College Athlete Raises Baby Around Team After Becoming a Father at 19 (Exclusive)

Chaz McNelis’ collegiate career took an unexpected turn when he became a dad during his sophomore year, now balancing school, athletics and fatherhood.

The 20-year-old grew up in Las Vegas and attended the College of Southern Nevada, where he played baseball. It was there that he found out he was going to be a parent.

His now-11-month-old son, whom he refers to as “Baby G,” mostly lives with his mother in Las Vegas, where McNelis’ family also lives, and helps take care of Baby G when they can, since he transferred to the University of Arizona to play baseball and get a degree in interdisciplinary studies.

“I definitely have a lot of support, a lot of family support, a lot of teammate support, a lot of coaching support,” the junior outfielder tells PEOPLE.

Baby G comes to spend time with McNelis every other week or weekend, usually staying for the entire week.

“My main priority is to see him as much as possible,” McNelis shares. 

“He stays for about a week at a time, and when he needs to nap, when I’m doing baseball practice, my mom will watch at my apartment down here,” he says. “Sometimes I’ll also bring him to the field and my teammates will hold him, feed him and play around with him, my coaches too.” 

When he’s at school, Baby G joins baseball practice and has meals with the team, even practicing his skills by throwing eggs in the dining hall. 

“Everyone down there loves him, and they help me out a lot. I definitely can’t do it by myself, but I have a lot of support,” McNelis shares. 

At first, only a few of his teammates knew he had a child, and McNelis admits that those who didn’t were “thrown off” after learning about Baby G. But “when they met him, they immediately fell in love,” he says.

“Now they’ll feed him, they’ll carry him around, and interact with him,” he says. “Obviously, he can’t talk yet, but he’ll babble and they’ll babble back and forth, throwing balls, trying to teach him how to play catch.”

“He is starting to throw the ball. We put the bat in his hands, and he’ll grab it. My teammates love him, too,” he adds.

Although juggling fatherhood and his studies is a lot of work, McNelis says there is nothing better than coming home “after a long day” and “being able to have someone who looks up to me like I’m their whole world.”

“It’s just great to come back and see him and just forget about the outside world, and he helps me reset the day and definitely fills my heart,” he tells PEOPLE.

While there is no lack of love between the father and son, McNelis admits there is often a lack of sleep.

“When I am having to sleep with him and he is teething, and then I have to wake up for 4:00 a.m. weight training. That’s a hard one for sure,” McNelis shares. 

“When he is gone, especially, I try to catch up on my sleep,” he adds. “It’s worth it, of course. It’s worth it, I’ll never complain.”

The hardest days, McNelis shares, are when Baby G has to leave. 

“Those are the worst days,” he says, noting that he goes back to Las Vegas as much as he can.

The co-parenting schedules and coordination are made possible thanks to Baby G’s “great mom,” which McNelis says “makes it less stressful.”

While he knows his son is in wonderful hands whenever they’re apart, he also trusts his teammates when they’re around the little one.

“It’s no hassle bringing him everywhere because everyone loves him. I bring him along, and he goes where I go, and he sits down. He finds something to do while I get something done, like stretching or if I’m hitting before practice, my teammates will help him or hold him,” McNelis shares. 

McNelis takes all of his classes online, which he says “makes it a lot easier to manage being a parent and an athlete and then getting everything done.”

McNelis has been sharing videos of Baby G alongside his teammates with his 200,000 followers on TikTok. Nearly all of his videos with the soon-to-be 1-year-old have gone viral, with some racking up close to 25 million views.

While it’s too early to tell if Baby G is going to be a baseball player like his dad, he’s clearly already a star.