Nolan McLean

Nolan James McLean

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 214 lb.
• School Oklahoma State University
• High School Garner High School
• Debut August 16, 2025

• Born July 24, 2001 in Willow Spring, NC USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Nolan McLean starred for the USA junior national team as a two-way player in the 2019 U-18 Baseball World Cup, during which the U.S. won a silver medal. He hit .263/.391/.474 and handled 51 chances error-free, mainly playing first base. He was 1-0 with a save despite a 9.00 ERA in three mound outings, beating Panama's Jorge Garcia and saving Alejandro Rosario's win over South Korea. He went on to attend Oklahoma State University from 2021 to 2023 where he was a regular position player, first in the infield and in the outfield his final year, and also served as the team's closer, picking up 11 saves over his final two seasons. He was a pretty good hitter, batting .285 with 19 homers and 47 RBIs in 64 games in 2022, after which he was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 3rd round of the 2022 amateur draft. He declined to sign with them, however, and was drafted again in the 3rd round of the 2023 amateur draft, this time by the New York Mets. In addition to hitting and pitching for OSU, he was on the football team for the fall season as a freshman in 2020.

He continued to be used as a two-way player during his first two minor league seasons, in 2023 and 2024, appearing at DH at times when not pitching, although it became increasingly clear that his future was on the mound. In 2024, he went 4-10, 3.78 in 25 starts between the Class A Brooklyn Cyclones and AA Binghamton Rumble Ponies, with 116 strikeouts in 109 2/3 innings, but hit just .192/.266/.446 in 130 at-bats. His power was good, with 9 doubles and 8 homers, but it was clear that his future was in pitching, and the Mets had him concentrate on that starting the following season.

In 2025 he started the season with Binghamton, pitching lights out over his first five starts as he went 3-1, 1.37 with 30 Ks in 26 1/3 innings. He was promoted to the AAA Syracuse Mets on May 6th and continued to pitch well there, going 5-4, 2.78 in 16 games. He was called up to New York to make his debut on August 16th and was as good as advertised, pitching 5 1/3 scoreless innings and striking out 8 in defeating the Seattle Mariners, 3-1. He was a winner in his next two starts as well, becoming the first pitcher in Mets history to do so. In his third game on August 27th, he pitched 8 scoreless innings in defeating the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-0. That win lowered his ERA to 0.89. Mets fans had specifically been instructed not to view McLean as a savior when he was called up, but that was exactly how he was pitching to that point. He went 5-1, 2.06 in 8 starts and 48 innings, but the Mets missed the postseason.

He played for the United States in the 2026 World Baseball Classic but unfortunately started the only two games the team lost: a surprising upset loss at the hands of Italy in pool play, and the loss to Venezuela in the finals. He was the losing pitcher in the first, but was not involved in the decision in the second after allowing 2 runs in 4 innings.

Further Reading

• Anthony DiComo: "Scoreless ball, dazzling 'D' and a 'W': McLean's debut is just what Mets need", mlb.com, August 16, 2025. [1]
• Anthony DiComo: "In his biggest start yet, McLean spins a masterpiece: Mets' No. 3 prospect becomes first in club history to earn win in each of his first three appearances", mlb.com, August 27, 2025. [2]
• Thomas Harrigan: "An unlikely source calls McLean 'the best arm I saw last year'", mlb.com, March 18, 2026. [3]
• Brian Murphy: "1 way Nolan McLean's debut season was unprecedented", mlb.com, December 27, 2025. [4]
• Mike Petriello: "Nobody has a 2-pitch combo quite like this star rookie's: A baseball bat isn't long enough to cover this gap in horizontal movement", mlb.com, April 14, 2026. [5]

Related Sites

• Nolan McLean on mlb.com
• Oklahoma State bio