Through May 14, Alex McKenna has started all 50 games as Cal Poly’s center fielder this season as a sophomore. He leads the team with his .362 batting average and also is No. 1 in hits (76), home runs (5) and stolen bases (12) and has not committed an error in 131 chances this season. McKenna also leads the squad with 26 multiple-hit games, has hit .407 over his last 25 games with 16 multiple-hit contests and went 8-for-15 in Hawaii series, 7-for-16 in Cal State Fullerton series, 5-for-13 against UCLA and 5-for-14 at Long Beach State.
In 2016 McKenna was a .261 hitter with six doubles, two triples and a team-leading six home runs as a true freshman. He played in 45 games with 40 starts in center field, three in left field and two as designated hitter. He missed 12 games in late April and early May due to leg injury. McKenna was named to Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American Team by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. He was hitting .400 after first nine games of collegiate career before falling back. McKenna was the leadoff hitter in 40 of his 45 games. He went 6-for-12 in four-game Pacific series with five RBI en route to Big West Field Player of the Week honors. He was 8-for-14 with five RBI in San Jose State series and 5-for-13 in UC Irvine series. McKenna had 13 multiple-hit games, including four-hit game against San Jose State on April 3 and five three-hit contests, six multiple-RBI contests. He knocked in five runs against UC Irvine on May 13. He had a six-game hitting streak from March 25 through April 3, going 11-for-28 (.393) with six RBI. McKenna had three errors in 91 chances in the outfield. He played summer ball for Eau Claire Express in Northwoods League. He was selected to play in Major League Dreams Showcase and hit .269 with six doubles, two triples and eight home runs, knocking in 32 runs and stole 20 of 21 bases.
In High School, McKenna hit .402 as a senior under head coach Randy Thompson at Alemany High School in Mission Hills, the same school that produced recent Mustang shortstop Peter Van Gansen. He had seven doubles, two triples, three home runs and 15 RBI with a .541 on-base percentage and .646 slugging percentage. He stole eight of 11 bases. Alemany was 18-11 in 2015, finishing second in Mission League and qualifying for CIF-Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. McKenna earned first-team All-Mission League, second-team all-state and Max Preps and third-team All-USA honors. He played in the CIF vs. City All-Star Game. He was drafted by Minnesota Twins in 38th round in June 2015. He hit .320 with four doubles, four triples and three home runs as a junior and knocked in 22 runs and stole 10 bases. Alemany was 20-8-2 in 2014, finishing third in the Mission League and qualifying for the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. McKenna named to the All-Mission League second team and was invited to USA Baseball 17-Under National Team Development Program. He was also was invited to the USA Tournament of Stars. McKenna also lettered in football as a freshman and sophomore and basketball as a freshman. He was a four-time All-Mission League Scholar-Athlete, and was also recruited by UNLV, UC Santa Barbara, Long Beach State, California, Duke and CSUN, McKenna chose Cal Poly because “it truly felt like home when I set foot on campus. I believe that Coach Lee and the coaching staff will develop me further. I love the area, the academics and we have an excellent chance to get to Omaha.”
Personal, Son of Joseph and Myrna McKenna, one sister, Erica, enjoys hanging with friends and family aspires to play in the Major Leagues born September 6, 1997, in Lancaster, Calif. majoring in communication studies.
