After picking up transfers from a pair of power-conference schools and a top mid-major, Arizona’s latest acquisition comes from a little further down the ladder of college baseball. But no less accomplished.
The Wildcats have gotten a commitment from former Wisconsin-Whitewater right-handed pitcher Michael Hilker Jr., a Division III All-American.
he 6-foot-2 Hilker is coming off a stellar sophomore season in which he helped the Warhawks reach the Division III College World Series championship series, falling in three games to Misericordia. Hilker was Whitewater’s ace, going 9-2 with a 1.96 ERA in 15 games including 13 starts, striking out 116 batters (against 12 walks) in 87.1 innings with an opposing batting average of .187.
Hilker is Arizona’s fourth transfer commitment this offseason, the third pitcher. The Wildcats previously landed ex-Rutgers righty Christian Coppola and former Baylor righty Collin McKinney as well as a right-handed hitting first baseman from Samford (Aaron Walton).
Arizona is expecting to have to replace all three weekend starters from a team that won both the regular-season and conference tournament titles in the Pac-12. Righties Clark Candiotti and Cam Walty are out of eligibility while lefty Jackson Kent is likely to be picked in next month’s MLB Draft and sign to start his pro career.
The UA is proving to be an attractive landing spot for pitchers after first-year pitching coach Kevin Vance guided his staff to a 4.46 ERA (down more than 1.5 runs from 2023) and the No. 1 spot nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.46) and walks allowed per nine innings (2.56).
