 131.1 innings, the fourth-most in the league, and delivered nine quality starts.
Kahaloa’s notable performances last season included a June 4 outing against Lexington, where he pitched seven innings, allowed no earned runs, and struck out 11. On July 3, also against Lexington, he tossed seven innings, gave up one run, and fanned 10. He held Gastonia to three hits over six scoreless innings with nine strikeouts, and on August 21, he pitched 7.2 innings against Charleston, allowing one run on five hits with eight strikeouts. Over two seasons with the Blue Crabs, Kahaloa has a 20-18 record and a 4.72 ERA across 49 starts. This will be his seventh professional season.
