Jac Caglianone

Jeffrey Alan "Jac" Caglianone (born February 9, 2003) is an American baseball pitcher and first baseman for the Florida Gators. He was selected by the Kansas City Royals with the sixth overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft.

Amateur career
Caglianone grew up in Tampa, Florida and attended Henry B. Plant High School. As a senior, he batted .371 with three home runs and posted a 2.44 ERA with two saves and 65 strikeouts over $37 1/3$ innings pitched. Caglianone tore his left ulnar collateral ligament while playing in a postseason All-Star game after the season.

Caglianone initially planned on redshirting his freshman season at Florida while recovering from Tommy John surgery, but ultimately played as a designated hitter. He batted .288 with seven home runs during his freshman season. Caglianone returned to pitching during Florida's fall practices in 2022. He entered his sophomore season as both a starting pitcher and as the Gators' starting first baseman. Caglianone was named the NCBWA Player of the Month for February after collecting 15 hits in 35 at-bats with seven home runs and also striking out 15 batters over $11 1/3$ innings pitched. He broke Florida's single-season home run record after hitting his 27th of the year and finished with 33. Caglianone was drafted sixth overall by the Royals in the 2024 MLB Draft.

In his junior year in 2024, he hit a home run in 9 straight games including one against Jacksonville that traveled an estimated 516 ft, which is farther than the longest home run ever hit in major league history since Statcast began. This also tied the record for most home runs hit in consecutive games at the NCAA level. Caglianone surpassed Matt LaPorta for the most career home runs by a Florida player, with 75.

Professional career
On July 14, 2024, Caglianone was drafted by the Kansas City Royals with the 6th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft.