For Lenoir-Rhyne centerfielder Mackenzie Wainwright, there aren’t many things in the world of baseball that come as a surprise. The 23-year-old has already heard his name called in the MLB Draft. He once took batting practice at Fenway Park. When he was 18, he faced 100 MPH splitters from three-time All-Star Emmanuel Clase. So, when the reigning ABCA (American Baseball Coaches Association) All-American learned he was the only Division II player named to last week’s Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watchlist, he took the moment in stride.
“It was something that I was ready for. I texted my coach earlier this month before our season started, and I said, ‘I want to be the best and I want to have a chance to go win the Golden Spikes [Award].’”
While that might sound bold to those unfamiliar with Lenoir-Rhyne baseball, one look at last season’s stat sheet suggests otherwise. His .437/.506/.845 line from the leadoff spot helped transform a 30-win team in 2024 into a 50-win national contender in 2025. He smashed the NCAA Division II single-season record with 121 hits and racked up 25 homers and 81 RBIs. With a similar showing in 2026, Wainwright could become the first DII player in history to win the Golden Spikes Award.
“Last year was a blessing,” he says. “It came out of nowhere. Honestly, I knew I had the ability to do that, but just seeing myself do everything I did last year -- I was in awe.”
The watchlist is just the latest stop on what has been a winding journey through the baseball world for Wainwright. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound slugger hails from Aurora, Ohio, where his father (a former player at Kent State) used to coach at the high school level. He grew up attending his dad’s baseball practices, where he soaked up knowledge and competed against older players. By the time his turn to play high school ball came around, he was primed and ready, and he exploded onto the Cleveland prep baseball scene. His impressive combination of speed and power attracted the attention of college and MLB scouts, and Wainwright committed to play for Ohio State.
The journey soon took a detour, however. After turning pro when his home-state Cincinnati Reds drafted him in the 4th round of the 2020 MLB Draft, he was released by the organization in 2023. Due to NCAA rules preventing former professionals from playing at the Division I level, he settled in at Division II Salem University in West Virginia for the 2024 season. It was an unexpected turn for the former blue-chip prospect, and Wainwright credits his family for maintaining belief in him.
“My dad has probably done some of the most amazing things you could ask for a father when it comes to baseball,” he says. “But the one thing my dad has never done was give up on his own kid.”
The belief paid off, as Wainwright wasted no time in starting his climb back to the top. In just one season in Salem, he slashed a ridiculous .439/.567/.871, with 16 homers and 18 stolen bases in just 48 games. Eager to prove himself further, he aimed his attention at the Southern Region of Division II, widely considered to be its most competitive. He found a home in Hickory, North Carolina, with the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears, who were looking to take a step forward in 2025.
“When I got out here, I knew there was no playing around,” he says. “I came out here for one reason, and that was to play baseball.”
It’s hard to imagine a player doing more for his team than Wainwright did in 2025. He electrified the lineup immediately, putting up 43 multi-hit games and seven multi-homer performances. He started all 65 games for the Bears and failed to reach base in only one. His 234 total bases and 1.351 OPS shattered school records, leading Lenoir-Rhyne to its best offensive season in school history.
According to Wainwright, there’s a simple explanation for his offensive prowess:
“I take hours and hours to perfect the swing,” he says. “With me being as hungry as I am with the second opportunity, knowing that I can't let it go, that's something that I want to make everybody know -- that I'm good enough to hit at any level of baseball."
The swift centerfielder can impact the game on the basepaths as well. He stole 23 bases in 25 attempts last year and broke another school record with 102 runs (third all-time for DII). In the words of his coach Adam Skonieczki, “Mac runs the bases like a bat -- you have to stop him.”
Wainwright never stopped hitting and running last season, and the Bears rode his performance all the way to the DII Baseball Championship in Cary, North Carolina. Playing at the USA Baseball National Training Complex, he went 11-for-23 in four games, scoring seven runs and driving in five. Lenoir-Rhyne fell short in the semifinals against Central Missouri, but not before Wainwright claimed the DII hits record with a 4-for-6 performance.
“I'm not a guy that really looks at the numbers honestly,” he says. “I didn't really know until the second to last game of our season that I had a chance to break the record. When my coach told me, I was like, ‘Well, I guess the only thing to do is go break it.’”
“Breaking the record books [in Cary] was amazing. But, you know, all in all, we fell short of our end goal, which was to win the national championship. And so this year, that brings me back here with more on our mind, to go and win a national championship.”
Wainwright has other goals too. In addition to winning the Golden Spikes Award, he hopes to return to the pro level and prove he can play with the best. For now, he will focus on leading the Bears, who are off to a 6-1 start to the 2026 campaign. True to form, Wainwright has collected a hit in each game.
“It doesn't matter what level of baseball you're at,” he says. “If you're the best, you're the best, and that's what I'm here to show.”
He’s been in the baseball spotlight before. After a long journey back, Mackenzie Wainwright is determined to prove he’s here to stay.
