Former Washington OF Jackson Hotchkiss Transfers to Arizona State

Hotchkiss, a rising star in the Big Ten Conference as a sophomore for head coach Eddie Smith, announced his transfer to ex-Pac-12 foe Arizona State. A Battle Ground, Washington native, Hotchkiss led the Huskies with a .339 batting average and 1.137 OPS with 20 home runs over 46 games (45 starts) as a left fielder and designated hitter.

The Evergreen State native is widely viewed as a potential first-round pick in the 2027 MLB draft, a significant loss for Smith after he finished 25-32 overall in his second season at the helm of the UW baseball team.

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Hotchkiss follows a path similar to former Huskies’ shortstop Aiva Arquette, who spent two seasons in Seattle from 2023-24 before transferring down I5 to Oregon State for his junior season in 2025. Arquette went on to hit 19 home runs, the fourth-most in Beavers’ history in a single season, and helped lead OSU to another College World Series appearance before embarking on his professional baseball career.

The decision for Arquette paid off significantly as the Miami Marlins made him the seventh overall pick in the 2025 MLB draft. Previously, he chose to play college baseball instead of signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks after they took him in the 18th round of the 2022 draft.

UW has a tall task to fill Hotchkiss’ shoes this offseason, but Smith has proven to be a strong developer of talent, no matter where he has to go to find it. The key to getting his team over the hump next season will depend on finding and signing more players like Hotchkiss, who became an All-Big Ten caliber player in two years.

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Huskies lose brightest star to Arizona State Sun Devils