The first extended time Max McGwire spent in ºüÀêÊÓƵ came long after his father had retired as a player but was serving as a coach for the Cardinals from 2010 to 2012.
About six months during those years were spent in the city and at Busch Stadium, enough time that ºüÀêÊÓƵ started to feel like a second home.
Now in college, Max will return to the city where Mark McGwire made history before his son was born, having signed to play baseball at ºüÀêÊÓƵ University in 2025.
“Those were probably some of the best memories I have,†Max McGwire said. “My brother and I had a great time and were around for the 2011 World Series team. My mom’s side of the family is out there. Visiting ºüÀêÊÓƵ this summer, it felt good and felt like home.â€
McGwire is part of a huge transfer class signed by SLU coach Darin Hendrickson. He will play for his third school in a career that was interrupted by Tommy John surgery before he returned to have a big season in the Northwoods League with the Wisconsin Rapids.
People are also reading…
He has played collegiately at Oklahoma and San Diego and is the third transfer from the University of San Diego to join the Billikens. He comes with a big upside after receiving sparse opportunities at his first two stops.
McGwire hit five home runs this summer with three grand slams, a fitting power performance before arriving in ºüÀêÊÓƵ, where homers into Big Mac Land became a sensation.
“He looks like Big Mac did. When he walked into my office, that’s what I thought,†Hendrickson said. “He’s thinner for sure. I think it’s going to work out. I don’t really get too excited until they get here, but I would expect him to be really good. There was a time he was a heralded recruit. That doesn’t mean a lot, but he’s going to get to play here.â€
McGwire didn’t get extended playing time with the Sooners or Toreros. He had two homers, six RBIs and a .183 batting average in 28 games between the two schools. This summer, he hit .308 and added eight doubles in 35 games against college players.
He is fully recovered from the surgery that kept him sidelined for all of 2023 and has started showing some of the pop he had in high school, when he was the country’s 90th-ranked player out of Capistrano Valley High in California.
With triplet daughters playing sports and son Mason pitching in the Cubs organization, Mark McGwire didn’t have time to see Max play in person this summer. He kept close watch via streaming services and continued to offer advice.
“Pretty much everything I know about the game is through him, and I’m forever grateful,†Max McGwire said. “He never forced baseball on us or said, ‘Get in the cage.’ He wanted us to find a love for the game and to be dragging him into the cage. I still talk to him before games, after games, going over little things. What he sees after 16 years in the big leagues and coaching, it doesn’t compare (to anything).â€
Max McGwire was highly rated as a first baseman in high school, but he has played third base as well. He played this summer in the outfield and will get looks there and at third base at SLU, Hendrickson said.
SLU coaches hit the portal harder than usual and came up with a large haul of talent, including two others from San Diego.
SLU has added six pitchers, including the promising arms of Karl Ralamb from Rice and Stephen Hernandez, who started his college career at Arizona State.
“This is a lot more (transfer) volume than we’ve had in the past,†Hendrickson said. “I don’t want that to be the plan every year.â€
Hendrickson said he hopes that McGwire can write a story similar to that of Patrick Clohisy, who transferred from Purdue after seeing little action and flourished at SLU. Clohisy was one of two Billikens selected in the MLB draft.
Max McGwire has a significant name that will draw attention, something he said he and his brother have understood for years.
“We’ve dealt with it since we were little,†he said. “It’s normal to us now. Dad raised us saying, ‘You’re going to be your own players. Don’t try to be me.’ We’re comfortable like that. There may be expectations like you’re seeing with (Bronny) James, but for us it’s white noise at this point. I’m comfortable with who I am.â€