Thomas Dillard (born August 28, 1997) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Amateur career

Dillard began his high school career at Briarcrest Christian School in

Eads, Tennessee Eads is an unincorporated community in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, named after Civil War engineer James Buchanan Eads James Buchanan Eads (May 23, 1820 – March 8, 1887) was an American civil engineer and inventor. He held more ...

, before transferring to Oxford High School in

Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, 14th most populous city in Mississippi, United States, and the county seat of Lafayette County, Mississippi, Lafayette County, southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis. A college town, Oxford ...

as a senior, where he was teammates with Grae Kessinger. In the summer of 2015, he played in the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

. He earned All-USA honors as a senior after batting .438 with 16 home runs. He committed 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, ...

at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

for the

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford. The first was the Ole ...

. Unselected in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft, he enrolled at Ole Miss. In 2017, as a freshman at Ole Miss, Dillard appeared in 48 games (making 45 starts) in which he hit .206 with four home runs, eight doubles, and 12 RBIs. As a sophomore, he started 65 games in left field without making an error and batted .310 and led the Rebels with 13 home runs, 59 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases. In 2017 and 2018, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

. In 2019, his junior year, he returned to catching, started 68 games, and hit .310 with 14 home runs, 61 RBIs, and set an Ole Miss single-season record with 61 walks. Following the season's end, he was selected by the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

in the fifth round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft. He signed for $397,500.

Professional career

Milwaukee Brewers

Dillard 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 ...

Arizona League Brewers and was promoted to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 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 ...

after four games. Over 55 games between the two clubs, he hit .249 with seven home runs, 28 RBIs, and eight stolen bases. 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 ...

. To begin the 2021 season, he was assigned back to Wisconsin, now members 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 ...

, and was promoted to the Biloxi Shuckers of the Double-A South in early August. Over 105 games between the two clubs, Dillard slashed .247/.365/.444 with 18 home runs and 75 RBIs. He returned to Biloxi for the 2022 season. Over 121 games, he compiled a .233/.364/.391 slash line with 12 home runs, 67 RBIs, 29 doubles, and 14 stolen bases. He was released on by the Brewers organization on December 16, 2022.

Lexington Counter Clocks

On April 28, 2023, Dillard signed with the Lexington Counter Clocks of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. In 125 games for Lexington, Dillard hit .258/.398/.590 with 39 home runs, 100 RBI, and 8 stolen bases. On December 21, 2023, Dillard signed with the Saraperos de Saltillo of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. However, he failed to make the Opening Day roster and was released prior to the season on April 6, 2024.

Cleburne Railroaders

On April 11, 2024, Dillard signed with the

Cleburne Railroaders The Cleburne Railroaders are a professional baseball team based in Cleburne, Texas, that plays in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The team, which began play in 2017, plays i ...

of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor ...

. In 95 appearances for Cleburne, Dillard batted .260/.420/.474 with 16 home runs, 62 RBI, and 22 stolen bases.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dillard, Thomas 1997 births Living people Arizona League Brewers players Baseball players from Mississippi Biloxi Shuckers players Cleburne Railroaders players Cotuit Kettleers players Lexington Counter Clocks players Ole Miss Rebels baseball players Sportspeople from Greenwood, Mississippi Tomateros de Culiacán players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players 21st-century American sportsmen