Former West Orange High baseball player Doug Nikhazy one step closer to MLB dream

After being drafted in the second round to the Cleveland Guardians in 2021, the former Ole Miss pitcher received a call-up to AAA.

By Sam Albuquerque
| 3:30 p.m. July 3, 2024

Sports

Former West Orange High and Ole Miss baseball player Doug Nikhazy is one step closer to his MLB dream after getting called up to AAA.

He goes from the Cleveland Guardians AA affiliate, the Akron RubberDucks, to its AAA affiliate, the Columbus Clippers.

Nikhazy, a Class of 2018 Warriors alum, is a 24-year-old, left-handed pitcher who was selected in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft.

He has been working his way through the Guardians’ farm system since 2022 — jumping from High-A ball with the Lake County Captains to AA in Akron in his first season. In his first appearance for the Clippers, Nikhazy hit the ground running.

Against International League West rivals, the Omaha Storm Chasers, Nikhazy threw a complete game shutout, with five strikeouts and allowed only two hits to lead the way for a 5-0 win.

author

Sam Albuquerque

A native of João Pessoa, Brazil, Sam Albuquerque moved in 1997 to Central Florida as a kid. After earning a communications degree in 2016 from the University of Central Florida, he started his career covering sports as a producer for a local radio station, ESPN 580 Orlando. He went on to earn a master’s degree in editorial journalism from Northwestern University, before moving to South Carolina to cover local sports for the USA Today Network’s Spartanburg Herald-Journal. When he’s not working, you can find him spending time with his lovely wife, Sarah, newborn son, Noah, and dog named Skulí.