On Sunday, former IU baseball pitcher McCade Brown became the fourth Hoosier to make his Major League Baseball debut in 2025.
The 6-foot-6 righthander was the starter for Colorado against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.
The Rockies selected Brown’s contract from Double-A Hartford ahead of his scheduled start .
Brown, 25, a third-round pick in 2021 from Indiana, was 4-2 with a 2.47 ERA in 20 combined starts at High-A Spokane and Hartford. He started throwing well this year after a lengthy comeback from Tommy John right elbow surgery in 2023.
The 25-year-old right-hander bypassed the Triple-A level as the Rockies evaluate the prospects in their system.
Brown was an All-Big Ten second team honoree in 2021 as he held a 3.39 ERA while leading the Big Ten and was sixth in the nation in strikeout per nine innings (14.31). He was also the Big Ten’s leader and 12th overall in the country in hits allowed per nine innings (12). The Normal, Ill. native led the league in opposing batting average (.164) and was fifth in the conference in strikeouts (97). Brown matched a new school record with 16 strikeouts in a victory over Penn State as he was named the D1Baseball/AstroTurf Player of the Week, the Perfect Game/Rawlings Pitcher of the Week, Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week and Big Ten Pitcher of the Week. In addition, he combined with Braydon Tucker to throw the program’s first no-hitter since 1984 in a win over Illinois.
Indiana has now had nine former players see MLB action in 2025. Brown joins Kyle Schwarber (Philadelphia), Tim Herrin (Cleveland), Kyle Hart (San Diego), Scott Effross (Yankees), Craig Yoho (Milwaukee), Jack Perkins (A’s), Andrew Saalfrank (Diamondbacks) and Matt Gorski (Pittsburgh).
Last 8 MLB Debuts – Former Indiana Players
• McCade Brown (Rockies) – August 24, 2025 vs. Pirates
• Jack Perkins (A’s) – June 22, 2025 vs. Cleveland
• Matt Gorski (Pirates) – April 24, 2025 vs. Angels
• Craig Yoho (Brewers) – April 21, 2025 vs. Giants
• Tanner Gordon (Rockies) – July 7, 2024 vs. Royals
• Andrew Saalfrank (Diamondbacks) – September 5th, 2023 vs. Rockies
• Tim Herrin (Guardians) – April 2, 2023 vs. Mariners
• Scott Effross (Cubs) – August 29, 2021 vs. White Sox
For complete coverage of former IU athletes in the professional ranks, GO HERE.
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