Completed Event: Baseball versus Cal State Fullerton on November 8, 2025 ,
Baseball
vs Cal State Fullerton
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
UTIL
/ Baseball
Coro: Mechals realizes MLB Draft dream
6/16/2020 11:00:00 AM | Baseball, Paul Coro
White Sox valued GCU ace with pick despite arm surgery
Baseball people always found reasons to overlook Kade Mechals.
He hails from a small Oregon town. He is shorter than the average pitcher. His fastball velocity is not superhuman.
Mechals' pro ambition persevered through Division II and junior college stops before grabbing the interest of a Division I program, Grand Canyon.
Just as his notoriety grew in his second season as GCU's ace, Mechals' third start ended early Feb. 28 at Stanford after he induced a ground out to open the fifth inning.
Ten weeks later, Mechals underwent Tommy John surgery to reconstruct his throwing elbow's ligament. On the same day, MLB announced it was shortening its draft from 40 rounds to five rounds.
"Gosh dang it, I'm out of the picture," Mechals said he thought.
This time, Mechals was not overlooked.
When draft day came, Mechals was at a Phoenix-area home that his parents rented to visit him on the chance that an unrated prospect would be deemed among the nation's best.
With nervous energy building during Thursday's draft, Mechals went to a backyard putting green to release the tension when his phone rang during the fourth round.
"How would you like to be picked one-twelve in the fourth round for us?" Chicago White Sox regional amateur scout John Kazanas asked Mechals.
"Yes, absolutely," Mechals said before returning to watch the moment unfold with his parents, GCU teammates and friends.
Mechals thrust his arms into the air and hugged his parents as his other family — GCU baseball's Quin Cotton, Isaiah Overman, Frankie Scalzo and Tyler Wyatt — directed their phone cameras toward him.
"I can't describe how great that feeling was," Mechals said. "It made all the hard work and sacrifice well well worth it."
Mechals was the 40th NCAA pitcher selected a year after being a 40th-round pick. Mechals returned to GCU for unfinished business even after sharing the national lead for wins entering the 2019 postseason.
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound pitcher improved, adding a curveball this year after incorporating a changeup last year. His continued success made him 12-2 at GCU with a 2.19 ERA and 118 strikeouts in 107 innings but it was his tenacity, off-field dedication and game savvy that also impressed Kazanas, a veteran scout who has been a lollipop-toting GCU Ballpark regular.
"His stuff was really ticking up and then the surgery occurred," White Sox scouting director Mike Shirley told MLB.com. "This guy has elite carry on his fastball and a really good breaking ball. His ability to pitch north and south will give him a chance."
White Sox personnel kept in contact with Mechals since his surgery and believed so strongly in him that the brass was willing to wait through his yearlong rehabilitation, especially with the minor league season in doubt.
"That was extremely humbling," Mechals said. "The reasons for picking me and him (Kazanas) sticking out his neck for me were awesome. I could tell he truly did his homework on me. I wasn't just a guy who had good stuff. He did his research on who I am as a person and what intangibles I can bring that aren't on the table."
Mechals called a tie on the tears shed among himself, his mother and his father once his named was announced.
Like their support of every difficult decision he made through the years, they were there Thursday even when his prospects appeared slim. But they always had done everything they could for his dream pursuit, from long drives to tournaments to finding the key to the high school field for late-night workouts.
"I'm an English teacher and it's hard to find words," Mechals' mother, Jody, said. "Exciting seems like such a mundane way to describe it but it was just amazing to see how hard he has worked actually come to fruition.
"When he was little, my sister asked what he was going to do when he grew up and he said, 'I'm going to be a professional baseball player.' She said, 'Well, OK, everybody says that but what do you really want to do?' He said, 'No, I'm going to be a professional baseball player.' He's done everything to make that happen."
His baseball home address still has Camelback Road, where the White Sox spring training facility is located 10 miles west of GCU.
"Exhilarating," Mechals' father, Kip, said. "A number of years ago, we had a pretty good idea that this could happen but you don't let yourself think about it too much. We're baseball fans. You don't want to jinx it. He knew what he wanted to do and he found a way to make it happen."
Mechals considers himself to be a small part of the achievement. He thinks about all the early mornings when GCU performance specialist Mike Henriques trained him on the road. He thinks about the mornings after games that Lopes athletic trainer Greg Spence spent with manual therapy and education about his arm.
Relentless positive coaching came from GCU head coach Andy Stankiewicz, assistant coach Gregg Wallis, current pitching coach Blake Hawksworth and previous pitching coach Rich Dorman.
"They did not accept anything but my best," Mechals said. "They mean the world to me and they stuck their necks out for me three years ago.
"I love this program. This is my home. I bleed purple. I love the school. I love all the friends I've made. I'm going to miss it but I'll be right down the street. I'm going to still show up to GCU games and support the school. I can't wait to see where GCU goes. It's got a huge, bright potential."
The same goes for Mechals.
He hails from a small Oregon town. He is shorter than the average pitcher. His fastball velocity is not superhuman.
