Kyle Zimmer (2020) - Hall of Fame - University of San Francisco Athletics

Hall of Fame

Kyle Zimmer

Class

2012
Induction

2020
Sport(s)

Baseball

Kyle Zimmer wasn't even supposed to be a pitcher. The La Jolla, Calif., native was a slugging third baseman at La Jolla High School and came to The Hilltop as such. But when he arrived, he was behind all-West Coast Conference third baseman Stephen Yarrow on the depth chart. So, head coach Nino Giarratano tried Zimmer's strong cross-infield arm coming out of the bullpen as a freshman in 2010. It was the start of something special.

Zimmer only threw 5 1/3 innings in his first collegiate season, but he struck out seven in what was just five appearances – a preview of things to come.

In his sophomore campaign of 2011, Zimmer blossomed into the Dons' Friday starter, going 6-4 and leading the team in strikeouts with 89 – a top-10 single season program mark at the time. He earned all-WCC First Team accolades and was also a WCC all-academic honoree. He wiped out a career-high 14 against rival Saint Mary's that year, and he earned his first save to clinch the Dons' WCC championship with a one-hit ninth inning against Gonzaga on May 29.

The talented flamethrower asserted himself on the national stage in the Dons' NCAA Los Angeles Regional game against host and then-No. 12 UCLA. He outdueled the 2011 first overall draft pick, Gerrit Cole, by throwing his first career shutout. In the 3-0 victory, Zimmer scattered four hits and struck out 11 en route to being named to the Los Angeles Regional All-Tournament Team.

Zimmer didn't slow down in his final year on The Hilltop, either. He continued to dominate, going 5-3 with a 2.85 ERA and a WCC-leading 104 strikeouts – still a top-five single-season mark at USF. The right-hander also finished first in the conference in shutouts (2) and strikeouts per nine innings (10.6). In addition, Zimmer was among the nation's elite in the D-I baseball circuit, ranking 15th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (104-to-17), 20th in strikeouts per nine, and 26th in strikeouts.

Zimmer's 200 career strikeouts still rank No. 7 all-time on the USF career list. In his three-year stay at USF, Zimmer amassed an 11-7 record with a 3.45 ERA and 200 strikeouts against just 41 walks in 185 1/3 innings pitched.

With all of his successes in the Green and Gold, Zimmer became the highest-drafted baseball player ever from USF, going No. 5 overall to the Kansas City Royals in the 2012 MLB Draft. He is one of only four all-time MLB first round draft picks out of San Francisco, cementing his legacy as one of the all-time greats to play on The Hilltop.

A long and hard-fought journey to get to the Major Leagues finally came to an end– and to its pinnacle – last spring for Zimmer.

After being named to the Royals' Opening Day roster on March 28, 2019, Zimmer finally made his Major League Baseball debut on March 31, 2019, throwing a scoreless eighth inning against the Chicago White Sox with two strikeouts in front of the home crowd at Kauffman Stadium.

It was a debut that was nearly seven years in the making, as Zimmer battled elbow injuries, a bicep injury, and numerous shoulder injuries since the year he was drafted which continued to knock him back and delay his rise to the Big Show.

But all that finally came to an end last season. And Zimmer will look to continue his rise in 2020, just as he did when he arrived on The Hilltop a decade ago and rose from a rarely used bullpen arm to an all-time USF great and a Major Leaguer.
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