From high school to the A's: Muncy, Wilson reunite for 1st Opening Day together

SEATTLE -- Max Muncy and Jacob Wilson will stand along the third-base line at T-Mobile Park during the national anthem on Thursday night, each soaking in their first Opening Day. They will also likely begin the season as double-play partners for the Athletics.

For most baseball fans, this will be their first time seeing Muncy and Wilson, two highly regarded prospects in the A’s system, sharing a field. It certainly marks the first occasion the two have done so in the big leagues, as Muncy -- rated the A’s No. 7 prospect by MLB Pipeline -- will make his Major League debut after learning over the weekend that he made the club’s Opening Day roster.

What is a new sight for most will be a nostalgia trip for Jack Wilson.

The former All-Star Pirates shortstop and father of Jacob -- the A’s No. 1 prospect and MLB No. 31 overall prospect -- Jack played an integral role in the development of Muncy and Wilson as their head coach at Thousand Oaks High School in Southern California.

Jacob is five months older than Muncy, but because Muncy’s advanced talents allowed him to play up a level, the two often played against each other in travel ball. When it came time for Muncy to attend high school in 2017, his father, Mike, who was drafted three times (Yankees in 1991, Royals in 1992, Phillies in 1993), suggested that Max transfer out of the school district from their home of Camarillo to attend Thousand Oaks, where Jack had just taken over as head coach.

“My dad watched a lot of baseball and knew how good of a player he was,” Muncy said of Jack. “I remember him telling me, ‘Hey, if you’re serious about this baseball thing, this is where you have to go.’ I didn’t know a single person at Thousand Oaks when I first got there. First day of school, I just knew Jack Wilson.”

Muncy was placed on the freshman team to start. Less than a month later, his dominance forced his way through JV and, eventually, varsity.

“I brought him up for intrasquads,” said Jack. “First game, we had our senior starter, who was our ace on the mound. I purposely took Max up against him, and he hit an absolute nuke to left field. … He stayed up ever since.”

Joining the varsity squad meant Muncy was finally on the same team as Jacob. However, since the team was already stacked at infield with seniors at third base and shortstop, and Wilson a sophomore second baseman, Muncy moved to the outfield to end his freshman year.

With the infield opening up for the 2018-19 season, Muncy took over as the everyday shortstop, fortifying the middle of the infield for Thousand Oaks alongside Wilson for the entire year and leading the Lancers to the second round of the 2019 CIF Southern Section Division 2 Baseball Championships.

Poised for an even greater 2019-20 campaign, Muncy and Wilson began alternating between shortstop and second base through an 8-0 start before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wilson was a senior and set to attend Grand Canyon University, while Muncy still had a year of high school left.

“They pushed each other a lot in high school,” Wilson said. “Where they were at in high school, I felt like both of them were going to be very successful in the game, just because of their passion for wanting to be great. That's what pushes a lot of guys over the top. … Both of those guys were very good off-the-field workers.”

Muncy stuck around and starred for a Thousand Oaks team that won the 2021 Southern Section Division 2 championship, then moved off a commitment to the University of Arkansas after the A’s selected him 25th overall in the 2021 MLB Draft.

Though their baseball journeys took different paths -- Wilson played at GCU for three years from 2021-23 and emerged as one of college baseball’s elite hitters -- they remained linked through Jack, who set up what was, essentially, a training facility at the Wilson family home with an infield turf in the backyard, a batting cage and a gym. Each offseason, up until a few months ago when Wilson sold the house, Muncy would come back to Southern California and train at the Wilson house.

“Both of them were out there almost every day,” Wilson said. “Max would come over to do his stuff early. Jake would do his stuff later, just because they like their individual work. Where I think greatness is made is the individual work that they put in.”

Jack was already following Muncy’s career in the A’s system. Since Jacob joined the organization as the sixth overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft, Jack has had an up-close look at the Thousand Oaks middle infield reunion. Muncy and Wilson first started playing together again in games as professionals in 2024 Spring Training and teamed up later in the year at Triple-A Las Vegas before Jacob received his first call to the Majors last July. That practice continued this spring, as Jack attended each of Jacob’s Cactus League games, several of which featured his son starting at shortstop and Muncy the second baseman.

From Thousand Oaks to the big leagues, the Muncy-Wilson connection that began eight years ago is now coming full circle as key pieces for an A’s squad that brings serious playoff aspirations into 2025.

Few will feel the pure joy of witnessing that culmination than Jack, who has been there from the beginning.

“It was awesome to see these guys rise up through the ranks and see what they've become,” Wilson said. “To project what they could be is really going to be the fun part. How special these two could be for years to come. I'm just rooting for both of them to do it now. It's a special time, not only as a dad, but as a coach. I’m super proud of them.”