On Saturday, Alex Bregman signed a five-year, $175 million deal with the Chicago Cubs. Bregman spent the 2025 season with the Boston Red Sox. He had a .273 batting average, 28 doubles, 18 home runs, and 62 RBIs.
Breaking: Third baseman Alex Bregman and the Chicago Cubs are in agreement on a five-year, $175M contract, sources tell @JeffPassan.
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— ESPN (@espn) January 11, 2026
Bregman was also an MLB All-Star with Boston in 2025. It is the third all-star nomination of his career.
Now that Bregman signed with the Cubs, a reunion of college baseball stars from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) will occur.
Bregman played with the LSU Tigers in college. His new Chicago teammate, Dansby Swanson, also had a college career in the SEC with the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Bregman and Swanson’s College Baseball Careers in the SEC
From 2013-2015, both Bregman and Swanson dominated the college baseball landscape for LSU and Vanderbilt, respectively.
Bregman had a batting average of .315+ in each of his three seasons in Baton Rouge. He also had 56 doubles, 21 home runs, and 148 RBIs in his full career with the Tigers.
Bregman was a two-time first-team All-American in 2013 and 2015. He was also the National Freshman of the Year in 2013 and was a Golden Spikes Award finalist in 2015.
Bregman was also a part of two SEC Tournament titles and two trips to the College World Series with LSU in 2013 and 2015.
While Bregman was in Baton Rouge, Swanson was playing in Nashville with Vanderbilt.
His 2014 and 2015 seasons with the Commodores were spectacular. In 2014, he had a .333 batting average that was followed by a .335 batting average in 2015.
Swanson finished with 51 doubles, 18 home runs, 39 stolen bases, and 99 RBIs in his career with Vanderbilt.
In 2014, he was a huge part of Vanderbilt’s first-ever national championship team that defeated the Virginia Cavaliers. Swanson was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2014 College World Series.
Much like Bregman, Swanson was also one of the four Golden Spikes finalists in 2015.
Top Picks in the 2015 MLB Draft
After their collegiate careers were over, both Bregman and Swanson were the top two picks in the 2015 MLB Draft.
Swanson was the first overall pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Bregman followed him and was picked second overall by the Houston Astros.
Chicago Cubs Spring Training
The first spring training game for the Chicago Cubs will be against the Chicago White Sox on February 20.
The game will be at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz. The first pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. EST.
NCAA news: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
PHOTOS: AP | Gerald Herbert, Mark Humphrey
