Career Highs:
Innings Pitched………………....……....7.0, vs. Ohio State (5/9/25)
Strikeouts………………………..8 (2x), last vs. UT Martin (4/23/24)
Fewest Hits Allowed (min. 5 IP)........................0, at UCLA (3/6/20)
Fewest Earned Runs Allowed (min. 5 IP)..........0, at UCLA (3/6/20)
2026: Served as Northwestern’s opening day started against Rice (2/13) … Picked up his first win of the season after he worked 5.0 innings with six strikeouts against Cornell (2/20) … Tossed one scoreless inning with two strikeouts in his appearance against UIC (3/10) … Recorded his second win of the season when he allowed just one earned run on two hits with four strikeouts in 4.1 innings against No. 25 USC (3/14) … Allowed one earned run on three hits in 4.0 innings of work against Washington (3/29).
2025: Appeared in 20 games, starting 12… Earned four wins and two saves… Led the team’s qualified pitchers in IP (82.1, 4th in the Big Ten), WHIP (1.26), SO (65), and BAA (.260) while finishing second in ERA (5.36) and K/9 (7.1)... Worked 3.0 scoreless innings with four strikeouts to earn a save against Long Beach State (2/15)... Earned his second save in as many days with a scoreless ninth against Long Beach State (2/16)... Started against Indiana and allowed just one run in 4.0 innings (2/24)... Tossed a gem to earn a win over The Citadel with a 6.0 inning, one run, five strikeout quality start (3/8)... Worked 6.0 innings in a win over Penn State (3/16)... Struck out six across 5.0 innings of three run ball in a win over Illinois (3/21)... Worked 6.1 innings and struck out six in a win at Maryland (3/28)... Picked up a win for 2.0 scoreless innings against UIC (4/1)... Pitched 5.0 innings of one run ball with four strikeouts against Iowa (4/5)... Worked six strikeouts across 6.1 innings in a win over Michigan State (4/11)... Added five strikeouts across 6.0 innings in a win at Nebraska (4/18)... Tossed a seven-inning complete game victory at Wrigley Field against Ohio State, allowing just one earned run and striking out five batters while hurling 116 pitches (5/9)... Pitched 6.1 innings to earn a win over #14 UCLA, striking out five and allowing four runs.
At Vanderbilt (2020-2024): Tossed 107.0 innings across four seasons, pitching to a career 4-3 record with a 4.79 ERA while totaling 46 appearances and four starts…Threw 5.1 innings of one-run ball against Xavier in the NCAA Tournament as a senior (June 4, 2023)...Honored as a National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball (March 6, 2023)...Struck out eight consecutive batters over four innings vs. UT Martin (April 23, 2024)...Pitched 3.2 innings in a combined no-hitter at Minnesota, striking out eight while earning the win (March 5, 2023)...Made his first career start as a sophomore…Earned two saves while pitching to a 2.70 ERA in 20 innings as a sophomore in 2021…Starred in his freshman season, ranking as the nation’s 35th best freshman pitcher according to D1Baseball…Tossed 15.2 scoreless innings as a freshman in 2020 before the season was cancelled, holding opponents to a .043 batting average and owning a 16:2 strikeout:walk ratio…Tossed five hitless innings in relief at No. 6 UCLA (March 6, 2020).
High School: Attended Harvard-Westlake (Los Angeles, Calif.)...2019 Mission League Pitcher of the Year…2019 Daily News Pitcher of the Year…2019 California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section first-team honoree…2018 MaxPreps California large Schools All-State honoree…2018 Mission League Pitcher of the Year…2018 Daily News Pitcher of the Year…Four-year varsity record of 23-3 and 13-1 mark in league play…Went 9-1 with a 1.37 ERA and 0.78 WHIP in 72 innings as senior…Helped team to California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section runner-up in 2016 and ‘19.
Personal: Full name is Samuel Walden Hliboki…Son of Jim and Hildi…Has a sister named Maddie.