James Wood, the 6-foot-7 Washington Nationals slugger who grew up swinging a bat on Olney's Little League fields, earned his second consecutive MLB All-Star selection on Saturday.
The 23-year-old outfielder will represent the National League as a reserve at the All-Star Game on July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
Wood's numbers back up the selection. Through July 5, he ranked first among NL outfielders in home runs (23), runs scored (77), extra-base hits (46) and walks (68), according to MLB.com. On Monday, he punctuated the honor with a 446-foot grand slam to center field that helped the Nationals erase a five-run deficit and beat the Houston Astros 12-11.
"I am super grateful for being able to stay healthy, and just having a good group of teammates and coaches around me helping me play at that level," Wood told MLB.com. "It's been recognized, so it's pretty cool."
Montgomery County roots
Wood was born in Rockville and raised in Olney, where he played for the Olney Pirates travel team from ages 7 to 14. His father, Kenny Wood, played forward for the University of Richmond basketball team. The younger Wood attended St. John's College High School in Washington, D.C., before transferring to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, for his junior and senior years.
San Diego drafted him in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft. He came to Washington in 2022 as the centerpiece of the trade that sent Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the Padres.
Wood's hitting coach, Gerardo Caceres, has trained him since high school at 80 Scale, a baseball training facility in Gaithersburg. Caceres told the Baltimore Banner he believes all 30 teams made a mistake passing on Wood in the first round.
A franchise turning point
Wood made his MLB debut on July 1, 2024. In his first full season in 2025, he hit 31 home runs and drove in 95 runs, earning his first All-Star selection and competing in the Home Run Derby.
He isn't heading to Philadelphia alone. Teammate CJ Abrams was voted in by fans as the NL starting shortstop. Nationals manager Blake Butera told MLB.com both selections were "extremely well-deserved" and said all their teammates were fired up.
