Maika Niu is a center fielder whom the Yankees signed as an undrafted free agent this summer out of the University of Arkansas. He’s 6’1 190 lbs, and 22 years old. So far, it’s been rather impressive to see Niu’s performance in the Yankees‘ High A affiliate, Hudson Valley. He hit a towering walk-off home run to left field last night to give the Hudson Valley Renegades a 3-2 win against the Wilmington Blue Rocks, the High A affiliate of the Washington Nationals.
Niu’s Hot Start In Professional Baseball With Yankees
In his first four professional games with High A Hudson Valley, Niu has six hits in 16 plate appearances (.375 BA) with two home runs, 8 RBI’s, and a .400 OBP along with a 1.213 OPS. Niu is primarily a center fielder who runs well, is a quick-twitch athlete, and has hitting ability, as well as some power, as we’ve seen early on in his professional baseball career. Niu hit his first professional home run for High A Hudson Valley on the road against the Greenville Drive, which is the High A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. Niu’s home run last night had a reported exit velocity of 106 mph, according to the Yankees Farm.
Niu’s journey to professional baseball is a rather unique one. He started his first year in college (2023) at the University of New Orleans LSU, a Division I program, where he hit .286 with two home runs in 14 games, but then in 42 games his sophomore season he hit .291 with 8 home runs and 33 RBI’s, per the University of New Orleans LSU website. Niu then transferred to Marshall University in 2025 and continued to hit. He posted a .276/.343/.560 slash line with 15 home runs and 52 RBI’s his junior year at Marshall, per the Arkansas Razorbacks website. After his junior year, he played in the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he continued to find great success on the field.
Niu Has Hit Well Through Every Level He’s Played
That 2025 summer in the Cape Cod Niu won MVP after posting a .280/.364/.508 slash line with eight home runs and 23 RBI’s in 35 games for the Falmouth Commodores, according to his bio on the University of Arkansas baseball website. The outfielder, in 2026 as a senior at the University of Arkansas, appeared in 61 games (56 in center field) and posted a .274/.347/.479 slash line with 10 home runs and 51 RBI’s, along with 59 hits, 14 of them doubles, and 103 stolen bases during his collegiate career, per the Arkansas Razorbacks website. Niu was never a highly regarded prospect, but he’s consistently produced. Niu was not well regarded, however, on mock draft boards.
He was considered a top 100 prospect in college, but combining amateur and collegiate players, Niu went unselected in the 20 round 2026 MLB Draft in July. The Yankees then signed Niu after the draft on July 13 to a contract. Why Niu went undrafted remains to be seen. Possibly with the draft being shortened, where it used to be 40 rounds before Covid 19 in 2020.
The positive sign with this signing is not just his hot start in professional baseball, but the fact Niu has had success throughout all levels of collegiate baseball, as well as the Cape Cod League, which is a premier league for identifying collegiate talent in the summer months, as well as his multi-tool ability to learn, grow, and develop within the Yankees system. The one underlying aspect of his game he’ll have to work on is his swing and miss; he has a 31.25% strikeout rate in professional baseball so far, but his hitting ability tools/athleticism leave great optimism.
Yankees’ Prospect Maika Niu Hot Start Continues With Walk Off Home Run