Two Graceland Students Spend the Summer with the Kansas City Royals

Carter Wiley ’21 and Justin Binnicker ’23 used their summer vacation to further their professional experience by seizing the opportunity to work for Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals. Wiley graduated in the spring of 2021 with a double major in Business Administration and Sport Management and was hired as a mobile ticketing specialist. Binnicker is going to be a junior at Graceland this fall and worked in the Event Presentation and Production department. Both positions are focused on game day operations and require them to arrive at the Royals’ Kauffman Stadium hours before game time.

Assistant Professor of Sport Management Donovan Nelson said, “I am really proud Justin and Carter would take the initiative and do something so uncomfortable. Applying to work for a major franchise with hundreds of applications demonstrates their hard work and determination.”

Wiley’s role requires him to interact and communicate with hundreds of fans a day and he credits his Graceland experience to helping him develop that level of social aptitude. In fact, Binnicker and Wiley both attribute skills they learned from Graceland to helping them thrive in their current positions and are very grateful to Nelson for creating an industry standard curriculum.

Binnicker describes his experience working with the Royals as “an opportunity that will help shape my future professional endeavors. Working in the major league has been a really educational and impactful experience.” When asked about his experience with the Royals, Wiley said, “This position has been an excellent opportunity for me to continue to pursue what I love and put me on the right path to find work that I can be proud of doing.”

Wiley has since been hired as a ticket sales and service match day representative by the Kansas City Women’s Professional soccer team and Binnicker is returning to Graceland this fall and looks forward to continuing his education in the sport management program.