McLain Pett Preseason AAMcLain Pett Preseason AA

Matt McLain (L) and Zach Pettway (R) were tabbed to the GSA Preseason Watch List on Thursday

Pettway, McLain Make Golden Spikes Preseason Watch List

Baseball

This is the third consecutive season that UCLA has had multiple players on the preseason list

LOS ANGELES – UCLA standouts Matt McLain and Zach Pettway were both named to USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List, it was announced on Thursday.

The duo is part of a 55-man watch list for the award, which is handed out annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country. This is the 44th annual iteration of the award.

McLain and Pettway represent the 14th and 15th all-time selections for UCLA on to the GSA Preseason Watch List since 2008, which is how far back USA Baseball's records go.

This is the third consecutive year in which the Bruins have had multiple players on the preseason list, following Holden Powell-Garrett Mitchell in 2020 and Chase Strumpf-Michael Toglia in 2019. In 2011, right-handed pitcher Trevor Bauer became the first-ever Bruin to take home the Golden Spikes Award.

The inclusion on the list caps off an offseason full of accolades for the pair. McLain was a unanimous First Team All-American, the top-ranked shortstop in D1Baseball's preseason positional power rankings, and Baseball American's Preseason Pac-12 Player of the Year. Pettway was also a First Team All-American, and was tabbed as D1Baseball's Preseason Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive season.

McLain is coming off a breakout sophomore campaign that earned him Second Team All-America honors. He led the team in a number of offensive categories, including batting average (.397), slugging (.621), RBIs (19), hits (23), home runs (3), and OPS (1.043).

Entering his fourth year in the UCLA rotation, Pettway is among the most established college pitchers in the country. He was downright unhittable as a true junior last season, earning Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year honors from D1Baseball after going 3-0 with a 1.05 ERA and 29-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 25 2/3 innings. For his career, Pettway has a 13-6 record and 3.44 ERA.

UCLA, which is ranked No. 2 to start the 2021 season, opens the new campaign with a three-game set at home against San Francisco, starting on Friday, Feb. 19 at 5:00 p.m. The entire series will be live streamed on UCLABruins.com.