It’s tough to find a nicer kid than Ezra McNaughton. The BYU slugger is a returned missionary who practices what he preaches. But when he steps into the left side of the batter’s box, the 5-11, 200-pound workhorse becomes a bully – a kind-hearted, softspoken bully who likes to hit.
“I’m not trying to hit a home run,” said the sophomore from Mesa, Arizona. “I just want to put the bat on the ball and move it forward.”
More specifically, McNaughton takes aim at one target.
“He tries to hit a line drive off the pitcher every time, no matter what pitch is being thrown,” said BYU pitching coach Brycen Campbell. “In his head, he’s thinking ‘line drive off the pitcher.”
Hitting a line drive is easier said than done. It requires balance and rhythm.
“That’s the biggest thing with hitting,” McNaughton said. “If you are not on time, it doesn’t matter how good your swing is.”
The key ingredient for a hitter to find his balance and rhythm is time and repetition and that is something McNaughton didn’t get much of during his freshman season. However, a few months in Greenville, Tennessee, in the Appalachian Summer League worked wonders to, as he said, “get in the groove of baseball.”
He’s been grooving ever since.
McNaughton leads the Cougars (25-25, 13-14) in batting average (.346), hits (72), home runs (14), doubles (14), runs batted in (48) and he has done it with the fewest strikeouts (32) of any other starter in the lineup.
“He does such a good job of staying on top of the baseball. Hitting line drives to the short stop and opposite field builds his confidence,” Campbell said. “It helps him stay on more pitches. He’s on fastballs that are up but he can adjust to breaking balls that are low. He’s more a hitter, not just a straight power hitter.”
Family ties
For the McNaughton’s, hitting is in the blood. Ezra’s father, Troy, played for the Cougars (1994-95, 1998) before getting drafted by the Cardinals. Sean McNaughton, Ezra’s uncle, starred at BYU (2005, 2008-2010) and was drafted by the Cubs.
“We love hitting. We spent so much time in the batting cage growing up. It’s fun to us. It’s not work,” Troy McNaughton said. “We are thick and strong. We’ve been blessed with some pop. I saw it early on from Ezra. He was always a thick kid growing up. He’s not huge or tall, but he spends his time eating right and lifting weights and that power has come consistently for him.”
Troy hit 27 career home runs at BYU with 39 doubles and 132 runs-batted-in. Sean drove in 188 runs on 54 homers, 67 doubles and 13 triples.
“It might be genetics,” Sean McNaughton said. “We all have good power. (Ezra) has a good natural swing. I think he grew up knowing that if you hit the ball hard it’s going to go somewhere.”
Ezra also grew up knowing that discipline at the plate is the offspring of a disciplined life — both on and off the field. Troy and Sean both served missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and nothing was going to keep Ezra from following in their footsteps.
Return and report
Accepting a mission right out of high school put Ezra McNaughton’s baseball development at BYU on hold.
“It was just putting my priorities straight in life,” McNaughton said. “It’s easy in this world, people just put monetary and material things before God. I think taking two years and putting everything aside to serve God gives you a better perspective. It’s a sacrifice. Sacrifice brings blessings and I’ve seen that since coming back. I’m glad I did it.”
The long afternoons of teaching lessons and mastering Spanish on the north side of Las Vegas ended on July 9, 2024. McNaughton caught a quick flight home to Phoenix where his family had a surprise waiting for him in the form of an indoor batting cage.
“When we got home, instead of going into the house, he went into the practice facility and started hitting,” Troy said. “Within his first five swings, his bat exit velocity was at 107. I was surprised.”
For McNaughton, with enhanced discipline and confidence, it was go-time.
“Before my mission I heard people say how hard it was coming back — hard to get back in the swing of things, but for me, I loved my mission and being able to focus all my energy on baseball the moment I got home made it an easy transition,” he said. “The aspect of having discipline and working hard, knowing that you can do way more than you think you can, definitely helps with baseball and school right now, which is tough to manage.”
Campbell wasn’t at BYU and didn’t know McNaughton prior to his mission, but immediately upon his return, Trent Pratt’s hitting coach recognized a determination and discipline that can make a player great.
“You are not going to get a lot of words out of the kid. He’s extremely quiet, but there is a self-confidence in him that when he’s at his best, he thinks he is better than anyone,” Campbell said. “He’s diligent. Nothing changes. He shows up and does the exact same thing every day. He drinks the same energy drink. It’s hard to tell if he’s having a good day or a bad day because he’s always the same.”
Bench warmer
McNaughton arrived at BYU in the fall of 2024 ready to rock the place like Troy and Sean had done years before. However, when his freshman season began in late February, he found himself in an unfamiliar place — the bench.
“All my life, I had never sat the bench,” Ezra said. “I was always the best player on my team. It was a humbling experience.”
Mostly relegated to pinch hitting, McNaughton delivered just five hits in 37 at-bats.
“It makes me feel for the other guys in that spot. It’s tough,” he said. “You don’t know when the opportunities will come and when they do, you feel like you have to go out and perform in that moment.”
With star Cooper Vest playing first base and with a solidified outfield, McNaughton could only watch and wait. BYU struggled to a 28-27 season and qualified for the Big 12 Tournament on the final Saturday of the regular season.
“I think it always helps when you feel like you have something to prove. You want to go out there and let people know how good you are,” Sean McNaughton said. “I think him not playing as much, he’s thinking ‘This is my year. I’m going to prove myself.’ I think that helps mentally to say, ‘I’m going to go work harder and take advantage of the time I’ve been given.”
So far in 2026, McNaughton has started all 48 games and, in addition to having over 200 at-bats and leading nearly every offensive statistic, BYU has more overall wins (25), more Big 12 wins (13), more Big 12 series wins (4) and the Cougars have already clinched a spot in next week’s Big 12 Tournament.
“I think he’s just starting to scratch the surface,” Campbell said. “His strength is he is so good in his routine. He’s just going to keep getting better and better.”
Going deep
In the McNaughton family home run race, Sean has the lead (54), Troy is next (27) and Ezra (13) is just getting started. All three share similar firepower and appreciation for belting one out of Miller Park.
“That feeling — you know right when you hit it that’s gone. There is nothing better,” said Troy, who hit 22 home runs in 1988. “There are a lot of things more meaningful, like family and faith, but in a game situation, nothing is better.”
Sean delivered double-digit home runs in all four of his seasons.
“There is no better feeling than hitting a home run in front of the home fans,” he said. “Growing up as a Cougar fan your whole life and getting an opportunity to hit a home run there, you just want to do it all the time. I wish I could get out there and do it again.”
With their glory years behind them, Troy and Sean come to the ballpark eager to see what Ezra is going to do, including on Tuesday when BYU hosts Utah Valley (6 p.m., ESPN+).
“Just hitting a home run is pretty good, but Miller Park adds to it for sure with the green trees in the outfield, the Y up on the mountain, fans going crazy, it’s pretty special,” Ezra McNaughton said. “The adrenaline rounding the bases, the joy you feel seeing your teammates waiting to celebrate at home plate. It’s amazing every time. It never gets old. I would do it every time If I could.”
Time will tell if McNaughton surpasses his predecessors in the family home run race. For now, the nicest bully in the ballpark is preparing to lead his Cougars into the postseason and if it takes hitting a few home runs to keep them there, McNaughton knows he has the swing to do it.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.
