LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Former Bellarmine University baseball standout AJ Swader has signed with the Trenton Thunder of the MLB Draft League following one of the top offensive seasons of the Knights' Division I era.
Swader will join Trenton for the professional portion of the MLB Draft League season, which begins July 8. The opportunity represents the next step in his career after successfully transitioning from Division II to Division I baseball and earning First Team All-ASUN recognition in his lone season at Bellarmine.
Swader's progression also provides an example of Bellarmine's work with transfers. He arrived in Louisville with an accomplished Division II résumé before carrying that production to a higher level of competition, developing into one of the ASUN's top hitters and earning an opportunity to continue his career professionally.
Swader transferred to Bellarmine after a standout 2025 season at Division II Spring Hill College. He started all 49 games for the Badgers and posted a .407 batting average, .500 on-base percentage and .719 slugging percentage.
The Murfreesboro, Tennessee, native finished the season with 68 hits, 51 runs scored, 12 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs and 56 RBI. His performance earned him first-team All-South Region recognition from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, second-team All-South Region honors from the D2CCA and ABCA/Rawlings and first-team All-SIAC accolades.
After making the move to Division I, Swader continued to establish himself as a consistent run producer with the Knights.
Swader started all 53 games for Bellarmine and led the team with a .372 batting average and 59 RBI. He collected 77 hits, scored 44 runs, added 21 doubles, three triples, and 11 home runs.
While facing Division I pitching, Swader increased several of his cumulative totals from the previous season. His hit total rose from 68 to 77, his doubles increased from 12 to 21 and his RBI total improved from 56 to 59.
His 21 doubles established a Bellarmine Division I-era single-season record. Swader also recorded 23 multi-hit performances and reached base safely in 46 of his 53 games.
Swader's production earned him First Team All-ASUN and Academic All-ASUN recognition. At the conclusion of the regular season, he ranked third in the conference in batting average, led the ASUN with 21 doubles, .657 slugging percentage, and ranked second with 59 RBI.
The first-team selection placed Swader among the conference's top players and carried additional significance for the Bellarmine program.
Swader and shortstop Landon Akers became the first two Knights to earn First Team All-ASUN honors in the same season during Bellarmine's Division I era.
Akers collected All-ASUN honors for the second consecutive season after earning Second Team recognition and a spot on the ASUN All-Freshman Team in 2025. The first-team selections for Akers and Swader marked another step forward for the Knights as the program continues to build within the conference and Division 1.
Swader also earned ASUN Player of the Week honors on April 13 following one of the most productive stretches of his season.
He went 9-for-14 at the plate during the week, batting .615 with two doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI. Swader posted a 1.231 slugging percentage and went 8-for-13 during Bellarmine's conference sweep of Eastern Kentucky.
Swader delivered another one of his top individual performances against Butler on March 10, finishing with two home runs and a season-high six RBI in Bellarmine's 17-10 victory.
He now carries that production into the professional portion of the MLB Draft League.
The MLB Draft League is a six-team league that operates under a split-season amateur-professional format. The first half features MLB Draft-eligible amateur players, while the second half consists of paid players who have exhausted their amateur eligibility or previously begun their professional careers.
The league provides players with continued development and exposure to Major League Baseball organizations. Performance data, analytics, and scouting video collected through resources such as Trackman and Synergy are shared with MLB clubs and their scouts.
Since the MLB Draft League began play in 2021, 233 participants have been selected in the MLB Draft, and more than 180 undrafted free agents have signed with Major League organizations. From 2022 through 2025, 15 players from the professional portion of the league had their contracts purchased by MLB organizations.
Swader's journey from an accomplished Division II transfer to a First Team All-ASUN selection and professional baseball player highlights the impact of his lone season with the Knights.
For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow @BUKnights on X, Instagram and Facebook.