Mechals' pro ambition persevered through Division II and junior college stops before grabbing the interest of a Division I program, Grand Canyon.
Just as his notoriety grew in his second season as GCU's ace, Mechals' third start ended early Feb. 28 at Stanford after he induced a ground out to open the fifth inning.
Ten weeks later, Mechals underwent Tommy John surgery to reconstruct his throwing elbow's ligament. On the same day, MLB announced it was shortening its draft from 40 rounds to five rounds.
"Gosh dang it, I'm out of the picture," Mechals said he thought.
This time, Mechals was not overlooked.When draft day came, Mechals was at a Phoenix-area home that his parents rented to visit him on the chance that an unrated prospect would be deemed among the nation's best.
With nervous energy building during Thursday's draft, Mechals went to a backyard putting green to release the tension when his phone rang during the fourth round.
"How would you like to be picked one-twelve in the fourth round for us?" Chicago White Sox regional amateur scout John Kazanas asked Mechals.
"Yes, absolutely," Mechals said before returning to watch the moment unfold with his parents, GCU teammates and friends.
Mechals thrust his arms into the air and hugged his parents as his other family — GCU baseball's Quin Cotton, Isaiah Overman, Frankie Scalzo and Tyler Wyatt — directed their phone cameras toward him.
"I can't describe how great that feeling was," Mechals said. "It made all the hard work and sacrifice well well worth it."
Mechals was the 40th NCAA pitcher selected a year after being a 40th-round pick. Mechals returned to GCU for unfinished business even after sharing the national lead for wins entering the 2019 postseason.
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound pitcher improved, adding a curveball this year after incorporating a changeup last year. His continued success made him 12-2 at GCU with a 2.19 ERA and 118 strikeouts in 107 innings but it was his tenacity, off-field dedication and game savvy that also impressed Kazanas, a veteran scout who has been a lollipop-toting GCU Ballpark regular.
"His stuff was really ticking up and then the surgery occurred," White Sox scouting director Mike Shirley told MLB.com. "This guy has elite carry on his fastball and a really good breaking ball. His ability to pitch north and south will give him a chance."
White Sox personnel kept in contact with Mechals since his surgery and believed so strongly in him that the brass was willing to wait through his yearlong rehabilitation, especially with the minor league season in doubt.
"That was extremely humbling," Mechals said. "The reasons for picking me and him (Kazanas) sticking out his neck for me were awesome. I could tell he truly did his homework on me. I wasn't just a guy who had good stuff. He did his research on who I am as a person and what intangibles I can bring that aren't on the table."
Mechals called a tie on the tears shed among himself, his mother and his father once his named was announced.
Like their support of every difficult decision he made through the years, they were there Thursday even when his prospects appeared slim. But they always had done everything they could for his dream pursuit, from long drives to tournaments to finding the key to the high school field for late-night workouts.
"I'm an English teacher and it's hard to find words," Mechals' mother, Jody, said. "Exciting seems like such a mundane way to describe it but it was just amazing to see how hard he has worked actually come to fruition.
"When he was little, my sister asked what he was going to do when he grew up and he said, 'I'm going to be a professional baseball player.' She said, 'Well, OK, everybody says that but what do you really want to do?' He said, 'No, I'm going to be a professional baseball player.' He's done everything to make that happen."
His baseball home address still has Camelback Road, where the White Sox spring training facility is located 10 miles west of GCU.
"Exhilarating," Mechals' father, Kip, said. "A number of years ago, we had a pretty good idea that this could happen but you don't let yourself think about it too much. We're baseball fans. You don't want to jinx it. He knew what he wanted to do and he found a way to make it happen."
Mechals considers himself to be a small part of the achievement. He thinks about all the early mornings when GCU performance specialist Mike Henriques trained him on the road. He thinks about the mornings after games that Lopes athletic trainer Greg Spence spent with manual therapy and education about his arm.
Relentless positive coaching came from GCU head coach Andy Stankiewicz, assistant coach Gregg Wallis, current pitching coach Blake Hawksworth and previous pitching coach Rich Dorman.
"They did not accept anything but my best," Mechals said. "They mean the world to me and they stuck their necks out for me three years ago.
"I love this program. This is my home. I bleed purple. I love the school. I love all the friends I've made. I'm going to miss it but I'll be right down the street. I'm going to still show up to GCU games and support the school. I can't wait to see where GCU goes. It's got a huge, bright potential."
The same goes for Mechals.
This is what it's all about. @GCU_Baseball pic.twitter.com/rIGljUWQnJ
— Quin Cotton (@TheQC_) June 12, 2020
GCU Baseball - WAC Tournament vs. Utah Tech - Highlights
Thursday, May 22
Baseball at Stanford - Barreras' game-winning double
Saturday, May 10
Baseball vs. Arizona (5/6/25) - Yorke homers twice to break record
Wednesday, May 07
GCU Baseball - Eli Paton walk-off single vs. UTA
Saturday, April 26