Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community member Aaron Makil started his first season as a junior in NCAA Division 1 as right-handed pitcher with the University of New Mexico Lobos on Friday, February, 2, playing here in his home state for the Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic in Surprise. 

Makil and the Lobos played against Oregon State, Brigham Young University and Gonzaga University during the baseball classic. The Lobos beat BYU, but they fell short to Oregon State and Gonzaga. Returning to UNM, Makil was honored as Pitcher of the Week by the Mountain West Conference for pitching six scoreless innings against BYU. 

Makil’s entire family was there to support his college baseball debut. 

“His love for the game comes from his late father, Jason Aaron Makil, who believed in him to reach to higher levels and mentored him since he could throw a baseball. His father’s determination and focus on winning and preparing for sporting events show in Aaron,” said Makil’s uncle, Vince Makil. “Aaron’s mother Rebecca Makil has been the most loving and supportive mother in Aaron’s journey of baseball and his education, with all the family also behind him, [including] brothers Clint and Eric and sisters Ana, Maggie and Ali.”

After the game against BYU, Aaron Makil said, “It’s just been a lot of hard work finally paying off, and being able to come back here and throw in front of my family in my hometown is something really special to me.” 

Makil, a graduate of Westwood High School, transferred from Chandler-Gilbert Community College to the University of New Mexico last fall. In an interview with O’odham Action News last summer, Makil stated that he was excited to go play with the Lobos and that he hopes to get drafted into the major leagues and make his family proud. 

In an interview with KRQE-TV, Makil expressed his desire to return to the Community and share his baseball knowledge at youth baseball camps. 

If you would like to see Makil in action but cannot make it to New Mexico, his next game in Arizona will be against the University of Arizona on Tuesday, April 21, at 7 p.m. For updates and the Lobos 2020 baseball schedule, visit https://golobos.com/schedule.aspx?path=baseball