From Auckland to Tucson: How left-hander Maclain Roberts became an Arizona Wildcat

UA junior left-hander Maclain Roberts, who grew up in Auckland, New Zealand, became smitten with baseball while watching the 2019 World Series between the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals. Hale was the bench coach for the Nats, who rallied to defeat the Astros in seven games.

Roberts didn’t realize the connection at first.

“When I was getting recruited here I was like, ‘I feel like I’ve seen this guy before,’” said Roberts, who takes a team-best 3.67 ERA into the final regular-season series Thursday-Saturday at Oklahoma State.

“I went back and I was like, ‘No way.’ The first person that told me was my dad. He did some background searches and stuff.”

Another Wildcat, Brian Anderson, recruited Roberts to his previous stop in Tucson, Pima Community College. Anderson served as the pitching coach for the New Zealand national team that participated in the 2022 World Baseball Classic qualifiers. Anderson then became an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Pima.

Anderson liked what he saw in Roberts, who was just 18 years old when he pitched an inning against Brazil in the WBC qualifier in Panama.

“That was just insane,” Roberts said. “We're playing against some guys that had played double-A and triple-A in some MLB organizations. And little old me, 18 years old. I was like, ‘OK, I guess I'll just do this.’ It was definitely surreal.”

Roberts might have been skinnier then, but he wasn’t little. He’s 6-foot-5. That, combined with his left-handedness, led him to the pitcher’s mound when he started playing baseball after being inspired by the '19 World Series.

“I got noticed pretty quick,” Roberts said. “From there I got an opportunity to play on the national team. Just playing on that stage got me the opportunity to play at Pima Community College. Really, it’s just kind of being in the right place at the right time and taking the opportunities when they were given to me.”

Roberts came to the U.S. in 2023 and played for Pima the next two seasons. He went 11-4 with a 3.73 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 118⅓ innings.

Roberts drew interest from other schools, including LSU. But some of his Aztec teammates, including right-hander Garrett Hicks, were headed to Arizona. The UA also had shown it could develop pitchers under Kevin Vance.

Last June, Vance left to become the head coach at San Diego State. In December, his successor, John DeRouin, took a job with the New York Mets. After Sean Kenny arrived to replace DeRouin, assistant pitching coach Owen Cuffe got hired by the Colorado Rockies.

“That was definitely funky,” Roberts said. “I was just a little confused and, like everyone else, just wondering what it's going to be like.

“When Vance left, I called up Garrett, and he said, ‘Don't worry. We're in good hands with John, and Cuffe’s still here.’ When they left, I think we were all just a little bit shell-shocked.

“When Coach Kenny came in, I think it took us a while. We had some growing pains. But we've definitely got a good connection with him now.

“It's always hard coming in to coach a new group right before the season starts. With those circumstances, I think he's done an amazing job.”

Roberts has thrived under Kenny after struggling in the fall and preseason. Roberts made changes to his mechanics in the fall, and he said he was worried too much about results.

“He's just given me the confidence to go out there and compete,” Roberts said. “When you get out on that mound, you don't worry about all the mechanics and pitch grips and stuff. You just gotta go out there and get that guy out. He helped me a lot mentally.”

Roberts has made 19 appearances, including one start. He has 31 strikeouts in 27 innings, and his 1.33 WHIP is third-best on the staff.

“He's shown us a lot more the last couple times, 92 (mph) pretty consistently,” Hale said. “It's been pretty exciting. So hopefully we get to play longer and get him some more innings.”

Brandt’s plus-one

Junior right-hander Evan Brandt had a special guest in the ballpark for his first UA start this past Sunday.

Brandt’s grandfather, Paul, drove to Tucson from Corona, California, to watch Arizona’s game against Houston on Saturday night. He was going to drive back afterward. But the game lasted 13 innings.

“He got tired, so he got a hotel,” Brandt said. “I'm like, ‘There's a slight chance they have to throw me tomorrow. So if you want to hang around ...’

“And then I got told shortly thereafter that I was. So I was pumped up.”

Brandt threw five scoreless innings against the Cougars — easily his best performance as a Wildcat. He had struggled for much of the season pitching out of the bullpen and was rarely used in high-leverage situations as his ERA ballooned to 11.12.

But when projected Sunday starter Collin McKinney was needed in relief Saturday night, Brandt got the call. He’d been working on finding the right arm slot to get his sinker sinking again and to create more deception in his motion.

It all came together against Houston. Brandt induced seven groundouts and allowed only three hits.

“You gotta earn everything,” Brandt said. “I'm not going to sit here and fault them for not playing me. I haven't earned it. But it certainly feels good being able to go out there on Sunday and put up a performance like that. I would say very retro me from last year.”

Brandt was a junior-college All-American at Weatherford (Texas) College last season, posting a 14-1 record with a 1.88 ERA. He was 8-2 with a 3.50 ERA the previous year. So this season represented the first time he faced adversity as a college pitcher.

“It makes you think, it makes you reflect, it makes you really see how bad you want it,” Brandt said. “It's very easy to get frustrated. I can't lie — I get frustrated sometimes. ... But that's part of the process and part of the learning curve.”

Depending on how the first two games go, Brandt could be called upon again to start Saturday’s regular-season finale at OSU. Left-hander Luc Fladda is slated to start the opener, followed by righty Owen Kramkowski.

Inside pitch

– Hale on the team’s approach to the OSU series, which 13th-place Arizona has to win — and possibly sweep — to make next week’s Big 12 Tournament: “We're just going to let it go. I made a point that we put ourselves in a tough spot. Let's just worry about winning the first pitch of the game. But I also want to set the tone for next year's group — the way we play and how hard we play and don't give up. For the most part, we haven't given up this year. We've had some really tough situations happen, but the guys have kept the energy up. They played hard.”

– Hale said freshman right-hander Benton Hickman should be available against the Cowboys. Hickman exited his most recent appearance, May 6 vs. New Mexico State, after experiencing discomfort in his biceps.

– While most of the team was headed to Stillwater on Wednesday morning, Hale planned to take a later flight to participate in Arizona’s Student-Athlete Convocation. Five players were expected to receive their degrees: Hicks, TJ Adams, JT Drake, Mathis Meurant, Maddox Mihalakis and Tony Pluta. “We're student-athletes,” Hale said. “This is the pinnacle. Their parents get a chance to watch them walk across the stage. It's cool. It’ll be fun.”