BLACKSBURG, Va. — Gonzaga's Gabriel Hughes picked up yet another national honor this week when he was named to Collegiate Baseball's All-American First Team, the outlet announced on Thursday. Hughes is the first GU player to make CB's First Team since Nate Gold in 2002.
The sophomore righty was one of seven pitchers on the First Team, making it back-to-back years that a GU player has been on the list after Brett Harris (Third Team) and Alek Jacob (Second Team) got the same honor in 2021. This is the second year in a row that Hughes has picked up All-American recognition from at least one outlet, having been named a Freshman All-American by Baseball America following the 2021 season.
The Zags' Friday guy is sixth in the nation with 131 strikeouts, and just last week made the cut as a Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist, given yearly to the top amateur baseball player in the country regardless of division. His three WCC Pitcher of the Week Awards this year are the most of any single WCC pitcher this season, and he was named NWBCA Pitcher of the Week for the week of March 14-20 after a hitless six-inning performance against Pacific on March 18 that saw him strike out a career-high 13 batters with just one walk. Projected by many as a first round pick in July's MLB Draft by MLB.com, Hughes was ranked No. 26 amongst the nation's draft-eligible college prospects by D1Baseball.com and projected to go as high as No. 13 in ESPN's mock draft released yesterday.
GU has won 11 of 14 games in which he has started, and he leads the staff in strikeouts and innings pitched with 92.
The 10th-ranked Bulldogs (36-17, 20-7) open their NCAA Tournament run with a matchup against No. 3 seed Columbia in Blacksburg, Va. Friday at 10 a.m. Hughes (8-2, 92 IP, 131 K, 2.84 ERA) is GU's probable starter on the mound. Live stats and streaming options are available on GoZags.com — follow @zagbaseball on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.
