Granville, Ohio- Denison University baseball senior pitcher Nick Falter (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) was signed by the San Diego Padres as a free agent following the 2025 Major League Baseball draft  Tuesday evening. 

The 6-foot-5, 240-pound right-handed starter becomes the third player in Big Red program history to sign with an MLB organization.

Falter led the Denison baseball pitching staff in 2025 with a 12-0 record and a 2.52 ERA in 85.2 innings pitched. He allowed 61 hits, 32 runs, 24 earned runs, and 21 walks, while striking out 107 batters of the 350 he faced. Falter concluded his senior campaign ranked eighth nationally in strikeouts, third in victories, and 16th in WHIP (.96). He leaves Denison ranked first in the Big Red record book with the most strikeouts in a season (222), most starts in a season (15), and lowest career ERA (3.02).

"Today is a special day for Nick and his family. Signing with the San Diego Padres is the culmination of years of hard work, sacrifice, and commitment," said head coach Mike Deegan. "We're incredibly proud and excited to follow the next steps in Nick's professional playing career." 

Falter is a two-time All-North Coast Athletic Conference selection. In his final season with the  Big Red, he was named to the 2025 D3Baseball.com and ABCA/Rawlings All-America second team, as well as the 2025 ABCA/Rawlings Region 7 Pitcher of the Year. Denison wrapped the 2025 season with its sixth consecutive NCAC tournament championship, made their seventh NCAA Regional tournament, earned the program's first NCAA Super-Regional championship, and made it to the team's first-ever NCAA Division III College World Series. The Big Red finished its historic run with an impressive 41-7 record.

Prior to Falter, two other former Big Red players signed with MLB teams. John Kenney '82 was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 23rd round in 1982. Kenney was inducted into the Varsity D Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006. In 2010, Aidan Lucas was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 27th round.

Following the news of Falter's signing, Denison Athletics Communications spoke to the pitcher. He shared his thoughts about embarking on this new chapter of his career. Check out his responses below.

Nick, you've made a significant impact while on the Denison Big Red baseball program over the last four years. What are some habits or moments in your career that helped set you up for a moment like this?

I wouldn't necessarily say that I had specific habits that got me here, but I would say that always showing up and finding a way to get better every day was very beneficial to me. One of our program's pillars is "Kaizen," which means "continuous and never-ending improvement." I did what I could to live that out every day. I think getting to this point was a byproduct of a lot of key moments, some good and some bad. But learning from the good and the bad moments along the way definitely helped me reach this point. I'm very blessed to go through all of the challenges and opportunities that God presented me with over my time at Denison. 

When you received notice that you'd been signed, what were your initial thoughts? 

I waited very patiently for the call. The draft ended Monday night at 7:00, and I got the call the next day. I had just finished working out Tuesday afternoon, and I went to the pool just to relax in the sunshine and to be by myself for an hour or so. I got the call at 3:16 p.m., while I was lying by the pool, and they asked me if I was ready to be a Padre. That's the phone call that every baseball player dreams of, so I was feeling very blessed. 

When did you first start playing baseball, and at what point in your career did you know you wanted to take baseball more seriously?

I first started playing baseball when I was 5. My parents figured I would be good at baseball when I was 2 or 3 years old. I was playing with my Thomas the Train set, and my older brother came up and ruined the train tracks that I had been building. It made me really mad, and I took my Thomas the Train toy and threw it at my brother, and it hit him square between the eyes. My parents weren't happy with me at that moment whatsoever, especially my mom. But my dad came up to her eventually and said to her, "Hey, did you see how good that throw was?" Both of my parents laughed it off, and I guess that's when they knew I had a future in throwing something really well. I don't remember that happening because of how young I was, but it's a story that my parents love to tell. I knew that I wanted to play college baseball when I was in high school. However, I never saw the chance to play professionally until after my sophomore year at Denison. 

Would you like to share any words with the Denison baseball fan base?

Coming to Denison to continue my academic and baseball career is easily the best decision I've ever made. I couldn't be more thankful for our coaching staff, my teammates, and everyone else whom I met on the Hill. Getting to this point wouldn't have been possible without them. I have learned a great deal about myself over the past four years and matured significantly along the way. My time at Denison was nothing short of a blessing, and I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to keep playing baseball and chasing the dream. God willing, it's just the beginning. 

The first was John Kenney '82, who was selected in the 23rd round as the 578th pick with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1982. Kenney was inducted into the Varsity D Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006. In 2010, Aidan Lucas was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 27th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft as the 829th overall pick.