ASU Baseball: Shortstop Luke Hill expected to enter transfer portal

On the last eligible day of the summer open window period, Arizona State freshman shortstop Luke Hill entered his name into the trader portal. News broke in the early Thursday morning that the standout will look to take his talents elsewhere for his sophomore season.

Hill had a breakout freshman campaign which saw Baton Rouge, La. native start in every game this year for the Sun Devils. His season featured a .314 batting average with six home runs and 42 RBIs. Hill was named an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention and Sun Devil Defensive Player of the Year during the Sun Devil Baseball Awards Banquet. Hill’s 145 assists were third in the conference.

A mature hitter is what stood out most to head coach Willie Bloomquist. Hill’s understanding of plate discipline and his commitment to ASU’s hitting philosophy boarded well for the first year. Hill had an on base percentage of .389 which included 23 walks.

Hill will be a sought-after addition to many programs as the freshman showed many tools to compete at the college level and beyond. His sound defensive game paired with approach and patience at the plate at a young age will surely develop. In fact, Hill had a higher average with less strikeouts and more walks and runs scored than the Pac-12’s recipient of Newcomer of the Year Award, Stanford’s Malcolm Moore.

Richard Martinez/ House of Sparky

Undoubtedly rumor will begin to tie Hill’s sophomore season perhaps back in his home state of Louisiana, especially after a depletion of talent due to this year’s MLB Draft. Regardless of where Hill will end up, his time in maroon and gold has come to an end.