Matt Hogan’s professional baseball career has taken him as high as the Triple-A affiliate for the Chicago White Sox, but the Long Island native is looking to continue his journey with his hometownDucksin 2026, while he hopes to secure another shot at the big leagues.

Matt Hogan was born in Plainview, but spent most of his childhood in Melville. The outfielder signed with the Long Island Ducks on Thursday, April 9, after being released by the White Sox a month prior. He said it was a full-circle moment for him to be wearing a Ducks jersey.

“I grew up coming to these games,” Hogan said. “I remember sitting up in a box that my aunt and uncle bought for a day. It’s my first time playing baseball on Long Island in about eight years, so it’s a bit humbling.”

He grew up playing baseball, competing for Half Hollow Hills East High School and the Long Island Titans. Hogan was given theCarl Yastrzemski Award as Suffolk County’s top player in 2018, and he set the record for most home runs, runs batted in, and hits in school history.

Hogan headed to Tennessee to play college baseball at Vanderbilt University, a school renowned for producing MLB talent. But after three seasons with the Commadores, he only recorded 19 at-bats, getting just two hits.

Hogan transferred to South Carolina in 2022, where he appeared in 32 games, and then to Oral Roberts for his final college baseball season in 2023, where he found success for the first time on the collegiate level.

In 62 games, the outfielder hit .320 while hitting 19 home runs and driving in 72 runs. The school made it all the way to the College World Series as one of the last eight programs in the country.

Hogan played the rest of 2023 in the Pioneer League, slugging 10 homers in 44 games for Rocky Mountain. The White Sox then gave Hogan a shot in March 2024, playing for five teams within the organization over the next two years, playing in 147 games and hitting .198 with eight home runs and 58 RBIs.

He also won two championships with the White Sox’s AA-affiliate in Birmingham, Ala.

With two titles and an appearance in the College World Series under his belt, the 26-year-old said it would be great to bring that championship experience to the Ducks.

Source: LI Press