Lacy ready to be next K.C. star

A&M lefthander’s dream to play for Royals comes true

COLLEGE STATION — For pitcher Asa Lacy, it’s on to the minutiae following a major-league sized exhale.

“The big part is over now,” Lacy said Thursday, a day after the former Texas A&M ace and Kerrville Tivy graduate was chosen No. 4 overall by the Kansas City Royals in the MLB draft.

Lacy said he celebrated Wednesday night with friends and family, and along the way was awash in relief. Then on Thursday he had more reason to celebrate, as A&M teammates Zach Deloach and Christian Roa were chosen early in the second round.

The Seattle Mariners selected the outfielder Deloach with the 43rd overall pick, and the Cincinnati Red tabbed the pitcher Roa, a former Memorial High standout, five spots later at No. 48. Deloach, who grew up in Lewisville, was hitting .462 as a junior before the season abruptly ended 18 games in because of the global pandemic.

“He was off to such a red-hot start this spring he could have made his way into the first round,” said ESPN analyst Chris Burke, a former Astro. “(With) his athleticism, he can play all over the outfield … and you’ve got to feel pretty good if you’re Seattle that you’ve got a kid who’s coachable, and whose talent has really blossomed over the last 12 months.”

Roa, like Lacy and Deloach a junior, was 2-1 with a 5.85 ERA before the season ended.

The draft was bittersweet for the Aggies, who were 15-3 before the pandemic ended the season in mid-march. A&M was the only school to have three players selected in the top 50, but soughtafter prospects such as Lacy were not able to prove their mettle in the NCAA tournament, or perhaps even in the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., this year.

“I’m disappointed we didn’t get to play together our last year, but I’ll be competing against (Deloach and Roa) now,” Lacy said. “There’s been so much talent