University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Matt McLain (photo: USA TODAY Sports / Rick Scuteri)
Photo by: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
Matt McLain Called Up by Cincinnati Reds
May 15, 2023 | Baseball
DENVER โ The Cincinnati Reds on Monday announced that they have called up former UCLA standout infielder Matt McLain, setting him up to be the next UCLA baseball alumnus to make his Major League debut.
McLain, Cincinnati's first-round selection in the 2021 MLB First-Year Player Draft (No. 17 overall), is expected to be in the lineup for the Reds' series opener at Colorado on Monday. When he makes his first appearance, he'll become the 91st UCLA baseball player all-time to reach the Majors, and the 28th coached by current UCLA head coach John Savage.
He is the fourth member of UCLA's historic 2019 team โ the Bruins won a school-record 52 games and were ranked No. 1 in the country for 12 consecutive weeks โ to reach the Major Leagues. After McLain's call-up, every UCLA team from 1965-2021 has had at least one player compete in MLB, a span of 57 consecutive years.
In addition, McLain is just the sixth member of the 2021 MLB draft class to reach the Majors. Notably, he will be the first player drafted in the first round in 2021 to debut.
McLain had been one of the top players in Triple-A prior to his call-up, slashing .348/.474/.710 with 12 home runs in 38 games for the Louisville Bats. His 1.184 OPS led all of Triple-A, and he also had league-high totals in RBIs (40) and total bases (98).
Overall in his three-year pro career, he has a .267/.393/.512 slash line with 32 home runs, 80 extra-base hits, 117 RBIs, and 47 stolen bases over 172 games. ย
A three-year starter at UCLA from 2019-21, McLain put together a .279/.360/.478 slash in college, with 16 home runs and 85 RBIs in 121 games. UCLA's primary center fielder as a freshman before taking over at shortstop in his final two campaigns, McLain earned All-America honors as a sophomore and All-Pac-12 accolades as a junior. He hit over .300 in both his sophomore and junior campaigns. Notably, he joined Gerrit Cole as the only two Bruins to attend UCLA after being drafted in the first round after high school. Both Cole and McLain were drafted higher after their junior seasons at UCLA than they were out of high school.
Follow @UCLABaseball on Twitter for all team updates.
McLain, Cincinnati's first-round selection in the 2021 MLB First-Year Player Draft (No. 17 overall), is expected to be in the lineup for the Reds' series opener at Colorado on Monday. When he makes his first appearance, he'll become the 91st UCLA baseball player all-time to reach the Majors, and the 28th coached by current UCLA head coach John Savage.
He is the fourth member of UCLA's historic 2019 team โ the Bruins won a school-record 52 games and were ranked No. 1 in the country for 12 consecutive weeks โ to reach the Major Leagues. After McLain's call-up, every UCLA team from 1965-2021 has had at least one player compete in MLB, a span of 57 consecutive years.
In addition, McLain is just the sixth member of the 2021 MLB draft class to reach the Majors. Notably, he will be the first player drafted in the first round in 2021 to debut.
McLain had been one of the top players in Triple-A prior to his call-up, slashing .348/.474/.710 with 12 home runs in 38 games for the Louisville Bats. His 1.184 OPS led all of Triple-A, and he also had league-high totals in RBIs (40) and total bases (98).
Overall in his three-year pro career, he has a .267/.393/.512 slash line with 32 home runs, 80 extra-base hits, 117 RBIs, and 47 stolen bases over 172 games. ย
A three-year starter at UCLA from 2019-21, McLain put together a .279/.360/.478 slash in college, with 16 home runs and 85 RBIs in 121 games. UCLA's primary center fielder as a freshman before taking over at shortstop in his final two campaigns, McLain earned All-America honors as a sophomore and All-Pac-12 accolades as a junior. He hit over .300 in both his sophomore and junior campaigns. Notably, he joined Gerrit Cole as the only two Bruins to attend UCLA after being drafted in the first round after high school. Both Cole and McLain were drafted higher after their junior seasons at UCLA than they were out of high school.
Follow @UCLABaseball on Twitter for all team updates.
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