2025 Baseball Roster
Jersey Number 12
Payton Hutchings
- Class:
- Redshirt Senior
- Height:
- 6-0
- Weight:
- 190
- Hometown:
- Coal City, Ill.
- High School:
- Coal City
 University of Illinois Graduate |
Career Highs
- Innings pitched: 6.0, vs. Kansas, Feb. 20, 2022
- Strikeouts: 6, vs. Bradley, March 19, 2024
- Walks allowed: 5, vs. Michigan, May 24, 2024
- Batters faced: 26, vs. Kansas, Feb. 20, 2022
- Field chances: 2, 4x last: vs. Valparaiso, March 15, 2025 (G1)
- Putouts: 2, Northwestern, March 27, 2021
- Assists: 2, 3x, last: vs. Akron, Feb. 16, 2024
- Runners CS: 2, vs. Purdue, April 27, 2025
Redshirt Junior - 2025
- Went 2-2 with a 5.65 ERA (18 ER/28.2 IP), tallying 20 strikeouts and allowing an opponent's average of .272.
- Worked a season-high 4.0 innings on May 3 at Rutgers...allowed three runs, all earned, on three hits, striking out two.
- Recorded a season-high three strikeouts three times...March 11 vs. Western Illinois, March 21 at Northwestern (G2), April 15 vs. SIUE.
- Did not allow an earned run from March 29 to April 20, spanning 7.2 innings (6 G).
Redshirt Sophomore - 2024
- Academic All-Big Ten
- Went 4-3 with a 7.65 ERA (32 ER/37.2 IP) in 17 games, four starts...amassed 31 strikeouts.
- Made season debut on Feb. 16 vs. Akron...tossed 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit.
- Struck out a career-high six batters over 2.1 frames on March 19 Bradley...yielded just one hit and issued no walks in that outing.
- Spun 3.2 shutout frames on April 5 at Minnesota.
- Worked a season-high 5.0 innings on June 1 in the NCAA Lexington Regional at No. 2 Kentucky...allowed three runs on four hits to go along with two strikeouts.
Redshirt Sophomore - 2023
- Went 0-0 with a 2.70 ERA (1 ER/3.1 IP) in two relief outings.
- Made his season debut on April 2 vs. Michigan...tossed a scoreless ninth inning to end the contest.
- Worked 2.1 innings on April 8 at Northwestern...allowed one run on three hits to go along with two strikeouts.
Sophomore - 2022
- Made one start on the season, tossing a quality start against Kansas on February 20
- Allowed just one run on eight hits while striking out three
Freshman - 2021
- Appeared in eight games out of the bullpen
- 0-0, 8.36 ERA, 14.0 IP, 5 BB, 13 SO
- Ranked No. 17 impact freshman in the Big Ten by D1Baseball
High School
- No. 1 left-handed pitcher in Illinois by Prep Baseball Report and No. 5 by Perfect Game
- No. 45 left-handed pitcher in the nation by Prep Baseball Report and No. 117 by Perfect Game
- No. 12 recruit in Illinois by Prep Baseball Report and No. 39 by Perfect Game
- No. 422 recruit in the nation by Prep Baseball Report
- Three-year letterwinner
- Played for head coach Greg Wills at Coal City
- 25-6, 0.67 ERA, 338 SO, 179.2 IP
- .388 batting average, four home runs, 50 RBIs, and 121 runs
- Three-time All-Illinois Central 8 Conference
- Two-time all-state
- 2019 Kankakee Player of the Year
- 2018 Morris Daily Herald Player of the Year
- 2019 High School Baseball National Championship Team Illinois Selection
- 2018 Northern Illinois Player of the Year
- Struck out all 21 batters in a perfect game against Beecher as a sophomore
- Also played basketball and football in high school
- Two-time all-conference in both basketball and football
- Involved with community service through food drives in his community
- Coalers with Character
- Link Leaders
Personal
- Born Nov. 19, 2001
- Son of Dan and Janet Hutchings
- Father, Dan, is a high school athletic director
- One older brother, Chris Hajdu, and one older sister, Leah Hajdu
- Cousin, John Gockman, played football as a kicker at Illinois
- Plans to major in communications
- Plans to work in sports marketing following his playing career
- Committed to Illinois in December 2017
- Chose Illinois over Iowa, Illinois State, Louisville, and UIC
- Chose Illinois because, "I want to represent my home state, and it is my dream school. On my visit it felt like home and I enjoyed it so much."
Wednesday, March 19
Thursday, February 13
Monday, December 09
Friday, September 22
