Associate Director - Media Relations
Ian Kraft is in his fourth season as a full-time member of the Royals organization, and third as the Assistant Director of Media Relations. He interned with the Royals media relations department in 2018 and rejoined the club as the Coordinator of Media Relations in 2021. In his current role, “Krafty” assists with daily game notes, publications, press releases and other Royals content, and occasionally assists with Spanish translation. Kraft began his career in professional baseball in 2017 as the Publications Intern with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and transitioned into media relations in 2018, when he first joined the Royals. He joined the Minnesota Twins in 2019 as a Communications Intern, before working for the Mariners as a Baseball Information Coordinator in 2020. His older brother, Justin, works for the Oakland Athletics as the Sr. Manager of Ballpark Entertainment.
Kraft graduated from McClintock High School in Tempe, Ariz., in 2012 and from Arizona State University in 2018 with a pair of bachelor’s degrees: one in print journalism and one in Spanish linguistics. He played baseball at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore. in 2013, posting a .300 OBP (2-for-9, BB) and a 0.00 ERA on the mound (0.1 career IP). A native of Sedona, Ariz., Kraft and his wife, Rachel, live in Overland Park, Kan. with their basenji, Piper.