Milo Rushford knew the possibility of having a future with the Kansas City Royals was a strong one after all the attention area scout Kenny Muñoz and that organization has shown him and his family over the last few months.
Walden Grove coach Murray Hicks mentioned last month the Royals went so far as to invite Rushford to Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City to take some swings.
Rushford confirmed that detail Wednesday night, a day after the Royals selected him in the 18th round of the MLB draft. He also mentioned the Royals had him hit at their spring-training facility at Surprise.
BREAKING: @grove_walden standout OF @MiloRushford said he will sign with the Kansas City Royals on Friday. The Royals drafted him in the 18th round Tuesday. Rushford batted .613 with 10 doubles, 5 triples, 9 HRs, 40 RBIs and 13 stolen bases for the Red Wolves this season. pic.twitter.com/Keq1zuZSIL
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) July 21, 2022
He mentioned he will fulfill a childhood dream by signing a contract with the Royals on Friday, thereby not playing at New Mexico State but he will still pursue a college education online.
“(Playing professionally) is something that I’ve wanted to do since I was little,” said Rushford, whose father Jim Rushford played with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2002 and spent 15 years in professional baseball at all levels.
“I know a lot of people are trying to get to that point or dreaming about. I’m extremely grateful that I was the one to get the opportunity. It’s really exciting for me.”
Congratulations @MiloRushford 🎓 pic.twitter.com/CjPVPbWiZT
— Jim Rushford Baseball (@jim_rushford) May 17, 2022
Rushford, a 6-foot-1 and 175-pound center fielder who is also a left-handed pitcher, batted .613 from the left side with 10 doubles, five triples, nine home runs, 40 RBIs and 13 stolen bases as a senior with the Red Wolves this season.
Rushford also has plenty of smarts — baseball and otherwise — as the valedictorian (4.66 GPA) of his class at Walden Grove. He recently was a recipient of a Hector Avila Morales Jr. Scholarship, awarded by AllSportsTucson.com because of his high-level of success in academics, athletics, leadership and service to his school.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Gallego Fine Arts Intermediate in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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