The 2021 Oregon baseball season ended in heartbreak. The Ducks lost on their home turf, having to watch the LSU Tigers celebrate in front of a passionate Eugene crowd. Rubbing salt in the wound, they lost several key players such as Kenyon Yovan, Gabe Matthews, Aaron Zavala, Robert Ahlstrom and Cullen Kafka.
But all hope is not lost.
Once considered a lesser sport at a school known for its athletic reputation, the Oregon baseball program is rapidly accelerating in an encouraging direction. After the team hosted its first regional since 2013 and inked its head coach Mark Wasikowski to a five-year extension, the school is beginning to attract more of the nation’s top recruits and transfers.
One of the newest additions to the sudden drove of talent flocking its way to Oregon is Adam Maier. Ranked by Baseball America as the No. 2 transfer in the nation after a strong showing in the Cape Cod League, the 19-year-old looks to fill the pitching void left by Ahlstrom, Kafka and Brett Walker.
A six-foot tall right-handed pitcher, Maier is from North Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. He started his collegiate career at the University of British Columbia. He was successful as a freshman in limited 2020 action, posting a 2.84 ERA in 19 innings.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Little did Maier know it would be another 15 months until he played in a competitive baseball game. Due to health and safety precautions in Canada, the entire 2021 baseball season was canceled.
“It was pretty frustrating not being able to play, but I think I used my time really wisely and just kept working on getting better every day,” Maier said. “I had a pretty good attitude toward staying strong in the gym every day and trying to develop my different pitches — get a little more velocity, a little more movement.”
With the team unable to play a competitive baseball season, UBC head coach Chris Pritchett helped his players find teams to play with outside of Canada. Maier eventually landed on the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod League.
After 15 grueling months, Maier said it was relieving to finally get to play again.
“I remember the first game I was definitely a little bit nervous,” Maier said. “Because one, not playing, and two, playing in the pretty prestige league in Cape Cod, I was definitely a little bit nervous, but I think I settled in midway through the year.”
Maier pitched six games (five starts) in the Cape, coming away with an 0-2 record and 4.56 ERA. More significant than the stats, though, Maier impressed scouts with his velocity and sweeping slider. He reached as high as 96 mph with his fastball, and his high-spin slider had a 45% called plus swinging strike percentage — considered an elite mark.
Coming from a three-quarters arm slot, his fastball sits in the low 90s. His slider generates swings and misses, sitting in the low 80’s and spinning at 2900 revolutions per minute (another elite figure).
On July 24, Maier set a Yarmouth-Dennis record with 12 strikeouts in a game. He also induced 21 swings and misses.
“That might be one of the best games I’ve had in the last five years thrown up here,” Yarmouth-Dennis manager Scott Pickler told The Athletic. “[Maier] finally put it all together.”
Maier describes his fastball and slider as his “bread and butter,” with his slider being his main out pitch. But he also attributes a substantial aspect of his progression to a third pitch that he’s begun to mix in — his changeup.
“That was probably my biggest improvement over the past year,” Maier said of his changeup, which sits at 84-87 mph. “I feel like that pitch has kind of taken me to the next level… Having that changeup to kill hitters off balance is definitely big.”
Maier’s breakout performance in the Cape shot him high up the radar of national scouts. Former White Sox consultant Nathaniel Plotts called his slider “the best breaking ball in the 2022 draft.” Baseball America ranked him as the No. 9 prospect in the entire Cape Cod League, and the offers from Division 1 schools started rolling in.
“I thought it would be the best decision for me and my career,” Maier said of his decision to transfer. “I always wanted to play Division 1 baseball, and I thought that Oregon was a good fit.”
An eight-hour drive from home, Maier chose Oregon with the desire to play at a Pac-12 school and because of pitching coach Jake Angier’s reputation with his pitchers, as he told Prospects Live. He said it’s been a remarkably easy transition for him, highlighted by the team camaraderie and work ethic.
Now, Maier joins a squad looking to establish itself as one of the top baseball teams in the country.
“I think we’re going to be capable of doing some pretty great things this year,” Maier said. “We got a really good squad. Through the fall, watching different guys compete, not even just at practice but day-to-day in the weight room, and with their diets and everything like that, we’ve got a pretty good atmosphere. That was definitely something I wanted to be a part of.”
Last season, the Ducks could rely on their ace Ahlstrom to bring forward a strong effort every Friday night. With Ahlstrom moving on to professional baseball in the New York Yankees organization, Maier is a candidate to fill that hole.
“I would love to be that guy,” he said. “So do a number of other pitchers on the team. It’s kind of a unique scenario; we’re all competing for that job, ultimately.”
With his prospect stock rising and a chance at his first full collegiate season, everything seems to be on the upswing for Maier. But he’s simply focusing on working hard and getting better, he said, with confidence that the results will come.
“I don’t really like to set goals like ‘I want to have ‘X ERA’ or this many strikeouts,” Maier said. “I just think if I work hard and I’m executing pitches, then everything will take care of itself. I just gotta be me, and I know that the rest will unfold the way it should.”
As a young, rising prospect bringing his skills to Eugene, Maier represents the next wave of Oregon baseball talent. While last year’s group came up just short, there’s no limit to what this batch of players believe they can accomplish.
“We have a phenomenal group of guys, and we get along really well,” he said. “Hopefully we can go to Omaha and win the whole thing.”
