Leading up to the 2022 Arizona high school 6A state baseball championship game, Brody Sexton was eager to face former Little League teammate Kole Klecker.
“When I found out Kole was pitching that game, I was like, this is the matchup I want,” Sexton said.
Nearly four years after facing each other in that game, Klecker and Sexton are set to meet again, this time at the Division I level when Klecker’s Arizona State Sun Devils host Sexton’s Omaha Mavericks in a three-game series this weekend at Phoenix Municipal Stadium to kick off both teams’ college baseball seasons.
“We pretty much grew up together,” Sexton said.
They had success together as well. Their Chandler Little League team made it to the West Regional tournament after winning the Arizona District championship.
When high school started, they went in different directions, only to meet again in the state championship with Klecker pitching for Hamilton High and Sexton catching for Chandler High, while also playing the infield.
Klecker pitched a complete game and also tripled to seal the 11-1 victory and cement his legacy as one of the better high school pitchers in the country.
Even though Klecker and Hamilton ended up as the victors in that battle of next-door neighbors, Sexton was proud of his team’s season.
“It was huge for the Chandler High program,” he said. “It was a while before we made it back to that state championship.”
Although they haven’t spoken to each other about the upcoming matchup, both said they are excited to play each other and are happy to see each other succeeding.
“That’s obviously exciting, being able to connect with someone you played with growing up and just sharing those memories, like Little League,” Klecker said. “t’s very cool to see.”
Sexton said he hopes he gets to face Klecker again at some point over opening weekend, adding, “When I know the pitcher personally, it adds a little bit more fuel to my fire.”
Sexton had a decorated high school career, making the 2022 6A all-state team. He went on to play at Iowa Western Community College (IWCC) before transferring to Grand Canyon and ultimately landing at the University of Nebraska Omaha.
Before Sexton transferred to Omaha, several former teammates who were on the team spoke highly of the program, helping to shape his decision.
IWCC is just a 20-minute drive from Omaha, and when Sexton went on his visit, he knew it was the place for him to finish his collegiate career.
“I wanted a place where I could go back to where I started,” said Sexton. “Omaha is one of those places that always brings me back for some reason.”
Even though this won’t be a home game for Omaha, Sexton said that he will have lots of support from his friends and family at Phoenix Municipal Stadium and that playing in front of his family is huge for him.
Arizona State recruited Klecker hard, but he ended up committing to TCU where he was a key piece as a freshman to a team that made a deep run in the College World Series.
Klecker started the first game of the College World Series and threw five strong innings, only allowing one run.
“That was a great moment, to watch a kid a year ago winning high school games, and now he’s on the mound starting in Omaha,” said Mike Woods, Klecker’s high school coach. “That was pretty special.”
After three years at TCU, Klecker entered the transfer portal and was rated as one of the better pitchers available, eventually landing back home at ASU.
Klecker said that when he decided to transfer to ASU, coach Willie Bloomquist told him he had been waiting four years for this call.
“I’m super glad I made this decision, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” Klecker said.
Klecker is expected to make his first start of the season on Tuesday against UConn and will be a key pitcher for the Sun Devils this season.
Heading into opening weekend, Bloomquist said this is the first year he’s had the luxury of multiple starting options, but “arguably, the guy who has thrown the best this fall has been Klecker.”
Having Klecker as the fourth starter on the team when he was one of the highest-rated incoming transfers in the Big 12 shows that Arizona State has some pitching depth this season, headlined by left-handed flamethrower Cole Carlon.
“Our staff is unbelievable here,” Carlon said. “You guys are going to see that with every arm that we roll out.”
The Saturday and Sunday games will begin at 1:05 p.m.
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