Tyler McLoughlin attended Milton High School in his native Milton, Georgia, where he was a Georgia 5-7A All-Region First Team selection and two-time Two-time Rawlings/Perfect Game Preseason Underclass All-American Honorable Mention. He went undrafted in the COVID-shortened 2020 MLB Draft and attended Emory University.

He made four appearances as a freshman in 2021, three as a position player and once on the mound and went 3-11 while throwing a scoreless inning in relief. That summer, the 18-year-old played for the Alpharetta Aviators in the Sunbelt Collegiate Baseball League and showed that he had true two-way potential, hitting .318/.404/.545 in 44 at-bats over 25 games while posting a 0.70 ERA in 25.2 innings over 8 games. Head coach Mike Twardoski used McLoughlin as a two-way player when he returned to the Eagles for his sophomore year in 2022 and the results spoke for themselves. As a hitter, he batted .276/.378/.541 in 98 at-bats over 32 games with 8 doubles, 6 home runs, and 14 walks to 35 strikeouts, and as a pitcher, he posted a 3.52 ERA in 30.2 innings with 29 hits allowed, 6 walks, and 38 strikeouts.

After playing for the Charlottesville Tom Sox of the Valley Collegiate Baseball League that summer, the 20-year-old prepared for his junior season. A NCAA Div III school, it was unlikely that the right-hander get drafted in the 2023 MLB Draft, but it remained a possibility; if McLoughlin were drafted, he would be the first Emory player to be selected in a major league draft since Paul Schwendel, who was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 40th round of the 2012 MLB Draft. Appearing in all 39 games the Eagles played, McLoughlin set school records as both a hitter and a reliever, but his performance did not get him selected in the draft. As a batter, he hit .352/.463/.697 with 13 doubles, 12 home runs, and 22 walks to 42 strikeouts, while on the mound, he posted a 1.80 ERA in 20.0 innings over 13 games, allowing 8 hits, walking 12, striking out 28, and saving 6 games.

He entered the transfer portal and transferred to the University of Georgia for his senior season, one of 17 players to make their debuts with the school via the transfer portal that year. Unlike some of the other transfers to Georgia, McLoughlin was not able to make much of an impact on his new team, as he sustained an injury in mid-March that limited him to just 6 appearances out of the bullpen early on in the season. He redshirted for the rest of the season, obtaining his degree in Communication Studies, and returned to the Bulldogs in 2025, a redshirt senior under graduate student eligibility. Healthy, the 22-year-old appeared in 16 games and posted a 4.19 ERA in 19.1 innings, allowing 16 hits, walking 10, and striking out 24.

The 6’3”, 220-pound right-hander throws from a low-three-quarters, almost sidearm, slingy arm slot. McLoughlin is all arms-and-legs with his leg kick and loose, whippy arm, which may be why his command and control have historically been not that great. The right-hander’s fastball sits in the low-to-mid-90s, topping out at 96 MPH. The pitch has good ride up in the zone. McLoughlin can also cut his fastball. Sitting in the high-80s, the pitch gets late glove-side hop.