California Baptist University’s baseball has a history of having players drafted, and out of the 35 players that have been drafted over the course of 38 years, Tyson Miller is the second Lancer to debut in Major League Baseball.
Miller was drafted in 2016 by the Chicago Cubs and spent his first professional season in minor league teams such as the Arizona League Cubs and Eugene Emeralds. He moved from one minor league team to another until he got promoted to the MLB.
His MLB debut was with the Chicago Cubs Aug. 17 against the St. Louis Cardinals. He pitched two innings and gave up two runs in his first game as a Cub.
Miller was a communication studies major who played as a right-handed pitcher for the men’s baseball team. As a Lancer, Miller played for three years before he got drafted.
Gary Adcock, head coach of men’s baseball, said Miller was a phenomenal player during his time at CBU.
Contributing to the team as early as his freshman year, Adcock said he later developed into a team leader that everyone respected.
“Tyson showed an ability early on to grasp our concepts and what we believed in as a pitching staff,” Adcock said. “He was a sponge, soaked it all up, and had instant success. In professional ball, he has become better at understanding his own mechanics and pitch development and take a stronger role in his own development.”
Matt Amrhein, senior business administration major and right-hand pitcher, said Miller has confidence that sets him aside from the other players.
“I saw him play before I committed to CBU. I went to a bunch of games my senior year (of high school),” Amrhein said. “When he was on the mound you knew he meant business and that it was going to be a fun game to watch.”
Miller has lived up to one of the phrases that the baseball team holds: “Make them know.”
“Being able to hear them say Tyson’s name and say he’s from CBU really puts CBU on the map,” Amrhein said. “I met Tyson probably my freshman year and he was such a nice guy, it really made me root for him to make it to the show (MLB).”
CJ Masciel, sophomore undeclared major and infield, said Miller’s accomplishments give him something to strive for and learn from.
“We as a team hear stories of guys that once played in the team and how hard they work. That sets a model to strive for,” Masciel said.
He said from learning and watching Miller and see how much he has accomplished tells him that to get to Miller’s level of play, he has to have an advanced level of work ethic and knowledge of the game.
Miller still comes back to work out at CBU in off seasons and interact with current student athletes.
