GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Gators’ home run king has received the call to The Show.
Less than one year after being selected sixth overall in the 2025 MLB Draft, the Kansas City Royals have promoted first baseman Jac Caglianone to the Major Leagues after just 79 games in the Minors. Although Kansas City has an off day on Monday, Caglianone is expected to become the 86th Gator to debut in the MLB when the Royals visit the St. Louis Cardinals in Kansas City at 7:45 p.m ET on Tuesday night.
The 2024 John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year and No. 10 MLB prospect per MLB Pipeline, Caglianone represents the 34th player of the Kevin O’Sullivan era to reach The Show. The Tampa, Fla. native will be the first former UF player to make his MLB debut this season, with right-hander Hurston Waldrep the most-recent Gator to do so back on June 9, 2024.
In 50 Minor League games this season split across Double-A and Triple-A, Caglianone blasted an MiLB-high 15 home runs on top of nine doubles while batting a robust .322/.389/.593. Owning a .982 OPS this year, Caglianone has logged innings at first base, left field and right field as the Royals look for a spot in the lineup for the 22-year old phenom.
From 2022-24, Caglianone slugged a program-record 75 home runs in just 165 career games and was a Unanimous First Team All-American in 2023 and 2024 while leading the Gators to back-to-back College World Series appearances. Highlighted by a 2023 SEC Championship, Caglianone finished his college career as a .355/.447/.760 hitter over 634 at bats, owning 225 hits, 189 RBI, 176 runs, eight stolen bases and the highest slugging percentage in team history. He made 34 starts on the bump from 2023-24, never missing a start and going 12-6 with a 4.55 ERA, .208 batting average against and 170 strikeouts in 148 1/3 frames.
Capping off one of the best collegiate baseball careers of all-time in 2024, Caglianone slashed .419/.544/.875 with a program-record 35 home runs while making a team-high 16 starts for a 5-2 record, 4.76 ERA, .225 BAA and 83 strikeouts in 73 2/3 innings. By finishing with 104 hits, Caglianone tied the single-season program record. He also became the first SEC player ever to blast 30 home runs in multiple seasons while his 75 big flies rank third in SEC history. He owns each of the two-most-prolific home run seasons in Gators history with 33 and 35 in his final two campaigns, respectively.
Below is a complete list of Gators to debut in the MLB under O’Sullivan.
| MLB Players Under O’Sullivan | ||||
| Player | Drafted (Round) | MLB Debut | Team | |
| 1 | Nick Maronde | 2011 (3rd) | September 2, 2012 | Los Angeles Angels |
| 2 | Paco Rodriguez | 2012 (2nd) | September 9, 2012 | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| 3 | Mike Zunino | 2012 (1st – 3rd overall) | June 12, 2013 | Seattle Mariners |
| 4 | Kevin Chapman | 2010 (4th) | August 9, 2013 | Houston Astros |
| 5 | Matt den Dekker | 2010 (5th) | August 29, 2013 | New York Mets |
| 6 | Anthony DeSclafani | 2011 (6th) | May 14, 2014 | Miami Marlins |
| 7 | Cole Figueroa | 2008 (6th) | May 16, 2014 | Tampa Bay Rays |
| 8 | Preston Tucker | 2012 (7th) | May 7, 2015 | Houston Astros |
| 9 | Brian Johnson | 2012 (1st – 31st overall) | July 21, 2015 | Boston Red Sox |
| 10 | Nolan Fontana | 2012 (2nd) | May 22, 2017 | Los Angeles Angels |
| 11 | Austin Maddox | 2012 (3rd) | June 17, 2017 | Boston Red Sox |
| 12 | Harrison Bader | 2015 (3rd) | July 25, 2017 | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 13 | Bobby Poyner | 2015 (14th) | March 31, 2018 | Boston Red Sox |
| 14 | Justin Shafer | 2014 (8th) | August 19, 2018 | Toronto Blue Jays |
| 15 | Eric Hanhold | 2015 (6th) | September 4, 2018 | New York Mets |
| 16 | Richie Martin | 2015 (1st – 20th overall) | March 28, 2019 | Baltimore Orioles |
| 17 | Pete Alonso | 2016 (2nd) | March 28, 2019 | New York Mets |
| 18 | Shaun Anderson | 2016 (3rd) | May 15, 2019 | San Francisco Giants |
| 19 | A.J. Puk | 2016 (1st – 6th overall) | August 21, 2019 | Oakland Athletics |
| 20 | Brady Singer | 2018 (1st – 18th overall) | July 25, 2020 | Kansas City Royals |
| 21 | Dane Dunning | 2016 (1st – 29th overall) | August 19, 2020 | Chicago White Sox |
| 22 | Jonathan India | 2018 (1st – 5th overall) | Thursday, April 1, 2021 | Cincinnati Reds |
| 23 | Jackson Kowar | 2018 (1st – 33rd overall) | Monday, June 7, 2021 | Kansas City Royals |
| 24 | Taylor Gushue | 2014 (4th) | Wednesday, June 30, 2021 | Chicago Cubs |
| 25 | Kirby Snead | 2016 (10th) | Wednesday, July 28, 2021 | Toronto Blue Jays |
| 26 | Mark Kolozsvary | 2017 (7th) | Wednesday, April 20, 2022 | Cincinnati Reds |
| 27 | Alex Faedo | 2017 (1st – 18th overall) | Wednesday, May 4, 2022 | Detroit Tigers |
| 28 | Danny Young | 2015 (8th) | Monday, May 9, 2022 | Seattle Mariners |
| 29 | Dalton Guthrie | 2017 (6th) | Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 | Philadelphia Phillies |
| 30 | Jacob Young | 2021 (7th) | Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023 | Washington Nationals |
| 31 | Wyatt Langford | 2023 (1st – 4th overall) | Thursday, Mar. 28, 2024 | Texas Rangers |
| 32 | Christian Scott | 2021 (5th) | Saturday, May. 4, 2024 | New York Mets |
| 33 | Hurston Waldrep | 2023 (1st – 24th overall) | Sunday, June 9, 2024 | Atlanta Braves |
| 34 | Jac Caglianone | 2024 (1st – 6th overall) | ? | Kansas City Royals |
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