The UC Santa Barbara Gaucho baseball team did not have the season they desired, but nonetheless freshman pitcher Hudson Barrett shined his first collegiate season.

UCSB Baseball Social Media photo and graphic creds

The Bakersfield native quickly found himself called upon early in the season as he pitched in the opening game of the season against the University of Minnesota Gophers, going 1 ⅓ inning pitched with 1 strikeout earning his first collegiate save. 

Following that game, Barrett became the primary pitcher for any save situation. The freshmen pitcher was undoubtedly dominant in 40 innings of work out of the bullpen, and he only allowed 3 runs. Barrett posted a 0.68 earned run average (ERA) when coming in for relief. 

Coaches soon moved Barrett to a starting pitching role as injuries struck the Gauchos in the middle of the season. The switch proved to be no problem as Barrett worked 5 innings, allowing no runs and 3 hits, while striking out 8. Barrett wasted no time, as he earned his first collegiate win in his first start. 

With the role switch for Barrett, it brought a new change in his athletic career.  

“Yeah, starters have a set routine every week, and I am a guy that likes a routine, so that transition was nice. Mentally, I still took it as coming out of the pen saving 1 inning at a time rather than ‘how long can I last’ type of mentality,” he said. 

Barrett’s mentality paid off, as he earned a 2-1 record as a starter and finished with a 1.92 ERA, leading all qualified freshmen. 

Barrett worked closely with head coach Andrew Checketts and pitching coach Dylan Jones before and throughout the season to continue and maintain his success.

“I mean, they are great at what they do. They have a set plan for each pitcher and put us to work immediately, so this year, in the fall and winter, working on some things really helped me stand out this season and contribute to team success,” Barrett said.

The work paid off as Barrett earned multiple awards ranging from All-American to an invite for the USA Baseball Collegiate National team tryout. Barrett earned Perfect Game and Rawlings Freshman All-America First Team, Third Team All-America selection, The Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year, All-Conference First Team selection, All-West Region honors, invite to USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team camp, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association  Freshman All-America First Team and Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American Team. 

Looking towards next season, Barrett’s accomplishments and goals will be second, as team success will be his first priority.

 “[It]Starts in the weight room, getting bigger, faster, stronger each day and perfecting my craft on the mound. Team success is what matters, so this next year, I will do what it takes to get to that next gear later in the season,” he said.