Baseball journey brings New Trier alum McKinven back to Chicago dugout

Coming home can be easy. For Walker McKinven, though, it wasn’t so simple. 

After nine seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, the Winnetka native received an opportunity to join the Chicago White Sox organization and had a difficult decision to make.

“You spend more time with the people that you work with than your family, and largely the same group has been there over the last nine years,” McKinven said of the Brewers. “A lot of friends, a lot of unbelievable people, a lot of good times and a lot of wins, and that’s not being taken for granted.”

But McKinven, a New Trier High School alumnus, took the leap and, in November, was hired as the bench coach for the White Sox.

This stop is one of the many McKinven has had along the way in his relatively short coaching career. He has also held positions with the Chicago Cubs (2013-2014) and Texas Rangers (2015) before he joined the Brewers.

McKinven’s relationship with baseball goes back much further, though. As a child, McKinven started playing baseball as early as he could. 

“I joke a lot, I’ve never really celebrated Fourth of July, since I was about 10 years old,” McKinven said about the summer sport. “(Baseball’s) just dominated my life since then.”

McKinven took his baseball talents to New Trier High School, and the Trevians were state runnerup in his senior season, 2007.

As a pitcher, McKinven boasted an impressive fastball and got a lot of swings and misses, but, besides his production on the field, his head coach, Mike Napoleon, was impressed with his leadership. 

“The younger kids liked him when he was a senior. He helped the younger guys out with stuff that he knew, that he learned from our pitching coach,” Napoleon said. “I think one thing that everybody will say about him was he was a great teammate when he was around.”

New Trier fosters a competitive environment for young baseball players. According to current New Trier head coach Dusty Napoleon (son of recently retired coach Mike Napoleon), 60 to 70 players try out for the freshman team and only 30 are kept. The program gets more competitive through the varsity level.

McKinven was prepared to survive in a competitive baseball environment from early on.

“It prepared me personally, I think, to thrive in really, really competitive environments and understand what those are about, because we all got a taste of it very early on in our lives,” McKinven said.

Following high school, McKinven played college baseball for three seasons at Binghamton University and two seasons at Georgia College & State University. After giving independent baseball a try, he decided to attack the game from a different angle. 

McKinven began working in Major League Baseball, starting as an intern with the Cubs in 2013 and working his way up.

“I certainly started at the bottom,” McKinven said. “I had to fight really hard to enter into this thing, so that perspective will be with me forever.”

The Winnetka native got his break in 2020 when he joined the Brewers coaching staff. In 2021, he became the associate pitching, catching and strategy coach. Two years later, in 2023, McKinven assumed the role of run prevention coordinator. 

McKinven found success in his position. The Brewers allowed 641 runs during the 2024 regular season, a total that was the fourth fewest in the league. 

McKinven said he was the beneficiary of circumstance, joining the Brewers organization in 2016, the first full season as manager Craig Counsell.

“I had leaders that were incredibly open to letting people grow there, and they were willing to reward and promote people that did a great job,” McKinven said. “I described it as the best nine years of my life, and that 100% is true. I grew monumentally there as a person, as a professional … and it has culminated to where I am today.”

This offseason, though, the White Sox came calling. 

Despite a special situation in Milwaukee, McKinven was intrigued by the team’s interest and the new opportunity.

“If you’re trying to work in this game, I think you’re going to recognize that there’s only 30 teams, so there needs to be some willingness to go anywhere,” McKinven said. 

Working with new White Sox manager Will Venable and other people in the organization was a big draw for McKinven, regardless of the fact that he could return to a familiar place. 

McKinven was also drawn by the team’s difficult circumstances. The White Sox finished with a 41-121 record last season. The 121 losses last season were the most in MLB’s modern era. The White Sox also batted .221, a league low, and allowed 813 runs, third worst in MLB.

A month with the team under his belt, McKinven has yet to move back to the Chicago area, but he is excited to be back and take on a new challenge.

“I think it’s kind of fun to be in this position where you’re probably going to be doubted,” McKinven said of working with the White Sox. “I want to attack that unique challenge with a bunch of good people, and that was really my motivation for it.”

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