Gonzaga Professional Athletes

The final weeks of the 2026 MLB season delivered contrasting headlines for Gonzaga's pro pipeline: one alum was shown the door while another was busy reflecting on a breakthrough year.

Jacob Gets the DFA Call

Righty Alek Jacob's tenure with the San Diego Padres came to an abrupt end this week when the club designated him for assignment, clearing a 40-man roster spot to reinstate reliever Jason Adam from the 60-day injured list. The move was purely transactional — Adam's return forced a numbers crunch — but the result is Jacob now facing an uncertain future, whether that's a trade, outright assignment to the minors, or release. For a pitcher who carved a path from Gonzaga to the big leagues, the DFA is a gut punch at one of the most inopportune moments of the season.

Hughes Closes Out a Standout Rookie Year

While Jacob's 2026 chapter in San Diego is closing, Gabriel Hughes is finishing his first MLB season with a very different story to tell. The Rockies right-hander is among the club's featured voices reflecting on what's been a meaningful rookie campaign in Colorado. Hughes arrived in Denver through a different path than teammate TJ Rumfield, but both players made tangible impacts in their debuts, according to reporting from the team's beat coverage. For Hughes, who came up through the Gonzaga program before being drafted by the Rockies, putting together a credible first year on a rebuilding club is the kind of résumé entry that sets up long-term opportunity.

Others Keep Busy Down the Stretch

The broader Gonzaga contingent had an active week across the league. Brett Harris logged regular at-bats for the Giants through a tough stretch against the Dodgers and Twins, batting in the .150s–.190s range as the week wore on — with a bright spot Tuesday when he went 2-for-3 with two RBIs against Minnesota. Casey Legumina toed the rubber for Tampa Bay on Wednesday, working 1.1 innings and striking out one against the Yankees while carrying a 3.82 ERA into the final days of the season. Troy Johnston remained active in Colorado's lineup, going 1-for-1 on Sunday and posting a multi-hit game Thursday against Arizona, keeping his average right around .282 as the Rockies closed out the year.

Gonzaga has quietly become one of the more productive pipelines in Pacific Northwest college baseball, and this week's snapshot captures exactly why: enough alumni are active across rosters to generate genuine storylines on both ends of the spectrum — from a roster squeeze in San Diego to a rookie coming-out party in Colorado.

With September rosters locked and playoff races elsewhere stealing headlines, four Gonzaga alumni are grinding through the final weeks of a long season — two on the same Colorado team, one in Tampa Bay, and one trying to stick in San Francisco.

Hughes Still Searching, Then Optioned

The week encapsulates Gabriel Hughes's 2026 in a single sentence: he started Sunday against Detroit with an 0-7 record and a 5.81 ERA, lasted two innings, allowed five earned runs in an 8-1 loss, and by mid-week the Rockies had optioned him to Triple-A Albuquerque to make room for a reinstated Jose Quintana. Hughes did get one more crack at a first win — a Saturday start against Seattle, where he pitched 4.2 innings, struck out six, and allowed three earned runs in a 5-4 Colorado loss — but the elusive "W" remains out of reach. The righty finishes this stretch at 0-7 with a 6.33 ERA, still winless in the big leagues despite flashing the swing-and-miss stuff (six K's against the Mariners) that made him a prospect worth watching.

Johnston Quietly Builds a Case

While Hughes struggled, Rockies teammate Troy Johnston quietly put together the most compelling individual performance of the week for any Gonzaga alum. The 29-year-old outfielder went 3-for-something with two RBI and a run scored in Colorado's 9-3 win over San Diego on Wednesday, pushing his average to .285 on the day. The number dipped slightly by Thursday — two separate game entries show him settling at .279–.282 — but the overall arc is positive for a player who, by his own account, is navigating the unusual role of being both a rookie by service time and a seasoned clubhouse presence by age. Johnston's reflective tone in a recent interview underscores someone who understands exactly where he fits on a rebuilding club.

Legumina Steady in Tampa

Casey Legumina continued to pitch his way into Tampa Bay's plans. The righty worked one inning Thursday against Oakland, gave up a run, but bounced back Friday against Boston with a clean two-inning, four-strikeout outing that brought his ERA down to 3.89. Over the three appearances tracked this week — Houston, Oakland, Boston — Legumina logged four total innings and showed enough late-season reliability to suggest he's auditioning for a bullpen role in 2027.

Harris Scrapping for Average

Brett Harris's week with San Francisco was defined by the grind. The infielder went hitless in back-to-back games to open the stretch against San Diego and St. Louis, then strung together three consecutive games with a hit — including a run scored Tuesday — to climb his average to .143. It's a thin line to walk with the Giants' season already effectively over, but Harris is getting consistent at-bats and that counts for something at this stage of a young career.

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The broader picture here is worth noting for Gonzaga fans: four alumni on active MLB rosters in the same week is not an accident. The Zags' pipeline into professional baseball is real, even if the teams they're playing for are mostly watching October from home. Hughes needs a win, Johnston needs more games like Wednesday, Legumina needs a contract, and Harris needs reps. All four are in the right place to get them.