SAN FRANCISCO – It’s a dream many kids have while playing whiffle ball in their backyard. Playing professional baseball. For Carson Seymour, he lived out that baseball fairy tale on June 29, when he stepped onto the mound at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago and pitched a scoreless inning in his MLB debut for the San Francisco Giants.
Hailing from Temecula, California, Seymour’s ascent to the Major Leagues is a story rooted in perseverance, family, and a deep love for the game. Although born in Poway, Seymour’s family would eventually move to the local area and his baseball dreams would begin on the Temecula Little League fields.
Rising as a two-year varsity letter winner and team captain at Great Oak High School from 2014 to 2017, Seymour moved to the mound his senior year, posting a 1.88 ERA—a springboard that earned All-Southwestern League honors and established him among the region’s elite prep arms.
The College Years
Seymour started his collegiate career at Dartmouth, where he made eight relief appearances as a freshman. Despite lifelong Ivy League memories, high tuition and the desire for competitive baseball motivated a transfer to Kansas State.
The move, aided by his travel league coach-turned-Kansas State pitching mentor, Buck Taylor, opened the door to new experiences and challenges. Seymour sat out one year per NCAA rules, using summer ball with the Harwich Mariners in the Cape Cod League to refine his skills. His long-awaited Kansas State debut in 2020 was cut short by the pandemic, and though he returned for another year, he went undrafted during the abbreviated 2020 MLB Draft.
Never one to quit, Seymour kept building his craft in the Cape Cod league and had a standout senior season, following a path similar to fellow Temecula-area prospects who honed their skills through college and summer leagues before going pro.
Climbing the Minor League Ladder
The New York Mets selected Seymour in the sixth round of the 2021 MLB Draft, marking his first step into professional baseball. Following a year in the Mets system, he was traded to the Giants in 2022 as part of the Darin Ruf deal.
Adapting quickly, Seymour’s talent shone at the Double-A and Triple-A levels. This year, he compiled 74 innings and 83 strikeouts with a 3.89 ERA for the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. The Giants added him to their 40-man roster in the offseason, protecting him from the Rule 5 Draft. When San Francisco’s bullpen needed a fresh arm, Seymour’s call came, and with it, the opportunity to take the stage among baseball’s elite.
A Debut Worth Remembering
Seymour’s call-up felt both anticipated and surreal. Days before he was scheduled to start for the River Cats, his manager called him into the office and shared the life-changing news. “You’re going to Chicago,” were the words every Minor League player dreams of hearing.
Sixteen years before his debut, Seymour attended a game at Guaranteed Rate Field with his father, Brian, where they witnessed Mark Buehrle’s perfect game in 2009. That memorable day came full circle as Seymour took the mound in the very same stadium while his family – parents, wife Sydney, and sister – cheered him on from the stands.
The Giants’ bullpen had struggled over the preceding week, and Seymour provided a fresh arm for an eighth-inning appearance against the White Sox. He threw 17 pitches, touching 96 mph, and worked around two singles to complete a scoreless inning. Though San Francisco lost the game 5-2, Seymour’s debut offered a much-needed bright spot for the team.
“It felt good,” Seymour said after the game. “It’s the same game, just a bigger stadium and it’s on TV. I just tried not to overthink it too much.”
A Lasso Connection
Seymour’s ascent to the Majors came with a fun connection for pop culture fans. His father-in-law, Donnie Campbell, served as actor Jason Sudeikis’ high school basketball coach and inspired the beloved titular character in the Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso.”
“All those sayings, like the goldfish saying, that’s Donnie,” Seymour shared in an interview last year. “He’s literally Ted Lasso, like a real-life Ted Lasso, so it’s cool to watch.”
It’s not hard to imagine Seymour’s family heeding Campbell’s advice to “be a goldfish” – the happiest animal on Earth with a memory span of just 10 seconds – amid the highs and lows of his Minor League grind.
Looking Ahead
Seymour’s debut is just the beginning of what Giants manager Bob Melvin called “a bright future” for the right-hander. For now, the team envisions him in a long relief role, with his versatile pitching arsenal making him an ideal weapon out of the bullpen.
Seymour’s journey is part of a remarkable baseball pipeline taking root in southwestern Riverside County. Temecula and its neighboring cities have consistently produced standout talent now peppered throughout the Minor and Major Leagues of professional baseball.
Among these current rising stars is Woody Hadeen (TVHS) drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the sixth round of the 2024 MLB Draft; Cole Urman, (TVHS) drafted by the Orioles in 2023 in the 16th round; Christopher Paciolla, drafted by the Cubs in 2022 in the third round out of TVHS; Zach Arnold, another product of Great Oak, landed in the Phillies’ minor league system in 2023; Mikey Romero, a Menifee native, was a first-round pick by the Boston Red Sox in 2022; Murrieta’s Braylon Doughty, who made headlines as a high draft pick of the Cleveland Guardians last year out of Chaparral High School, adding to the area’s reputation for producing pro-caliber arms; and Dylan Fein, another talented local, continues to develop in the Minors after being drafted by the A’s last year out of Great Oak High School.
The region also proudly sees two of its own currently contributing in the big leagues: Tyler Wade, who brings his trademark versatility to the San Diego Padres, and veteran catcher Rob Brantly, currently with the Miami Marlins, continue to represent the area at the Major League level. Their presence at the Major League level demonstrates the breadth of local talent, from rising prospects to established MLB contributors.
These players join an impressive roster of Southwest Riverside County alumni making waves within affiliated ball and giving the region a proud standard on the professional landscape. The success of Seymour and his contemporaries not only highlights the talent cultivated across Temecula, Murrieta, and neighboring cities, but also inspires the next generation of local athletes aiming for a future in the game.
With Seymour, and current big leaguers like Wade and Brantly setting examples, each call-up or highlight from minor leaguers such as Hadeen, Urman, Paciolla, Arnold, Romero, Doughty, and Fein adds new chapters to the area’s growing baseball legacy. Together, they reflect a surging hotbed for baseball development and ambition in Southern California.
Whether you’re a follower of baseball or even just a fan of “Ted Lasso,” the name Carson Seymour has become one to watch. From the ballparks of Temecula to the Majors, his story offers a little something for everyone.
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