When the Cubs selected Cade Horton with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft Sunday night, he shared the special moment with friends and family back home in Norman, Okla.
And a certain Cubs first-round pick of recent past.
“He was actually one of the first guys that I called after my name got called,” said Horton, who met the media on Zoom Sunday night, of Cubs prospect Ed Howard.
Before the Cubs drafted Howard 16th overall in the 2020 draft, he was committed to play collegiately at the University of Oklahoma.
That’s where Horton, 20, spent the last two years — after crossing paths with Howard in high school.
Horton said he and Howard, who underwent season-ending hip surgery in May, played together in high school in MLB’s PDP League, a collaboration between MLB and USA Baseball, and a couple other events. The two have kept in touch since.
Horton’s best friend and Oklahoma teammate Kendall Pettis is from Chicago and is friends with Howard. Pettis attended Brother Rice.
“I was just so excited to be able to be with him,” Horton said of Howard. “I'm just ready to get to work.”
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Along with Howard, Horton has past relationships with Cubs prospects Pete Crow-Armstrong — whom he also has played with — and starting pitcher Kohl Franklin, who, like Horton, is from Oklahoma.
Horton has never been to Wrigley Field but is looking forward to his first trip there.
"I can't wait to get there, though," Horton said. "It's going to be an awesome experience. I'm truly blessed to be in this position."