Tolbert resides in Trussville, Ala...is cousins with NFL quarterback Josh Dobbs, who was selected by Pittsburgh in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft...Starred for the Brisbane Bandits of the Australian Winter League in 2022-23, and was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year...at the plate, he slashed .297/.404/.430 (38-for-128) with 32 runs scored, nine doubles, one triple, two HR and 15 stolen bases...Attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham from 2017-19...Graduated from Hewitt-Trussville HS (Ala.) in 2016, where he was the Birmingham/Central Alabama Player of the Year after batting .447 as a senior with a school-record 71 hits and 41 stolen bases.
2025
Appeared in 64 games (12 starts) in his first Major League season...had his contract selected on March 31 and was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on May 2, however he had a brief stint on the Bereavement List from April 27-30...on June 10, he was recalled and spent the remainder of the season with the Royals...Of his 64 appearances, 28 came as a pinch runner...his 16 stolen bases as a pinch runner led the Majors, well ahead of David Hamilton (10)...it marked the third-most steals as a pinch runner by any player in Royals history, behind Dairon Blanco’s 21 steals in 2024 and Willie Wilson’s 19 steals in 1978. His 10 runs scored as a pinch runner in 2025 ranked second in the Majors, behind only Luisangel Acuña (11)...Made his Majors debut on March 31 in Milwaukee...recorded his first career hit on June 10 vs. the Yankees— his fifth career game with an at-bat—hitting a single off Yerry De Los Santos...Hit his first career home run on July 23 at Wrigley Field, a two-run shot off Drew Pomeranz in the sixth inning, which also marked his first two career RBI...Over 29 games with Triple-A Omaha, he slashed .265/.339/.408 (26-for-98) with eight extra-base hits, 14 RBI, 20 runs and 11 stolen bases.
2024
Tolbert earned his second invitation to Major League Spring Training in 2024...Played in 15 spring games and batted .241 (7-for-29) with four stolen bases...He was the recipient in 2024 of the Willie Wilson Award, given to the top baserunner in the Royals organization, after he went 48-for-53 in stolen base attempts—leading all Royals Minor Leaguers—in 128 total games (101 with Double-A Northwest Arkansas and 27 with Triple-A Omaha)...He went a perfect 10-for-10 in stolen base attempts in May en route to a run of 15 consecutive steals from May 1-June 11...Finished the year slashing .240/.323/.323 (113-for-471, .646 OPS) with 23 doubles, four home runs and 41 RBI.
2023
Tolbert earned his first invitation to Major League Spring Training in 2023...played in 20 spring games and hit two home runs while stealing three bases... He was the recipient of the George Brett Award, given to the top hitter in the Royals organization, after he appeared in 126 games with Double-A Northwest Arkansas and slashed .276/.336/.419 (143- for-518, .755 OPS), collecting 217 total bases with 24 doubles, 10 triples, 10 home runs and 50 RBI...was also named an MiLB Organization All-Star in the outfield... He went 50-for-58 (86.2%) in stolen base attempts, leading all Royals Minor Leaguers in 2023... He led the Naturals in at-bats, runs (95), hits, total bases, stolen bases and triples, while also leading the Texas League in triples.
2022
Went 60-for-60 in stolen base attempts in High-A Quad Cities in 2022, a feat no player has done since at least 1992, when data is available, via STATS...Recorded 20 doubles, 10 triples and four home runs with 36 RBI over 116 games for the River Bandits...Finished the season leading Quad Cities in games, plate appearances (517), at-bats (447), runs, hits (100), triples and stolen bases...Starred for the Brisbane Bandits of the Australian Winter League, and was named his team’s and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year…at the plate, he slashed .297/.404/.430 (38-for-128) with 32 runs scored, nine doubles, one triple, two home runs and 15 stolen bases...Was teammates in Australia with fellow Royals Minor Leaguer Parker Harm.
2021
Split the 2021 season between the Arizona League (three games), Class-A Columbia (80 games) and Advanced-A Quad Cities (six games), recording 55 stolen bases, which ranked fourth among all minor league players and most among all Royal minor leaguers...He was caught stealing only twice on 57 attempts in 2021, a 96.5% success rate, the second-highest of any player in either Major or Minor League Baseball (min. 30 stolen bases), behind only Angels prospect D’Shawn Knowles’ 96.9% rate (31-for-32) at Class-A Inland Empire.
