Two-time Big South Player of the Year and 2022 unanimous all-American
Zach Neto is heading to The Show. Neto was taken with the 13
th overall pick by the Los Angeles Angels in the 2022 MLB Draft, and will be the first player from that draft class to make his Major League debut, appearing in just 44 total minor league games.
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Neto received the call Friday night and will go directly from AA Rocket City to join the Angels in Boston this weekend.
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The call up comes on the heels of his best game, and best stretch thus far as a pro. Neto went 3-4 with two HR and five RBI Friday night and leads the Trash Pandas with three home runs through the early stages of the season.
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Through seven games this year Neto is batting .444 with three HR and 10 RBI and an OBP of .559. He hit .320 over 30 games with AA Rocket City in 2022.
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Neto left Campbell as the highest pick in both program and Big South history. He was a unanimous all-American by all six major publications in 2022 after batting .407 with 15 HR and also going 1-0 with three saves on the mound.
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Following the 2022 season, Neto owned the highest career batting average and slugging percentage, and was second in OBP in the nation among players with at least 100 games played.
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Neto led Campbell to back-to-back Big South regular season titles, the 2022 Big South tournament championship, and appearances at the NCAA Starkville Regional and Knoxville Regional where he was named to both all-regional teams.
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The shortstop will become the third active Campbell alum in the MLB, joining Cedric Mullins (Baltimore) and Ryan Thompson (Tampa Bay). He'll be the first to make his MLB debut since Thompson did so in July 2020.
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