Lukas Jones
Contributor
It is every little leaguer’s dream to make it to Major League Baseball. In June of 2015, one local kid’s dream came true. Bryan Hudson, who is from Alton, got drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the third round of the MLB draft.
Hudson stands at 6 feet 7 inches tall and is a 2015 graduate of Alton High School. There are a few Lewis and Clark students who got the chance to play with and play against the Cubs draft pick.
Caleb Buhs is a 2015 graduate of Civic Memorial High School in Bethalto and is also a student here at L&C. He had the chance to face the young phenom.
“He looked like a giant on the mound. I was oh so fortunate enough to get stuck with the lefty on lefty with an already committed D1 pitcher and a potential draft pick at the time,” Buhs said.
To go along with Hudson’s 90 mph fastball, he had a devastating curveball in high school.
“He threw hard, and his curveball was unbelievable. I could pick it up almost every time he threw it, and I’d still swing at in when it was in the dirt,” Buhs said. “I knew he was good before facing him, I thought he might have been a little hyped up, but I can assure you he could back up the hype.”
A different L&C student had the privilege to be a teammate of Hudson, also. Jacob St. Peters is a 2016 graduate of Alton High school and was a teammate of Hudson for three years at Alton High.
St. Peters reflected on what Hudson was like as a person outside of baseball.
“He was super cool and didn’t gloat about it at all. Super humble, you wouldn’t even know he played baseball if you were around him because he didn’t like talking about himself,” St. Peters said.
St. Peters also reflected on what Hudson was like as a teammate.
“Bryan was always a leader, but not because he yelled at people and lead the team, but because he led by example, showing everyone he’s getting the job done, you need to too.”
Hudson played in front of many MLB scouts throughout his senior season in high school. He helped the Alton Redbirds to a 30-7 record. Hudson had a 10-2 record, struck out 152 batters in 70.3 innings pitched, hit four home runs and had a .439 batting average as a hitter, all before leaving high school.
Hudson is currently playing for the Eugene Emeralds, a single-a affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, and currently has a 5-4 record and a 5.06 ERA.
