Baseball has always been a family affair for Creighton junior Connor Capece.
He grew up learning the game from his father, Kevin, and playing with his older brother, Kyle. Kevin spent his college days playing at Briar Cliff, and Kyle followed in his footsteps. Connor credited those early days with his brother for helping him earn the opportunity to play for Creighton baseball.
“He was a pitcher and I was a catcher, so that was kind of our cool thing of I would always catch him, and then he would play first base as well,” Capece told Hurrdat Sports. “So, we had a special connection with back picks and just everything and that sort between a pitcher and first basemen. We would always hit extra, play catch, always be active outside.”
The junior Creighton catcher and Omaha native attended Gross Catholic High School, where he played football, basketball and baseball, guiding the Cougars baseball team to back-to-back district championships in 2021 and 2022 and the NSAA semifinals in 2022. He signed with the Bluejays in 2022, before joining the team in 2024.
“I was originally a two-way player, and Creighton gave me the best opportunity to catch, and that’s what I wanted to do,” Capece said. “So, that was ultimately my main decision coming here to catch, but also the fact of it being in my hometown, and it being close to home was also a deciding factor.”
Capece said that his family has season tickets, attending almost every home game and watching him play for his hometown.
“It’s really cool,” Capece said. “Playing in front of my family, playing in front of my friends that I went to high school with is really cool for me. I grew up a Creighton fan, so being able to show the community that it’s possible to play for your hometown team and actually represent a smaller school is really cool to me, and being able to play in front of my family is the best thing ever.”
Named to the All-Big-East second team in 2025, Capece had a strong sophomore season, playing in 50 games and starting 45 of them. He concluded the season hitting .351 at the plate with 11 doubles, one triple, three home runs and 41 RBIs.
Capece said that practice and his “levelheaded mind set” helped him succeed.
“I prepared a lot just knowing what role I was in, or what role I could have been in,” Capece said. “I think I just over prepared, to where I knew that if I needed a job to be done, that I was the one to do it. And then just the level headedness of if it’s going well, stay levelheaded, but if it’s not, don’t change much. I know I can get things done and I can be a producer for the team and just be able to come back to that square one of just do your job and do what the team needs.”
Last season, Creighton finished the year with a 43-16 record, winning the Big East regular season and tournament titles and advancing to a regional before falling to Arkansas.
“I think making it to that regional opened a lot of eyes for everybody on this team, that we’re good enough to get to this spot,” Capece said. “I think we all kind of realized last year with Murray State making it that anybody can really do it. We’d love to play at our home field, but I think it opens all of our eyes showing that if two things go right, or if you get hot at the right time, that you can make it to a Super Regional, make it to Omaha. I think it would be really cool for all of us to experience that, but it opened up a lot of eyes that anything’s possible in this game.”
While at Gross, Capece spoke with current Cincinnati Reds catcher Jose Trevino, who he met through his catching coach, Tyler Goodro. Capece said that Goodro connected the two, giving him a chance to learn from the coach and the pro.
“He’s taught me just about receiving styles, I think, different set ups and stuff,” Capece said. “Tyler and he created a map together about catching styles and different receiving angles. I think that’s something that I’ve picked up on the most and just learned from both of them.”
Capece is applying what he’s learned from Trevino and Goodro as he’s preparing for his junior season in 2026.
“I’m looking forward to playing these teams on our schedule that we’ve never played before,” Capece said. “I think it will be awesome to play LSU and play Tulane and play Miami, and then have those games prepare us for the conference slate, which will be good for us, and prepare us better for the conference.”
As for Capece’s message to younger athletes that want to play at the next level for their hometown team, he wants them to know the importance of putting in the work.
“It doesn’t matter where you go to school, or what division you play in, you will be seen,” Capece said. “Just do everything that you can to show up and work hard and be a leader.”
