The 2025 season opened Thursday for Major League Baseball, with 28 of the 30 teams slated to play.
That includes the Cleveland Guardians and Oakland Athletics.
Why are those two particular teams notable? Each has a former BYU Cougar on its 26-man roster.
Former BYU teammates Daniel Schneemann and Justin Sterner each locked up an MLB roster spot entering the 2025 season — Schneemann with the Guardians and Sterner with the Athletics.
For Schneemann, who played three seasons at BYU, from 2016-18, this season marks his second straight year with the Guardians, after five seasons spent playing in the Cleveland farm system.
Last year, Schneemann appeared in 73 games for Cleveland. He hit .218 with 17 extra-base hits and 22 RBI. He also made some irregular history. Schneemann played six defensive positions for the Guardians in his first six games after being called up to the Big Leagues, becoming the first MLB player to do so since 1906.
For Sterner, 2025 marks his first season with the A’s. In 2024, Sterner made his MLB debut with the Tampa Bay Rays, and ultimately appeared in four games over which he recorded four strikeouts and had a 2.25 ERA.
Before his time with the Rays, Sterner spent time the Miami Marlins farm system.
Sterner played at BYU from 2018-20, overlapping with Schneemann during the 2018 season.
Both Cougars had their moments in Provo.
In three seasons at BYU, Schneemann appeared in 140 games, hitting .291 with 31 extra-base hits and 76 RBI, while earning 2017 WCC Defensive Player of the Year honors for his play at shortstop.
Sterner made 27 appearances — 17 starts — in his BYU career, finishing with an 8-3 record. He recorded a career 2.86 ERA with 103 strikeouts in 100.2 innings at BYU.
Schneemann and Sterner are the 26th and 27th BYU players to crack into Major League Baseball all-time.
