Albers School of Business
Tarik Skubal, ’18, spent four seasons with the Redhawk baseball team and, along with his name cemented in the school’s record book, is the highest drafted player in program history.
Over the course of his SU playing career, the southpaw hurler was named a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American and a Second Team All-Western Athletic Conference selection. He holds school records in wins (21), lowest ERA for a starting pitcher (2.11) and opponent batting average (.221) and ranks second in career strikeouts (224).
Skubal’s star continued to rise following his time at SU. Selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft, Skubal quickly worked his way through the minor league ranks and just completed his fourth season in the Tigers’ rotation in 2023. He was named a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) All-Star in 2019 and picked up his first MLB honor in October 2023, being named AL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-0 with a 0.90 ERA.
Mike Gibson ‘79, a baseball alum and Hall of Fame Committee Member, said of Skubal: “Tarik arrived at SU from Kingman Academy High School in Arizona during the fall of 2015 with a big left arm and yet unfulfilled promise. With hard work, discipline and a 90 mile an hour fastball, he soon became the Redhawk’s Friday night starter, earning Freshman All-American honors. A nearly catastrophic arm injury in 2016 required Tommy John surgery, yet Skubal was still drafted professionally in the 29th round in 2017 by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He turned down an opportunity to go pro to instead rejoin his teammates for a record-setting third season before being drafted in 2018 by the Detroit Tigers. We are thrilled to have Tarik inducted into the Seattle University Athletics Hall of Fame.”