Players

Rock Hill, South Carolina native Rob Hughes comes to Sioux City after pitching two seasons with the Idaho Falls Chukars in the Pioneer League. The right-hander made 33 appearances out of the Chukars pen in 2025, tossing 35.1 innings posting a 4.84 ERA with a 1-4 record and a 1.642 WHIP. He surrendered 36 hits and would yield 19 earned runs while issuing 22 walks and striking out 43. Hughes would notch one save in 2025 for Idaho Falls.

In 2024, Hughes made his professional debut with Idaho Falls after spending four seasons at Clemson University. He worked 15.2 innings of relief for Idaho Falls with a 2.87 ERA with a 1-0 record while saving two games for the Chukars. Hughes would punch out 14 while giving up five earned runs on 19 hits finishing with 1.532 WHIP.

Hughes spent four seasons at Clemson after transferring from Furman University after Furman suspended the university’s baseball program. He spent two seasons at Furman and combined over six collegiate seasons to go 9-5 with a 4.37 ERA in 119.1 innings in 69 games while making eight career starts. Hughes struck out 110 over the course of five seasons between Furman and Clemson.

His final season at Clemson he was the team co-captain and an All-ACC Academic Selection. He went 1-1 with three saves with a 9.53 ERA in 13 relief appearances. Hughes had great success against NCAA Tournament teams, tossing 6.1 relief innings with one save and nine strikeouts with a 2.84 ERA.

In 2023 he missed the first half of the season after missing all of 2022 with an injury. He made the most of the 2023 season by going 0-1 with a 1.56 ERA in 12 calls from the pen for the Tigers. He would hold opponents to a .143 average against with runners in scoring position and did not allow a steal in any of his outings during the season. Hughes pitched 17.1 innings, surrendering 12 hits with 21 strikeouts and held the opposition to a .200 batting average.

Hughes would redshirt due to his injury in 2022, but once again he was named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll. In 2021 Hughes arrived at Clemson from Furman Univiseity and became an solid addition to the Tigers pen. He made one start and 16 relief appearances for Clemson, going 1-0 with a 4.24 ERA. Hughes threw 23.1 innings, allowing 20 hits and holding the opposition to a .222 batting clip. He issued 12 walks while sending down 23 batters via the strikeout.

In his final season at Furman in 2020, Hughes would win two games and drop one with one save in 23 innings. He made three starts with three relief outings with 17 strikeouts while putting up a 3.91 ERA. His first season in 2019, Hughes made four starts and pitched in another 17 games in relief for Furman. He finished the season with 44.1 innings with 37 strikeouts, giving up 22 earned runs on 46 hits while going 5-2 adding two saves. Hughes would be named to the All-SoCon Freshman team his first season at Furman.

Hughes attended Northwestern High School in the South Carolina suburbs of the Charolotte area and was a two-time all-state selection. He was the #15 player in South Carolina by Perfect Game and the #6 right-hander in the state by the same publication. In his final season in high school, Hughes went 8-1 with a 1.30 and was 11-1 as a Junior with a 0.50 ERA in 72 innings. Hughes would help lead the team to the state title his junior season. As a sophomore he was 5-0 with four saves, and he was a three-year letter winner while at Northwestern High School. His father John played golf at the University of North Carolina and was a two-time All American and ACC Player-of-the-year. Hughes graduated from Clemson in 2023 with a degree in computer science and earned a graduate certificate in athletic leadership in education in 2024.