Caleb McNeely, who grew up in Versailles and graduated from Woodford County High School in 2018, has been selected for the American Association of Professional Baseball All-Star Game.
McNeely was chosen as a reserve for the East Division in the All-Star Game scheduled Wednesday, July 15 in Lincoln, Neb. He now plays for the Cleburne Railroaders in the MLB Partner League.
This honor comes during one of McNeely’s best professional seasons. In 47 games, he’s batting .325 with 55 hits, 13 doubles, four triples, five home runs and 32 RBI. He’s also scored 33 runs, and has a .414 on-base percentage, a .538 slugging percentage and a .953 OPS.
McNeely says much of his success this season comes from working on one key part of his game: pitch recognition.
“Controlling the strike zone pretty well has helped with that this year,” he said.
Being named an All-Star is the latest highlight in a baseball journey that started at WCHS and has taken him through junior college, the Big 12 Conference, independent leagues, and even the Minnesota Twins organization.
McNeely started his college career at Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tenn., where he became one of the top junior college players in the country.
In 2022, he hit .388 with a .507 on-base percentage and was named to the second-team NJCAA Division I All-America. He also set a Walters State record with 88 walks, helping the Senators finish 60-7 and reach the NJCAA World Series.
McNeely transferred to West Virginia for the 2023 season and quickly became a regular in the Mountaineers’ lineup.
He started 57 games, hit .296 with 13 home runs, 14 doubles, three triples, 49 RBIs, and 48 runs scored. He also stole 16 bases in 19 tries.
A highlight of his college career came on March 31, 2023, when he hit for the cycle against Kansas State. He became just the fourth player in West Virginia program history to do it.
McNeely later earned All-Big 12 honorable mention and helped West Virginia make the NCAA Tournament. The Mountaineers went to the Lexington Regional, beat Ball State, and then ended their season with a loss to Kentucky.
Looking back, McNeely says the relationships he built in college mean as much to him as his achievements.
“Probably the culture and the friendships that I made from those teams,” he said. “I was in junior college for four years, so there are a lot of guys there that I built good relationships with and good connections with. Then at West Virginia, it was a great staff and an awesome group there.”
After college, McNeely continued his playing career in independent professional baseball and eventually joined the Washington Wild Things in the Frontier League.
In 2024, he had a season that changed the course of his career.
McNeely was named Frontier League Most Valuable Player, proving himself as one of the top players in independent baseball. His performance led to an opportunity with the Minnesota Twins organization.
In May 2025, the Twins bought McNeely’s contract from Washington. He spent part of the season with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, the Twins’ Single-A affiliate.
This season, McNeely returned to independent baseball with Cleburne. He said moving from structured environment in college baseball to the pros has meant taking a different approach.
“The biggest change is the routine,” McNeely said. “In college, there’s a strict routine. In independent ball, you really have to do what you do on your own. You build your own routine.”
For McNeely, it means taking responsibility for the daily work needed to stay a professional player.
“It’s pretty much self-accountability,” he said.
That mindset has helped him put together an All-Star season.
“I’ve done a lot trying to get my routine down and be consistent every single day,” McNeely said.
He did gymnastics before focusing on baseball.
“I had a great high school coach … Paul Patterson,” McNeely said. “And then Greg Laswell … They were just great mentors and taught me how to play the game pretty much.”
Even then, McNeely was aiming for a professional baseball career.
“I’ve always wanted to play in the MLB,” he said. “That’s always been a thing.”
His path has not been a direct one, but McNeely is focused on the routine and consistency that helped him have one of his best professional seasons and his selection to the American Association All-Star Game