Alex Calarco was preparing for his early morning bus ride for Northwestern baseball’s season-opening series at Texas State in 2023 when he received a text at about 2 a.m. from his assistant coaches.
They had all quit following a series of conflicts with head coach Jim Foster.
“I can’t do it anymore,” Calarco recalled a former Wildcats’ assistant texting. “I don’t want to be represented by him as my head coach, so you guys are sailing the ship alone.”
The team was eager to begin the season. Instead, they spent the weekend with no coaches other than Foster and lost all three games while being outscored, 56-18. The Wildcats finished the season 10-40 and Foster was fired amid allegations of leading a toxic environment.
It was part of a difficult start to Calarco’s collegiate career. As a freshman catcher, he rushed back from Tommy John surgery, only to face another major procedure for a torn labrum while transferring to Maryland in 2023.
He’s finally found stability in his senior season. The catcher has hit a team-leading 11 home runs, is batting .337 and has started every game this year for Maryland.
[Maryland baseball’s bats crumble in first shutout of the season against Washington, 2-0]
“It’s just been really a blast and a joy just to come to the field every day to play with my teammates and friends,” Calarco said.
The Illinois native committed to Northwestern early in high school— enticed by the opportunity to play at his hometown school with his older brother, Anthony.
The catcher was the first to make varsity as a freshman at New Trier High School . While major league scouts had a lot of focus on him his senior year, Calarco also played through a significant elbow injury in the postseason.
Calarco said he felt his elbow was torn before his final high school game. The ulnar collateral ligament was confirmed fully torn when the season ended, and Calarco received surgery from Dr. David Altchek in New York that summer.
He returned midway through his freshman season at Northwestern but was limited to five at-bats per day while recovering from surgery. After he went 3-for-5 in his first game back, his mom asked Dr. Altchek if Calarco could play in the Wildcats’ second game that day. The doctor denied the request.
“He just amazed me. He’s a really tough kid,” said Anthony Calarco, now an infielder for the Frontier League’s Schaumburg Boomers. “He attacked [rehab] every day, and he kept his head down and just kept going.”
Calarco’s season was cut short when he felt tenderness in his arm. Foster was hired the following year.
670 The Score reported that Foster allegedly discouraged players from seeking treatment for injuries and made racially insensitive comments, along with other allegations of bullying and verbal abuse.
Three of Foster’s former staffers filed a lawsuit against him and Northwestern that August — alleging they were retaliated against after reporting concerns about the head coach’s behavior.
“I thought we weren’t respected and given what we were supposed to be given, and we weren’t valued for who we were,” Calarco said. “Especially at that kind of university, that’s top-notch, it’s just unfortunate with what went on but we still [had] to come in and get your work in every day.”
[Maryland baseball showed power-hitting potential in season-opening weekend]
Calarco faced another setback midway through that season. He had a 270-degree tear in his labrum, as well as a tear in his rotator cuff. He returned to Dr. Altchek for another surgery.
Amid injuries and uncertainty at Northwestern, he entered the transfer portal in 2023 and committed to Maryland in June.
But Calarco wasn’t available to play in Maryland’s fall season due to recovery. He also couldn’t play catcher until midway through the 2024 season — playing exclusively as a designated hitter.
For most of his life, Calarco’s self-worth was measured by his performance on the field. He realized he’s more than just the game following his second serious injury.
“That was a tough one, just mentally, after being out, missing baseball that much, and kind of getting to taste a little bit of just playing again and then having to go back into [having to] recalibrate your body,” Calarco said.
Calarco appeared in 41 games as a junior, splitting between designated hitter and catcher. He batted .213 with 19 RBI and four home runs.
He’s exceeded all those numbers through 25 games as a senior. He’s started every single game at catcher — a role Swope said the senior earned.
The senior was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association’s Dick Howser Player of the Month and the 64 Analytics National Hitter Of The Month for February after his hot start, which included three grand slams.
“What he’s gone through, and all his perseverance, his hard work overcoming so many obstacles, it’s just been a joy and pleasure to see him happy on the baseball field,” John Calarco, Alex’s father, said.
This weekend’s series against Northwestern will likely be the final time Calarco faces the former school he started at.
A coaching staff exodus, two major surgeries and a transfer later, he’s established himself in College Park.
“It’s just a lot of ups and downs throughout, mentally and physically,” Calarco said. “Appreciating the small things in life and the small joys is what I’ve understood throughout it all.”
