Matthew Michael McLain (born August 6, 1999) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

in the Cincinnati Reds organization. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) ...

. McLain was selected by the Reds with the 17th overall pick in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft.

Amateur career

McLain attended

Arnold O. Beckman High School Arnold O. Beckman High School is a public school in Irvine, California, United States, serving 3,013 students from grades 9 through 12. The original $69 million facility (equivalent to $ million in ) was opened on August 30, 2004. The Wor ...

Irvine, California Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...

. He committed to attend the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

(UCLA), to play

for the

. As a high school senior, he batted .369 with three home runs. He was selected by the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

in the first round with the 25th overall selection of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft. However, he did not sign, and instead chose to enroll at UCLA. During the summer of 2018, McLain played in the

West Coast League The West Coast League (WCL) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 2005, comprising teams from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alberta. The WCL was previously named the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League (WCCB ...

for the

Bellingham Bells The Bellingham Bells are a collegiate summer baseball team in the West Coast League. The team is composed of college baseball players from teams around the U.S. In recent years, the Bells have produced a number of Major League players including ...

, and was awarded the Top Prospect Award. As a freshman at UCLA in 2019, he appeared in 61 games (with sixty being starts) in which he slashed .203/.276/.355 with four home runs and thirty RBIs. That summer, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Wareham Gatemen The Wareham Gatemen are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Wareham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Gatemen play their home games at Clem Spillane Fie ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was West division MVP of the league's all-star game. In 2020, McLain played in 13 games and batted .397 with four home runs before the season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. In 2021, he missed three weeks due to a fractured thumb, but still hit .333 with nine home runs and 36 RBIs in 47 games.

Professional career

McLain was selected by the Cincinnati Reds with the 17th overall pick in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft. McLain signed with the Reds on July 26, 2021. McLain made his professional debut with the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League Reds and was promoted to the

Dayton Dragons The Dayton Dragons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Dayton, Ohio, and play their home games at Day Air Ballpark, formerly known as Fifth Third Field. I ...

of the

High-A Central The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. Over 31 games between the two teams, he slashed .283/.389/.462 with three home runs, 19 RBIs, and ten stolen bases. For the 2022 season, he was promoted to Reds Double A affiliate

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

Personal life

McLain's brothers, Nick and Sean, also play baseball.

References

External links

UCLA Bruins bio
1999 births Living people Baseball shortstops UCLA Bruins baseball players Wareham Gatemen players Arizona Complex League Reds players Dayton Dragons players Chattanooga Lookouts players {{US-baseball-shortstop-stub