NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion University Athletics announced on Thursday the fourth member of its 2026 ODU Sports Hall of Fame induction class, baseball alumni Daniel Hudson. He joins fellow inductees Maggie Simmermacher, Tim Hopkinson, and Sarah Breen.
A Virginia Beach, Virginia native, Hudson was a two-time All-CAA pitcher who compiled a 20-14 record as a Monarch. He is ODU’s third all-time strikeout leader with 295 over his three seasons in Norfolk.
As a freshman in 2006, he was named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball and added CAA All-Rookie Team honors. He finished second on the team in wins, posting a 7-3 record with a 3.28 ERA and 79 strikeouts through 12 starts and 14 appearances.
As a sophomore in 2007, he secured a spot on the All-CAA First Team, the CAA All-Tournament Team, and was voted to the VaSID All-State Second Team after going 8-5 with 3.46 ERA through 15 starts. The right hander finished second in the conference in both innings pitched (106.2) and strikeouts (109) while holding opposing batters to a .235 average against him. Hudson threw two complete games, led the team with three pickoffs, and went more than 6.1 innings in all but two of his starts. He racked up a season-high 15 strikeouts in a complete-game victory versus Delaware on April 20 and threw another complete game against UNCW at the CAA Tournament. He then spent his summer playing for the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod League.
Hudson earned Second Team All-CAA as a junior in 2008 after leading the league with 107 strikeouts over 92 innings pitched. He threw three complete games and held opponents to a .249 clip against him. Other season highlights included tossing 7.2 shutout innings with 12 strikeouts against Delaware on March 8 and a 13-strikeout performance against JMU on March 22.
Selected in the fifth round of the 2008 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox, he was named the 2009 Minor League Pitcher of the Year and began the 2010 season with an 11-4 record with Chicago’s AAA affiliate, the Charlotte Knights, before making his MLB debut on July 10. He would go on to play 16 season in the majors (2009-2024), also playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals, and San Diego Padres. Hudson won a Silver Slugger Award while with the Diamondbacks in 2011 after hitting .277 with a .309 slugging percentage and a .369 on-base percentage. He led all pitchers that season with 18 hits and 14 RBIs.
In 2019, the Blue Jays traded him to the Washington Nationals midway through the season. Though he missed Game One of the National League Championship series to be there for the birth of his daughter, he pitched the bottom of the ninth in Game Seven of the World Series to help the Nationals clinch their first-ever title. He then capped off his career with a second World Series title while with the LA Dodgers in 2024.
The final member of the 2026 ODU Sports Hall of Fame Class will be announced on Friday and the group will be inducted during the Jeff & Billye Chernitzer Athletics Hall of Fame Dinner on Friday, September 25 in Chartway Arena.
