The University of Arizona baseball team recently had a pint-sized celebrity throw out the first pitch: 15-month-old Grayson McNelis, son of 20-year-old outfielder Chaz McNelis.

Grayson, or “Baby G” as his dad affectionately calls him, already has quite an arm.

“We’ve been working on it forever. Since he could even open his eyes I’ve been trying to get him throw a baseball,” McNelis tells TODAY.com. And as for that first pitch, the proud dad says, “He killed it.”

McNelis didn’t expect to become a dad at such a young age, and he admits that he was “nervous” about how it would affect his future. As it turns out, he didn’t need to worry.

“When I was in the recruiting process last year, I made sure with every coach I talked to, the first thing I told them was I had a kid,” McNelis explains.”It wasn’t a dealbreaker for any of them, thank god.”

McNelis and Baby G have become social media stars. Many of their TikTok videos have more than a million views. People just can’t get enough of seeing this pink cheeked-toddler being raised by his “uncs” on the baseball team.

College Life With Baby G

During the week, Baby G lives with his mother in Las Vegas, where McNelis grew up. On weekends, Baby G’s grandmother McKenzie McNelis often flies Baby G to Arizona to be on campus with his dad. McNelis has a two-bedroom apartment, so there’s plenty of space for two frequent weekend visitors.

“When he’s down here, he kind of just hangs with me and the team the whole time,” McNelis says.

Baby G loves hanging with the team at Tucson’s Bear Down Kitchen, where the athletes eat breakfast. “We get a big chocolate chip pancake, some yogurt, some eggs,” says McNelis, smiling. “He’s chilling, and he’s got his bottle.” And then they head to the baseball field, which is the perfect place to tire out a busy toddler before his nap.

McKenzie McNelis keeps an eye on her grandson during naptime so her son can practice or complete homework for his online classes.

“She’s definitely my hero for sure,” McNelis says.

The McNelis Family Is All Heart

Though life looks like a home run for McNelis, his family has faced a number of challenges along the way.

“When I was 2, my dad died in a car crash. My mom was pregnant with my brother,” McNelis explains. “Ever since then I wanted to be a dad. When I was little, I used to pretend to be my little brother’s dad.”

His mom was “definitely shocked at first” when he told her he was going to be a teenage dad. “But she knew everything would be OK. Then she told me that,” McNelis recalls. “And then I knew it would be OK, because if my mom can do that, then I could definitely do this for sure.”

Support has been “everything” for McNelis — from his mom, his teammates and Baby G’s mom who lives in Las Vegas. Raising Baby G with her has been like “co-parenting with your best friend,” he says.

The outpouring of support came in clutch when Baby G underwent surgery last year to close three holes in his heart.

“They said he’d have to be in the hospital for a week for recovery, but he did it in less than three days,” McNelis recalls. “And the doctors said they’d never seen that before.”

McNelis is surprised by his son’s social media fame, but he completely understands the appeal.

“I did not expect it to blow up this fast,” he says. “But, I mean, I could see why. Who wouldn’t love Baby G?”