From Jesuit to the Majors

The meteoric rise of Lance McCullers Jr. ’12 brought him back home to the Tampa Bay area this weekend – as a starting pitcher in the big leagues, just three years after graduation.

Hundreds of Jesuit High School alumni, former teammates and coaches, family, and friends headed to Tropicana Field to watch and support McCullers, the Gatorade National Player of the Year for Jesuit in 2012 and now starting pitcher with the Houston Astros.

McCullers, who was called up from the minors early this season, signed autographs and mingled with fans along the railing before Friday night’s game, and then took the mound Sunday afternoon (July 12). He struck out 10 Tampa Bay Rays in 6 innings, allowing 4 runs in a 4-3 Rays win. Overall he is 4-3 with a 2.52 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 64 innings this season. Click here to view his Baseball Reference page.

McCullers is the 12th Jesuit alumnus to reach the majors and fourth to play this season, joining fellow pitchers Sam Dyson ’06 (Miami) and Kevin Quackenbush ’07 (San Diego), and outfielder Shane Robinson ’03 (Minnesota).

Among those in attendance at the Trop on Sunday were Jason Michaels ’94, who played 11 seasons in the big leagues, and former New York Mets 1st round pick Geoff Goetz ’97.

Click for stories about McCullers: July 13 Tampa Bay Times, July 10 Tampa Tribune, July 10 Tampa Bay Times,

Please view the photo slideshow below with images from Sunday and Friday: