Former Ole Miss baseball great Doug Nikhazy has been called up to the big leagues.
The Chicago White Sox are bringing the 26-year-old left-handed hurler along on their upcoming six-game road stint out west, with three games in Oakland and three matchups in Arizona on the docket, first reported by Future Sox.
Nikhazy was claimed by the White Sox earlier in April after being removed from the Cleveland Guardians’ 40-man roster. Chicago promptly optioned him to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights, joining former Rebel teammate Jacob Gonzalez. Ole Miss legend Tim Elko most recently played for the Knights, but has not seen any action on the diamond this year due to an injury.
As a pro, Nikhazy has gotten most of his work done in the minors. He was called up by Cleveland last year and tossed four innings, where he struck out five batters and allowed six earned runs on five hits and six walks. In his short time with Charlotte, he has thrown 7.2 innings and recorded a whopping 10 strikeouts.
Nikhazy’s strikeout rate has been his bread and butter in the farm system, but he has been plagued by a propensity to walk batters, which has given him trouble in making a case to play a key role in an MLB pitching staff’s rotation.
In college, Nikhazy helped lead the Rebels to a pair of NCAA Tournament super regional appearances and was crowned a first-team All-American in 2021.
