Kameron Lee Misner (born January 8, 1998) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024.

Amateur career

Misner attended and graduated from Poplar Bluff High School in

Poplar Bluff Poplar Bluff is a city in Butler County in southeastern Missouri, United States. It is the county seat of Butler County and is known as "The Gateway to the Ozarks" among other names. The population was 16,225 at the 2020 census. The Poplar Bluf ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. As a senior, he batted .422 with eight home runs, 35 RBIs, and 29 stolen bases. After his senior year, he was drafted by the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

in the 33rd round of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

. However, he did not sign and instead chose to attend the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the "Fighting Tigers of Columbia" who, in 1864, protected Columbia ...

. As a freshman at Missouri in 2017, Misner slashed .282/.360/.446 with seven home runs and 34 RBIs in 58 games. He was named a Freshman All-American by D1Baseball. That summer, he played in the

New England Collegiate Baseball League The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 13-team collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 44-game schedule during June ...

where he batted .378 with eight home runs, 25 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases in 135

at-bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

, earning a spot on the All-Star team. In 2018, as a sophomore, he batted .360 with four home runs and 25 RBIs in 34 games before a foot injury forced him to miss the final 22 games of the season. Prior to the 2019 season, Misner was named a Preseason All-American by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

'' and Perfect Game/Rawlings. In 56 games in 2019, Misner slashed .286/.440/.481 with ten home runs, 32 RBIs, and twenty stolen bases.

Professional career

Miami Marlins

Misner was considered one of the top prospects for the

2019 Major League Baseball draft The 2019 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks ...

. He was selected by the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

with the 35th overall pick, and signed with them for $2.1 million. Misner made his professional debut with the

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

Gulf Coast Marlins The Florida Complex League Marlins are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Miami Marlins, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Marlins. The team plays i ...

and, after eight games, was promoted to the

Clinton LumberKings The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest Leag ...

of the Single–A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. Over 42 games between the two clubs, he batted .270/.388/.362 with two home runs and 24 RBI. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Misner was assigned to the

Beloit Snappers The Beloit Sky Carp are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Beloit, Wisconsin, and play their home games at ABC Supply Stadium. They previously played at Harry C ...

of the

High-A Central The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizati ...

to begin 2021. After slashing .244/.350/.424 with 11 home runs, 56 RBI, and 24 stolen bases over 88 games, he was promoted to the

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League (1964–present), Southern League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home ga ...

of the Double-A South in late August. Over 14 games with Pensacola, Misner hit .309 with one home run and seven doubles. He was selected to play in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

for the

Mesa Solar Sox The Mesa Solar Sox are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Mesa, Arizona, at Sloan Park, which is also the spring training facility of the Chicago Cubs. The team was establi ...

after the season.

Tampa Bay Rays

On November 30, 2021, the Marlins traded Misner to the

in exchange for Joey Wendle. He was assigned to the

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

of the Double-A Southern League for the 2022 season. Over 117 games, he

slashed Ash are a Northern Irish rock band formed in Downpatrick, County Down in 1992 by vocalist and guitarist Tim Wheeler, bassist Mark Hamilton and drummer Rick McMurray. As a three-piece, they released mini-album '' Trailer'' in 1994 and full-lengt ...

.251/.384/.431 with 16 home runs, 62 RBI, 25 doubles, and 32 stolen bases. For the 2023 season, Misner was assigned to the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

of the Triple-A

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

. Over 130 games, he batted .226 with 21 home runs, 58 RBI, and 21 stolen bases. He was assigned back to Durham to open the 2024 season. On August 2, 2024, Misner was selected to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. In 8 games for Tampa Bay during his rookie campaign, Misner went 1-for-15 (.067). Misner was initially optioned to Triple-A Durham to begin the 2025 season. However, following an injury to

Richie Palacios Richard Jordan Palacios (born May 16, 1997) is an American professional baseball outfielder and second baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cleveland Guardians and St. Louis Cardin ...

, the Rays added Misner to their

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster. On March 28, 2025, Misner hit his first career home run, which was a walk-off against the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

and the first major-league home run in

George M. Steinbrenner Field George M. Steinbrenner Field, formerly known as Legends Field, is a baseball stadium located in Tampa, Florida, United States, across the Dale Mabry Highway from Raymond James Stadium. The ballpark was built in 1996 and seats 11,026 people, wi ...

history. With this home run, Misner became the first player in MLB history to hit his first home run as a walkoff on opening day.

Personal life

Misner is the son of parents Terry and Stephanie. Brother to Logan and Brylee.

References

External links

Missouri Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Misner, Kameron 1998 births Living people People from Poplar Bluff, Missouri Baseball players from Missouri Major League Baseball outfielders Tampa Bay Rays players Missouri Tigers baseball players Newport Gulls players Gulf Coast Marlins players Clinton LumberKings players Beloit Snappers players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players Montgomery Biscuits players Mesa Solar Sox players Durham Bulls players