Creighton Professional Athletes

Alan Roden Makes the Twins Pay Attention

Creighton's most notable MLB alumnus had a week to remember. Alan Roden's Sunday explosion against the Angels — 3-for-5, a three-run homer, four RBI, and a run scored in an 8-0 Twins shutout — wasn't just a strong box score line. It was the kind of performance that changes organizational conversations.

The win came in the final home game of the Arte Moreno era in Anaheim, which added a historic backdrop to Roden's biggest night of the season. Dean Kremer handled the pitching side with six scoreless innings and eight strikeouts, but it was Roden's bat that did the damage. His three-run shot was the decisive blow in what became a wire-to-wire blowout.

The performance has already generated front-office-level chatter. A Sports Illustrated report this week argued the Twins may need to fundamentally rethink Roden's place in their future — not just as a bench piece or platoon option, but as someone whose bat offers more dimensions than previously credited. At .291 on the season after the week's action, Roden is hitting himself into a contract-year argument whether Minnesota is ready for it or not.

He didn't stop after Sunday. Roden collected a hit and a walk Wednesday against San Francisco, then added another hit and a walk on Tuesday as well. He's been on base consistently all week, sustaining the momentum rather than letting it evaporate. The counting stats are modest in those follow-up games, but the approach at the plate is the story — and the Twins appear to be watching.

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Lopez and Collins Keep Their Averages Afloat

Two other Bluejays were active across the league this week with quieter but steady contributions.

Nicky Lopez continues to be a reliable presence in the Rangers' infield. The Creighton shortstop logged hits in multiple outings across the week — including a hit and a run scored in Saturday's 6-2 Texas win over Minnesota — and finished the period batting .268. Lopez has carved out a durable MLB career on contact, defense, and plate discipline, and this week was more of the same.

Isaac Collins, manning left field for the Royals, had a tougher stretch. Kansas City dropped a pair of games against Cleveland and the White Sox this week, and Collins' average dipped slightly to .212 by week's end. He drew a walk Wednesday against Chicago, one of few bright spots in an otherwise quiet week for the outfielder.

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The Bigger Picture

Three Creighton products logging MLB time in the final stretch of a 2026 season is notable in its own right — but Roden's week elevates this roundup beyond a footnote. A 3-for-5, four-RBI night that generates legitimate organizational rethinking isn't something that happens every week for any alumnus, let alone one from a program better known for developing pro prospects quietly than producing headlines.

The Twins have decisions to make this offseason. If Roden keeps hitting at a .291 clip with demonstrated power, those decisions are going to get more complicated — and more interesting — for Bluejay fans watching from Omaha.

Creighton has a quiet corner of the Kansas City Royals roster, and last week it made some noise.

Josh Rojas and Isaac Collins — both Bluejays alumni — combined for six RBIs as the Royals rolled past the Cleveland Guardians 8-3 in what was the marquee Creighton moment of the week. Rojas was the headliner, going 2-for-the-day with a home run and four RBIs. Collins chipped in two RBIs of his own, adding to his modest but steady season at the plate.

It's a rare MLB occurrence: two alumni from the same mid-major program sharing an active roster on a contending club. For Creighton fans in Omaha, the Royals have quietly become the team worth watching on the scoreboard app.

Collins Holding His Own

Isaac Collins has carved out a big-league role as a left fielder for Kansas City, and his numbers reflect a player fighting to stick. He entered the week hitting .232, and his season average has hovered in the low-.220s — not a superstar line, but serviceable for a player working the bottom of a competitive lineup. His two-RBI performance against Cleveland was his most productive moment of the stretch, a timely contribution in a game that was never really in doubt after KC broke it open.

Collins also drew a walk in back-to-back games during the week (Sept. 1 and Sept. 5), showing the on-base discipline that's kept him on the active roster. The Royals aren't a club that carries passengers, so his continued presence speaks for itself.

The Bigger Picture

Rojas' four-RBI outburst against the Guardians is the kind of performance that reshapes a week. A home run with runners on in a divisional-adjacent matchup carries weight in late August, when every game tightens the standings picture. For a Creighton alum to be the offensive catalyst in that moment is a story the Bluejay faithful don't get to tell very often.

Beyond Kansas City, Creighton has scattered representation across the league. Nicky Lopez is seeing time with the Texas Rangers, hitting .259 through the period — a solid average for a middle infielder who has long been valued for his glove. The Rangers split games against the Athletics and lost a late one to the Rays, with Lopez going hitless in most logged appearances but maintaining his season average.

The rest of the Creighton contingent — Ty Blach in Chicago, Will Robertson in Baltimore, Alan Roden in Minnesota — had quiet weeks by the box score, with no notable stats surfacing from the research period.

Still, the headline writes itself: in the final week of August, two Creighton Bluejays shared a dugout in Kansas City and combined to drive in six runs in a convincing win. For a program better known for basketball, that's a week worth circling on the alumni calendar.