This Major League Baseball season, students can see East Meck alumni Luke Little playing for the Chicago Cubs. His debut marks the first time an East Meck athlete has reached any major level of sporting competition.
Little began playing baseball at the young age of four, with his brother Olen being his main inspiration.
Freshman year, Little found himself on the Junior Varsity team. However, because of his incredible performance, Little was promoted to Varsity mid-way through the season, where he would remain for the remainder of his high school tenure.
During his time at East, Little began to garner recognition for his incredible talent.
“Luke would rely on his raw talent more than anything else; he wouldn’t try throwing 101% every pitch, but rather use finesse to get batters out. It just so happened that his finesse and talent was incredible,” Eck Little, former athletic director, said.
Little was a staple piece on the Varsity baseball team throughout his time at East, even being rated on the premier amateur player ranking website, Perfect game, as the #2 left-handed pitcher and #10 overall player in North Carolina during his senior year.
After graduating, Little was drafted in the fourth round of the
2020 draft with the 16th selection, coming from San Jacinto College, a Junior College located in Houston, Texas. Following the draft, Little broke social media with a video of him throwing a bullpen session (throwing to a catcher with no batter), topping out at 105 mph. The video blew up recieving 2.7 million views, with hype building around him as his minor league journey began.
Following his draft, Little began his career in the minor leagues for the Cubs. Beginning in Rookie Ball (the league before minor leagues) in 2021, Little amassed an earned run average (ERA) of 4.91, meaning he typically allowed four runs per game, however, the sample size was only 11 innings pitched. Outside of his ERA, he amassed 19 strikeouts, which is good enough for a high strikout to nine innings ration of 15.5.
Following his stinit in rookie ball, Little would appear in both A (associated baseball) and high A ball (one level above A ball, but below Double A associated baseball). Throughout the 2022 season, Little complied a 2.47 ERA, over a much larger sample size of 65.2 innings pitched. He also amassed 101 strikeouts, good enough for 13.8 strikeout per nine innings pitched, whihc is incredibly strong for any sort of pitcher, regardless of usage.
After 2022, Little would reach the major leagues. During said debut, Little pitched on inning, allowing only one hit and striking out two San Francisco Giants. For the remainder of the 2023 season, Little pitched 6.2 innings, striking out 12 batters, with no runs scored.
Durings his 2024 campaign, Little hovered between Triple-A and the majors for the majority of the season, until a “lat strain,” an overstretching of a muscle in one’s back requiring surgery to repair, would prematurely end his season. Now, Little is still in Triple-A (as of May 5. 2025), but according to insiders within the organization, is rumored to be a part of the major league roster throughout the remainder of the season.
In all, Little’s ambition and pure talent serve as a shining example of what is possible during any athlete’s tenure at East. One day, there may be more athletes to join Little’s place as famous East alumni to make it to any form of professional sport, but Little will always be rembered first.
