SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS PRESS RELEASE

Phone: 817.739.3693

Website: xsbaseball.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 10, 2026

 

SIOUX CITY SIGNS DONAHUE AND HUGHES

PAIR OF NEW FACES HEADED TO THE X’S

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The Sioux City Explorers have announced that the team has signed true-rookie infielder Jordan Donahue and right-handed pitcher Rob Hughes to contracts for the 2026 season. The two additions bring the total of players under contract for the Explorers and Manager Steve Montgomery to 20 for 2026.

Infielder Jordan Donahue makes the trek to Sioux City all the way from Hawaii, where the native of Miliani, Oahu spent the last four seasons playing for the University of Hawaii. In four years with the Rainbow Warriors, Donahue, who bats left and throws right, played in 183 games, slashing a line of .302/.401/.403 with five home runs and 89 RBI. He also swiped 31 bases in his four-year career at Hawaii.

In 2025, Donahue played 38 games, making 37 starts at shortstop while hitting .295 with three homers and 22 RBI with the Warriors. He finished the season strong on an eight-game hitting streak with four multi-hit games and was named Big West Player of the Week the last home series weekend of the year. He would hit .455 (15-for-33) over the final eight games with three home runs while driving in 12 runs. Donahue belted a grand slam home run for UH to propel the team into the Big West postseason in the final regular-season game. He would finish the season being named to the Big West Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

His Junior season, Donahue finished second on the team at the plate, hitting .349, and was the team leader with 68 hits. He would hit a pair of long balls and knock in 30 runs while finishing third on the team, scoring 43 runs and stealing 10 bases in 51 games. Donahue would start 50 games at short for Hawaii in 2024 and would post an 18-game hitting streak during the season, the fourth longest ever by a UH hitter and the longest since 1998.

In 2023 Donahue made 41 starts at shortstop and would appear in a total of 45 games at UH. He would hit .246 with 17 RBI while scoring 30 runs. Donahue was lethal at home, hitting. .324 with 12 RBI on the island for the University of Hawaii. He would finish his sophomore season by being named to the Big West Academic Honor Roll and Big West Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

Donahue would arrive on the University of Hawaii campus for his red-shirt Freshman season in 2022 from Oregon State University. He would hit .298–good for second on the team—in 49 games with 20 RBI for Hawaii. He would spend one season at Oregon State in 2021 but was as a red shirt did not ever play for the Beavers.

During his college career, Donahue played summer ball in 2021 with Bend of the West Coast League, La Crosse in 2022 and 2023 in the Northwoods League, and at Mahoning Valley in the Major League Draft League in 2024. Over the course of his summer seasons, he played in 93 games, hitting .251 with 33 RBI with a slash line of .251/.403/.281.

A native Honolulu, Donahue attended Damien High School where he helped lead the school to the 2018 state championship and runner up in 2017. In his senior season in 2018, he led the state of Hawaii in hits, runs and stolen bases. Donahue was named the Hawaii D-II Player of the Year in 2018 while also winning the local Interscholastic League of Honolulu and team’s state crown. While at the University of Hawaii he was joined on the team by his cousin Kyson Donahue, and his brother Christian played at Oregon State and played in the Chicago Cubs organization. His father Timo played in the Cleveland system after a career at the University of Washington.

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 University and became a solid addition to the Tiger’s 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 Rock Hill, South Carolina 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.

 

2026 Players signed:

IF Cameron Bufford

RHP Ryan Beaird

RHP Trey Morrill

LHP Ben DeTaeye

C Dillon Tatum

IF Braulio Vasquez

IF Alberto Osuna

OF Yeison Asencio

IF Elliot Good

RHP Tahnaj Thomas

RHP Julio Rosario

RHP Peniel Otaño

LHP Reed Butz

RHP Max Charnin

OF Jackson Mayo

IF Zane Denton

C Wilfredo Gimenez

IF Yorman Rodriguez

IF Jordan Donahue

RHP Rob Hughes

The Explorers are set to open their 33rd season in Siouxland on the road on Friday night, May 15, against the Chicago Dogs. The club will celebrate opening night at Lewis and Clark Park on Friday night, May 22, against the Lincoln Saltdogs. Ticket packages for the 2026 season along with sponsorship and partner opportunities are available now by calling the Explorers front office at 712-277-WINS. Follow the Explorers social media channels and the club’s website xsbaseball.com for off-season news and updates.

 

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