Charger Report

New Chargers Draft Pick Has Baseball Hall of Fame Connections

A new LA draft pick has major baseball Hall of Fame ties.

Eva Geitheim

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Chargers selected former Troy running back Kimani Vidal in the sixth round with the 181st overall pick. However, Vidal is not just any ordinary athlete heading into the NFL from college, he's the great nephew of legendary baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron. Talk about incredible athletic family ties.

During his baseball career that spanned over two decades with the Braves and Brewers, Aaron established himself as one of the greatest players in MLB history. He was an All-Star an astonishing 25 times, won a World Series, was the NL MVP in 1957, and led the NL in both home runs and RBIs four different times. Aaron also holds the MLB all-time records for RBIs with 2,297, and total bases, 6,856. He also holds 3,771 career hits and 755 career home runs.

Now, Vidal will continue the family legacy as he begins his own professional sports career. Vidal put together an impressive career as a running back at Troy, particularly during his final two seasons. After rushing for 1,132 yards in 2022, Vidal finished second in the FBS in total rushing yards with 1,661 in 2023. He also added 14 rushing touchdowns, while averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Vidal had multiple games with over 240 rushing yards in 2023, including setting the program single-game rushing record with 248 rushing yards. He went on to become the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year, and was also named a third-team All-American.

While Vidal will have to compete for playing time on the Chargers with recent Bolts signees Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins, he certainly has the chance to make a splash if he does well in the preseason.

Vidal is not the only player in this Chargers draft class with a Hall of Fame athlete in the family. Chargers seventh round pick Brenden Rice is the son of a player who many also consider to be one of the greatest of all time in Jerry Rice.

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Eva Geitheim

EVA GEITHEIM

Eva graduated from UCLA in 2023 with a bachelor's degree in Communication. She has been covering college and professional sports since 2022.