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Penn State Baseball Ends 20-Year Major League Baseball Drought

New York Mets pitcher Justin Hagenman becomes the first Nittany Lion to appear in a MLB game since 2005.
Mark Wogenrich|
New York Mets relief pitcher Justin Hagenman delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the second inning at Target Field.
New York Mets relief pitcher Justin Hagenman delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the second inning at Target Field. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Penn State ended a long dry spell Wednesday, when former Nittany Lions pitcher Justin Hagenman took the mound for the New York Mets. In doing so, Hagenman became the first Penn State baseball player to appear in a Major League Baseball game in nearly 20 years.

Hagenman, a 28-year-old right-handed pitcher, entered in the second inning for the Mets, thus becoming Penn State's first Major League player since 2005. Hagenman threw 3.1 innings against the Minnesota Twins, allowing a run on three hits and striking out four. He struck out the first batter he faced in the Mets' 4-3, 10-inning loss.

The last Penn State player to appear in a Major League game was pitcher Nate Bump, who took the mound in a July 2025 game. Hagenman became the 24th Penn State player to appear in an MLB game, though the program had not been represented in two decades.

Hagenman took a long road to the majors. He was a three-year starter at Penn State, making 42 career starts. Hagenman finished his college career with a 4.62 ERA and 190 strikeouts. He was freshman All-American in 2016 after going 6-3 with a 3.84 ERA.

Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018, Hagenman has played for six minor league teams from Ogden to Tulsa to Syracuse. The Dodgers traded Hagenman to the Boston Red Sox in 2023, and the Mets signed him last November.

Hagenman made three starts with the Triple-A Syracuse Mets before getting called up prior to Wednesday's game against Minnesota.

Penn State baseball is 22-13 (10-8 in the Big Ten) and will host Purdue for a three-game conference series this weekend. On Saturday, the Nittany Lions will host an Ice Cream Day featuring a Berkey Creamery flavor inspired by the team, Grand Slam Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is the editor and publisher of Penn State on SI, the site for Nittany Lions sports on the Sports Illustrated network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs, three Rose Bowls and one College Football Playoff appearance.

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