Arkansas State Professional Athletes

Arkansas State has a catcher in the middle of one of baseball's biggest stages right now — and Liam Hicks is making it count.

The Rays' backstop, a Red Wolves alum, delivered the defining blow of Game 2 of the ALCS on Tuesday, October 14, lining a two-run single in a pivotal fourth inning to help Tampa Bay beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 and even the series at 1-1. The hit came in the wake of a pair of uncharacteristic defensive miscues from Guardians third baseman José Ramírez, and Hicks made Cleveland pay — his two RBI accounting for the margin of victory in a game the Rays badly needed.

Hicks wasn't alone in the spotlight. Freddy Peralta threw six innings of four-hit ball, but it was the catcher acquired at the trade deadline who provided the moment that flipped the series. FanSided went so far as to argue that Game 2 proved Tampa Bay won the deadline — and Hicks was cited as Exhibit A alongside Peralta.

The series context sharpens the stakes. Game 2 followed a tough Game 1 loss for Tampa Bay, and Hicks had gone just 1-for-12 entering that contest, hitting .083 through the early rounds of the playoffs. His two-hit, two-RBI performance in Game 2 pushed his average to .200 and, more importantly, reset the narrative around the Rays' deadline gamble.

Hicks' bat went quiet again in Game 3 — Tampa Bay dropped that one to Cleveland, 2-3, on October 15, with Hicks hitting .167 on the night — but the A-State product had already made his mark on the series. Game 4 on October 17 is still unresolved in the research window, with the series very much alive.

For Arkansas State fans tracking their guy, Hicks remains one of the most prominent alumni on a postseason roster anywhere in baseball. He was named one of the players to watch in the ALCS by Sportsnet heading into the series — no small recognition for a catcher out of Jonesboro who is now one trade-deadline move away from a potential World Series appearance.

The Red Wolves don't produce a lot of MLB postseason contributors. Liam Hicks is making sure this October is one worth remembering.

Arkansas State doesn't show up on many MLB prospect maps. But inside the Tampa Bay Rays' surprise postseason run, two Red Wolves alumni are impossible to overlook.

The Closer and the Catcher

Bryan Baker has been here before — grinding through minor league rosters, waiting for a moment that matters. Game 1 of the ALDS against the New York Yankees was that moment, and he didn't blink.

Baker was summoned to protect a Drew Rasmussen masterpiece: eight shutout innings of one-hit ball against a depleted but still dangerous Yankees lineup. Baker's job was simple in theory, brutal in practice — don't ruin a franchise gem in front of the loudest crowd the Trop has seen in years.

He didn't. The Rays won 1–0.

What made the performance more interesting was how Baker worked through it. With the stadium noise rattling the walls, Baker had to cup his glove over his ear just to hear the PitchCom signal buzzing next to him. On the other end of that connection: fellow Arkansas State alum Liam Hicks, calling pitches from behind the plate.

"That was probably the most electric crowd I've ever played in front of," Baker said after the game. "Still kind of digesting it."

Hicks Behind the Dish

Hicks has been a quiet constant throughout Tampa Bay's postseason run, doing the unglamorous work that catchers do — managing a pitching staff, framing pitches, staying locked in at-bat after at-bat. His offensive line won't turn heads (.167 average through the early ALDS rounds, with an RBI in Game 2 of the series), but his value to this club runs deeper than the box score.

The Athletic noted that Hicks was among a core group — alongside Baker, Kevin Kelly, Victor Mesa Jr., and Nick Martinez — that the Rays specifically identified and targeted as part of the organizational process that built this roster. That's not an accident. That's a front office betting on the right people.

For a program like Arkansas State, having two alumni not just on a playoff roster but central to its success is the kind of thing that echoes through recruiting classes for years.

Zuber's Season Ends Differently

Not every Red Wolf had an October to remember. Marlins reliever Tyler Zuber is headed for elbow surgery after a visit with Dr. Keith Meister at the end of the season, ending what was already a lost year in Miami. Zuber will miss significant time as he recovers. It's a tough close to the calendar for a pitcher still looking to establish himself at the big league level.

The Bigger Picture

Baker on the mound, Hicks behind the plate, working together in the most electric atmosphere of their careers — that's the kind of full-circle moment that makes the college baseball pipeline feel very real. Two guys from Jonesboro, Arkansas, closing out a postseason gem together on national television.

The Rays are in the ALCS. The Red Wolves are along for the ride.

Arkansas State Alumni Report | MLB | Sept. 20–26, 2026

The Moment Everyone Saw

Liam Hicks didn't make the highlight reel this week — he was the highlight reel, just not in the way any catcher wants.

In the seventh inning of Tampa Bay's Thursday loss to New York (4–6), Yankees shortstop George Lombard Jr. turned a wild pitch into a viral moment for the ages, leaping acrobatically after an initial slide to touch home plate and evade Hicks's tag. The clip spread fast. It was the kind of play that has a full SportsCenter shelf life: clean drama, clean villain, zero ambiguity. Hicks was the villain — or at least the supporting cast.

To be fair, there's no easy tag on a play like that. Lombard Jr.'s improvised leap was the sort of instinctive, highlight-reel athleticism that beats even well-positioned catchers. But the camera doesn't grade on a curve, and Hicks's missed tag scored New York's third run in what became a costly series game for the Rays.

Hicks Responds at the Plate

If the Thursday play stung, Hicks didn't let it linger. On Saturday against Philadelphia — a blowout 12–1 Tampa Bay loss that offered little to celebrate — Hicks went 2-for-the-game and scored a run, nudging his average back up to .282. It's a number that, context aside, holds up respectably for a catcher at this stage of the season.

Over the full week's action, Hicks hit in multiple games, drove in a run Thursday, and walked twice in Wednesday's 2–9 loss to the Yankees — a series that was rough on the Rays collectively, not just him. His season average has hovered in the .281–.286 band across the week, which speaks to a consistent, if unspectacular, offensive profile from a position where offense is always a bonus.

The Arkansas State product has quietly built himself into a legitimate big-league option behind the dish. One highlight-reel miss doesn't undo that. It does, however, mean his tagged-out frame is now part of Yankees lore for at least a news cycle or two.

Zuber Logs an Inning in Miami

Across the league, fellow Red Wolf Tyler Zuber made his weekly appearance out of the Marlins bullpen on Tuesday, tossing a clean inning against Chicago with a strikeout. His ERA sits at 5.67 — a number that tells a rougher story than any one outing — but Zuber continues to log MLB innings, which is no small thing for a reliever on a rebuilding Miami club.

No drama, no viral moment. Just work.

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For Arkansas State fans, the week ends with their most prominent alum at the center of a national baseball conversation — though Hicks would almost certainly trade the attention for one more inch on that tag.