Former Sluggerbird Named To The 2026 Spring Breakout Roster For K.C.
Former Tulane pitcher Michael Lombardi was recently named to the Spring Breakout roster for the Kansas City Royals and will participate in the MLB Spring Breakout games this season, the organization announced.
The third annual MLB Spring Breakout is from March 19-22, 2026. The preseason spotlight showcases baseball’s future stars as clubs assemble their top prospects to play in an exhibition against one another. The event spans four days and includes a total of 16 games. In 2025, 68 of MLB Pipeline’s 100 Top Prospects were on one of the rosters.
Lombardi and Royals will take on the Texas Rangers on March 20 in Surprise, Arizona at Surprise Stadium starting at 3 p.m. in the Cactus League. The game can be watched live on Rangers Sports Net, Amazon MLB FAST Channel, MLB.com, MLB.TV, and the MLB app
Lombardi was picked 61st overall in the second round by the Kansas City Royals on July 12 on the first day of the 2025 Major League Draft.
Tulane Pedigree
Lombardi, who worked as the team’s closer as well as playing first base and center field in 2025, led the team and the American Conference with his 11 saves. He went 4-1 on the season with 2.14 ERA along with a team-leading 73 strikeouts in 42 innings worked while only surrendering 20 hits. He put together a career-best performance in the first round of the American Baseball Championship with a seven inning and 11 strikeout effort in earning the dominant victory over Florida Atlantic. He was named the conference’s Pitcher of the Week on April 7, 2025 and also was named to the league’s weekly honor roll four times throughout the campaign. His 11 saves as a junior tied him for eighth all-time at the school in a single season along with Christian Colletti (2017) and Brandon Belanger (2000).
Aa a hitter in 2025, Lombardi hit .273 with 34 runs scored, 38 hits, nine doubles, two triples, four home runs, 29 RBIs, 63 totaled bases, five stolen bases plus 22 walks compared to just 17 strikeouts in 42 games played and 36 starts.
Lombardi accumulated a career record of 8-6 with an 3.82 ERA in his three years on the mound. In 61 career games and 11 starts, Lombardi fanned 154 batters in 113 innings worked plus totaled 16 saves. His 16 career saves tied him for the seventh-most in school history.
Lombardi Picked in 2nd Round of Draft
He was the first Tulane player selected in the 2025 draft, the first player selected from an American school last season, the seventh selection from the program over the last two seasons and the 136th player all-time. Lombardi is the highest draft choice for the Green Wave since outfielder Hudson Haskin was drafted in the second round (39th pick overall) by the Baltimore Orioles in 2020. He is the highest drafted pitcher for the program since Shooter Hunt went in the first round to the Minnesota Twins in 2008 (31st overall).
Lombardi was the seventh Tulane player ever selected by the Kansas City Royals following catcher Jim Gaudet (1976), pitcher Frank Wills (1980), second baseman John Zelenka (1983), pitcher Alex Massey (2016), third baseman Koedy Hoese (2018), and pitcher Jack Aldrich (2021).
Portions Courtesy Tulane Athletics
Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.