The University of California baseball team will open the final Pac-12 Conference Tournament on Tuesday against the University of Washington.
The Bears are led by star player Caleb Lomavita, a Saint Louis alumnus who has long been considered a consensus Top 50 prospect in July’s 2024 MLB Draft.
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MLB.com has Lomavita ranked No. 14 in its prospect rankings.
Before Lomavita potentially turns pro for a line-changing amount of money, he’s hoping to make the most out of his college career. The Bears are currently 34-18 overall after going 17-13 in Pac-12 Conference play with an RPI of 65, likely needing a deep run in the Pac-12 Tournament to get an NCAA Tournament bid.
“I could have took that mindset of having a higher expectation for myself, but I actually just came into the season and told myself to just enjoy every moment,” Lomavita said. “These freshmen, they made it easy on me. I knew that they’re the big ones coming in and I had to groom them to be great men and great baseball players, so I took that challenge instead of thinking about myself.
“There were some big dogs on campus when I got here, so I was pretty scared, especially coming from the islands, not knowing much people up here. But I feel like those older guys took me under their wing and showed me the ropes and they did a very good job of teaching me how to just take care of a team when they’re down and take care of a team when they’re up.”
Lomavita bet on himself heavily as a high schooler, turning down pro interest in the 2021 draft. At Cal, he’s thrived while balancing the academic and athletic rigors of college.
“it’s been every bit of good that I’ve expected it to be. I’ve learned a lot every single day,” he said. “The baseball part is not a joke. I feel like if if you’re not ready for it and if you’re not 100% committed, then you’re in for a rude awakening.”