Andrew Sears makes MLB Debut with Detroit Tigers

Former Husky left-handed pitcher Andrew Sears made his MLB debut over the weekend for the Detroit Tigers, and made a bit of history in doing so. Sears joins George Springer, Kyler Fedko, Ben Casparius, PJ Poulin and Anthony Kay as UConn baseball alums who have appeared in a Major League Baseball game in 2026, the most players in an individual season in program history.

Sears, a West Warwick, Rhode Island, native, pitched the 2023 spring in Storrs after transferring over from Division III Rhode Island College. He made 14 starts for the Huskies and had 74 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched with a 6.24 ERA. His best outing as a Husky came on April 21, 2023 when he struck out 11 in seven innings against Georgetown. He was drafted in the 10th round of the 2023 MLB Draft by the Tigers.

The left-hander worked his way up through the minor leagues and pitched to a 2.16 ERA in 58.1 innings pitched across four levels in the Detroit system this season, a majority of which with Double-A Erie. In two appearances with Triple-A Toledo, Sears didn’t allow an earned run in 9.2 innings while punching out 14.

In his debut on Sunday, Sears came in in relief and served as the “bulk guy” for the afternoon in a bullpen game against the Kansas City Royals. He pitched four innings and allowed five runs on six hits while striking out three, getting credited with the loss in the 11-7 defeat.

Sears becomes the 22nd UConn player to debut in the majors, the second this season alone along with Fedko. He is also the first player during the new era of NIL and the transfer portal to transfer into UConn and get drafted, perhaps becoming the trailblazer into what will become the norm not just in the program, but what has become the norm in college athletics.