Royal Wallace

Cayden Wallace finished the 2023 season wearing a Northwest Arkansas jersey, but Monday night he was wearing Royal Blue.

Wallace, a former Arkansas Razorback and Greenbrier native, was listed with the Royals’ roster and played the last half of the game, notching a base hit and scoring a run and playing third base on defense.

“It’s pretty cool to wear the Royals uniform tonight,” Wallace said. “Just for tonight, I’m pretty excited about that so it’s pretty cool.”

Wallace, a second-round draft pick in 2022, knows his season will begin either at Class AA Northwest Arkansas or Class AAA Omaha.

His biggest concern going into the game Monday was whether members of his family would be able to acquire tickets to the soldout game.

“I know my family tried to buy tickets and it was sold out immediately,” he said. “It’s what I expect from up here. Just coming from Arkansas and games are sold out there in college, we just have the best fans in the world up here. They’re great. They support every team up here, every sport. It’s exciting to see and it’s what I expect out of them. They’re a great fan base.”

Wallace hit .254 with 13 home runs and 84 RBI in 130 games at Class A Quad Cities and Class AA Northwest Arkansas in 2023. With the Naturals, he hit .236 with 3 home runs and 20 RBI.

“It was a decent year last year,” he said. “I’m more excited for this year.”

The former Razorback is keeping an eye on his alma mater, which is ranked No. 1 in the nation.

“Absolutely,” Wallace said. “Their pitching staff is crazy. They’re only going to get better, so I’m excited for them. A lot of good guys, good captains on that team. I’m excited to see them this year.”