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Joe DeMers and Willie MacIver

Childhood Friends to College Teammates

By Washington Huskies

May 21^st, 2018

By Kimberlie Haner

Joe DeMers and Willie MacIver are lucky. Friends since the age of 7, the two juniors on the Washington baseball team have played together for the majority of their lives. They were on the same little league teams, school teams, travel ball teams and now they are wrapping up their third season as Huskies together.

The two were part of a group of four friends from the same area of California who all went on to play Division I baseball in the Pac-12. Trevor Larnach is currently playing at Oregon State and Jeffery Mitchell is on Cal’s team. And all four of them met playing little league baseball when they were 7 or 8 years old. Since that legendary team, they have been inseparable ever since. On the field or off the field, the four friends formed a bond that holds strong to this day.

“We always played some kind of sport, always competing,” MacIver said. “It’s like having more brothers. It’s a pretty cool relationship. It was us four, always doing everything together.”

It was hard to miss DeMers on the first day of little league practice. He was the biggest kid on the team, needing to wear MacIver’s dad’s t-shirt for the first few games because there was not a jersey that fit him. However, MacIver was not intimidated by DeMers’ size.

“We started playing catch together at the first practice,” MacIver said. “It was all history since then.”

Following that season, the four of them could not spend enough time together. After practice, they would go to one of their houses to play basketball, play football and ride bikes. When the sun went down, they went inside to play video games. It was always a competition for the future college athletes.

After attending different elementary schools, they all went to the same middle school and high school. Though they made new friends in high school, the four of them remained a core group of friends.

“It was still us four,” DeMers said. “We all knew each other and we all had the same goals.”

“Obviously we met new people and made new friends,” MacIver said. “But at the end of the day, we always stuck together.”

As the group continued playing baseball, they all caught the attention of college scouts. Of the four, DeMers was the first to get noticed. Partially because he started playing travel ball a year before the rest of the group. His coach introduced him to USA Baseball, which gave him more attention.

“I definitely got the exposure first, but the whole time I knew these guys could do it too,” DeMers said. “I knew it was just a matter of time.”

Because of their supportive and competitive friendship, DeMers hearing from college coaches only pushed the other three to work even harder. By the time they were all sophomores, they had all been recruited, though not all had made the decision by that point. They all pushed each other to be better.

“Seeing Joe and what he was doing made us want to work harder so we could get up to that level,” MacIver said. “I think it helped all of us get better and want to work and compete harder.”

Eventually, each of them started to make decisions. DeMers committed to UW as a sophomore and MacIver committed at the beginning of his junior year. Though they ended up in the same place, each of them had to get there on their own. DeMers has family connections to the Pacific Northwest. His dad’s family is from near Seattle and his mom is from the Portland area. Having a lot of family nearby was just part of what clinched his decision to pick the Huskies. In the end, it came down to a gut feeling.

“I visited almost every Pac-12 school and they were all cool,” DeMers said. “I didn’t have that gut feeling yet, and my mom told me to wait for that gut feeling. Sure enough, my last visit was to UW and after I met the coaches, I knew immediately I would go there. I couldn’t be more proud of my decision to come to UW.”

MacIver made his decision a year after DeMers, but his experience was similar. He came on an unofficial visit with Trevor and saw the construction on the new stadium, walked around campus and met the coaches and players. In the end, it came down to the people and a good feeling.

“The coaches made me feel really welcome and it was a really good atmosphere and culture,” MacIver said. “It made it that much easier that Joe was already going to UW. I was going to be able to go to school with Joe, who is like my brother. It was a pretty easy decision for me.”

DeMers was a little worried that MacIver was making a decision based on having a friend at the school, but that was not the case. That is a bonus, but ultimately, MacIver made the decision based on the best fit for him.

The two of them have fun being at Washington together. Despite being at different schools than the other half of their crew, the four of them are still close. They pick each other’s brains about baseball, catch up on life and maintain those powerful friendships.

“It’s really special to see everyone do their thing and succeed,” DeMers said.

MacIver has had a front row seat to all of the great pitching moments of DeMers’ career. Perhaps a sign of things to come, DeMers threw a perfect season on that first little league team. He was allowed to throw for just 4 innings in a game, but he never gave up a baserunner all season.

In high school, DeMers threw a no-hitter in one game, a perfect game in the next start and a no-hitter in the start after that. To MacIver, that is just Joe.

“He’s ridiculous,” MacIver said. “He could go and hit two homers in the same game. That’s just Joe.”

Of course, MacIver was in the dugout when DeMers threw the first perfect game in Washington baseball history this season. Though MacIver was injured and unable to play at the time, he could not have been happier for his best friend.

“It was fun. I was rooting for him the whole time,” MacIver said. “Of course I wish I was playing behind him, but there’s not time to feel bad for yourself when you’re rooting on your buddy who’s throwing a perfect game. It’s such a cool experience to be there in the first place. I had a great time.”

Looking ahead, both of them are hoping to have the opportunity to play professionally following their college careers.

“We are thinking we will probably be drafted by the same team based on how it has gone so far,” MacIver said.

“Just have to keep it going,” DeMers added.

No matter where they end up, the two of them along with the other half of their group will keep in touch. They will continue to compete. It’s nothing their friendship can’t handle.

Footnotes

When DeMers threw out the first at the Seattle Mariners game on May 2, he was allowed three guest to join him. He chose his parents and his best friend, MacIver.

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FootNotes

When DeMers threw out the first at the Seattle Mariners game on May 2, he was allowed three guest to join him. He chose his parents and his best friend, MacIver.

WSOC: Stoppage Time

Joe DeMers and Willie MacIver

Childhood Friends to College Teammates

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