Why a top KC Royals prospect joined Clemens, Teixeira for event in OP before flying to AZ
Yes, Jac Caglianone said, he’d talk about Kansas City Royals spring training and attending the College Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Overland Park Marriott on Thursday.
But first he wanted to grab a photo with Mark Teixeira.
It was a night to be a little star-struck, even for future stars like Caglianone.
“It was amazing, pretty surreal, being here surrounded by baseball legends,” the touted Royals prospect said.
Near where Caglianone and Teixeira, a three-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glover, chatted, Roger Clemens — who, before winning seven Cy Young Awards, pitched the Texas Longhorns to the 1983 College World Series championship — signed baseballs and posed for photos with everyone in line.
Clemens also offered up his college memorabilia collection to the college hall at the Museum at Prairiefire — which is scheduled to open in 2026.
Jeff King remembered being “a nobody from Colorado Springs,” when he made his way to Arkansas and developed into baseball’s overall top draft pick in 1986. He spent the final two seasons of his 10-year major-league career with the Royals.
Caglianone said he enjoyed hearing all the stories from members of the hall’s class of 2024, even the ones about college players and coaches he didn’t know.
Honored were legendary coaches Mike Fox of North Carolina and Wilbert Ellis of Grambling; North Park University shortstop Randy Ross, who finished with a .469 career batting average; three-time NAIA championship coach Woody Hunt of Cumberland (Tennessee) University; umpire, coach and administrator Jim Paronto; and pitchers Bill Thom of USC and Murray Wall of Texas.
Also recognized at the second such event held in Overland Park were members of the Hall of Fame’s class of 2020, who didn’t get a ceremony of their own because of COVID-19 restrictions.
“The people I didn’t know, learning about them, I really enjoyed that,” Caglianone said. “The level of talent, the amount of history that’s here is amazing, to be honest with you.”
The 20-year-old Caglianone, too, was part of the program, which bills itself as the unofficial opening of the college baseball season. This yearly event happens to fall during the week when major-league spring training is getting underway in Arizona and Florida — the Royals’ pitchers and catchers reported to spring training in Surprise, Ariz., on Wednesday.
Caglianone won the John Olerud Award as the nation’s top two-way college player. He blasted 34 home runs and went 5-2 on the mound for the Florida Gators in a season that culminated in a College World Series appearance.
On Friday, Caglianone was headed to Surprise, Ariz., where he will join the Royals as a non-roster invitee, working alongside such established KC stars as Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez, Vinnie Pasquantino and the group that last season led KC to its first playoff berth in a decade.
Caglianone will be focused primarily on his position-player skills — he’s a first baseman — and his hitting. That, not pitching, will be his fastest path to the majors, even though he was a talented two-way player at UF.
“I’m going into this spring training with nothing but optimism,” he said. “I’m trying to learn as much as I possibly can from Bobby, from Salvy, from Vinnie, especially, and pick everybody’s brain.
“My whole thing is I want to walk out of spring training feeling more ready than I already am for this upcoming season.”
Caglianone is dialed in to play first and hit this spring, but just the same, he’ll keep his arm loose, too. After all, he struck out 83 batters in 73 2/3 innings as a pitcher for the Gators last season.
“At any point in time, whenever they ask me, if they ask me, I’ll be ready to go. And it will be a quick turnaround,” he said.
This story was originally published February 14, 2025 at 10:17 AM.