SMCC Baseball Sophomores Esteban Hernandez, Clayton Kempski Transfer for 2023 Season
PHOENIX ---
Sophomores Esteban Hernandez and Clayton Kempski of the South Mountain Community College Baseball team will transfer to NCAA Division I Southeast Missouri State University and Winthrop University, respectively, to continue their baseball career for the upcoming 2023 season. Hernandez is an infielder and right-handed pitcher from Yuma, Ariz., appeared in 83 games and posted a .273 batting average with 11 extra-base hits and 17 stolen bases. Kempski is a catcher from Corrales, N.M., who batted .269 with 16 RBIs and three doubles in 42 career games.
The Redhawks compete in the Ohio Valley Conference and finished 37-22 and 16-8 in the OVC in 2022. They overcame an opening-round loss in the OVC Tournament and clinched a berth in the NCAA Tournament with a 5-4 win over top-seeded Belmont. SEMO played in the Louisville Regional and faced the host Cardinals and the Oregon Ducks.
Hernandez appeared in 43 games in 2022 and batted .248 with 28 hits and 25 runs. He posted four doubles, a home run, 13 RBIs and 12 stolen bases and finished with a .397 on-base percentage and a .310 slugging percentage. Hernandez homered and had a season-high three RBIs in a win at Mesa CC and three stolen bases at Chandler-Gilbert CC.
As a pitcher in 2022, Hernandez tossed 12.0 innings with 10 strikeouts and three walks. He finished with a 3.75 ERA and had a season-high three strikeouts in two games.
In 2021, Hernandez appeared in 40 games for the Cougars and posted a .298 batting average with 24 runs, two doubles, three triples, a home run, 13 RBIs and five stolen bases. He scored a season-high three runs in a win over Central Arizona and had a season-high three hits twice.
Hernandez joins former Cougars Garrett Gandolfo and Aaron Stretch in transferring to SEMO to continue their intercollegiate baseball careers.
Kemspki heads to Winthrop University, which is in Rock Hill, S.C., and is a member of the Big South Conference. Kempski is the first Cougar to continue his intercollegiate baseball career with the Eagles.
In 2022, Kempski appeared in 19 games and batted .263 with 15 hits in 57 at-bats. He had a pair of doubles, seven RBIs and three walks, and a season-high four hits in a win over Gateway CC. He also posted a .988 fielding percentage in 173 chances and caught five runners trying to steal a base.
In 2021, Kempski appeared in 23 games and batted .275 with a double, a home run and nine RBIs. He drove in a season-high three RBIs in a home win over Eastern Arizona and homered in a contest at Arizona Western. Behind the plate, Kempski recorded a .965 fielding percentage for the season, throwing out 11 runners trying to steal a base.
Hernandez and Kempski join Drew Woody (Utah Valley University), Carter Krosky (Utah Valley University), Alec Stanfield (University of New Mexico), Ryan Figueroa (CSU Bakersfield) and Charlie Deeds (Southeastern Oklahoma State University) as Cougars from the 2022 squad transferring to four-year institutions to continue their baseball career.
