The 24-year-old will become Tampa Bay’s youngest Opening Day starting pitcher since 2007.
Courtesy of MLB
By Max Steele
University of South Florida alumnus, Shane McClanahan, will take the mound as the Tampa Bay Rays’ starting pitcher for the first game of the season against the Baltimore Orioles.
“It means a lot,” McClanahan said in an interview with Major League Baseball (MLB). “It really is a big honor.”
On April 8, the 24-year-old will become Tampa Bay’s youngest Opening Day starter since 2007 and fifth pitcher drafted by the Rays to start for the team.
McClanahan joined the Ray’s World-Series-bound roster during the 2020 postseason, making his MLB debut against the New York Yankees in the American League Divisional Series (ALDS) and becoming the first pitcher in the history of the league to ever debut in the playoffs.
A season later, McClanahan recorded a 10-6 record with a 3.43 earned run average (ERA) and 141 strikeouts, finding himself at the top of Tampa Bay’s pitching rotation in the 2021 ALDS against the Boston Red Sox.
“I knew if I came in and worked my butt off and hopefully did the right things, maybe something good would happen,” McClanahan said after finding out he got the Opening Day start via Twitter.
“[McClanahan] is very deserving,” head coach Kevin Cash said told MLB reporters. “We don’t get where we got [last season] and finish the way we finished if it wasn’t for him really stepping up after Tyler Glasnow’s injury and fulfilling a major role on our team.
McClanahan’s baseball career began at Florida’s Cape Coral High School, where he went 29-7 with 187 strikeouts and 1.02 ERA, drawing attraction from Major League scouts.
After being drafted by the New York Mets in the 2015 MLB Draft, McClanahan declined the offer and decided to play college baseball with the Bulls.
During his two seasons at USF, the pitcher racked up 224 strikeouts in 29 starts. With 31.2 consecutive innings, McClanahan holds the longest streak in program history without allowing an earned run.
He also pitched in USF’s first combined no-hitter and is the second Bull to strike out over 100 batters in back-to-back seasons.
McClanahan was drafted by the Rays with the 31st pick in the first round of the 2018 Draft, the third-highest drafted player in USF history.
“You get what you work for,” McClanahan told The Tampa Bay Times. “I’ve had this mindset my entire life. I’m just starting to find out what I’m capable of. There’s a lot more to go.”
