Who is Jacob Hurtubise? Newest Cincinnati Red is 2nd West Point graduate to play in MLB

Outfielder Jacob Hurtubise became the second United States Military Academy graduate ever to play Major League Baseball when the Cincinnati Reds promoted him May 13 to replace injured outfielder TJ Friedl on the roster.

The 26-year-old Hurtubise, an undrafted free agent from Zionsville, Indiana, collected his first big-league hit Saturday night in Los Angeles against the Dodgers' Walker Buehler. It was one of three Cincinnati hits in a 4-0 loss.

Hurtubise signed with the Reds after the pandemic-shortened 2020 MLB draft. He joins Chris Rowley, who pitched in eight games for the Toronto Blue Jays between 2017 and 2018, as the only Major Leaguers who were West Point graduates. Walt French, who attended West Point but did not graduate, hit .303 in six MLB seasons from 1923 to 1929, per Baseball-Reference.com.

When Hurtubise signed with Cincinnati, he became the first academy player allowed to defer military service obligation, under a new professional athlete exemption policy. According to that policy, Hurtubise was permitted to delay his commissioning and subsequent service obligation, and can continue to play baseball as long as he has a professional contract and provides positive media exposure for the Army.

The military granted waivers to Hurtubise and fellow West Point grads Cole Christiansen, Elijah Riley and Connor Slomka in the NFL, and Zac McGraw in Major League Soccer.

The Reds' official Twitter/X account welcomed Hurtubise on Monday:

More to know about Hurtubise, pronounced HURT-a-bees:

A shoulder injury limited Hurtubise to nine minor-league games this season.

Hurtubise hit .250 in 12 plate appearances for Triple-A Louisville. He homered Sunday during a rehab stint with High-A Dayton.

In January, Hurtubise was named the team's Minor League Position Player of the Year after batting .330 with an OPS of .961 in 2023, with seven homers and 45 stolen bases over 119 games between Double-A Chattanooga and Louisville.

He was ranked No. 24 among the Reds' top prospects by MLB Pipeline.

At Army, Hurtubise had 105 stolen bases and 0 home runs.

Hurtubise established Patriot League records for career stolen bases and walks even before Army's 2020 season ended after only five games because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2019, he set Army's single-season records for runs scored (71), walks (69) and stolen bases (45). A two-time all-Patriot League first-teamer, Hurtubise earned ABCA All-American honors and Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2019, and was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2020.

Hurtubise was a 39th-round pick of the Seattle Mariners in 2019, but he did not sign, instead opting to return to West Point for his senior season to complete his degree and training.

Hurtubise filed his waiver application with the military before completing his degree in operations research and branching air defense artillery. His application was approved ahead of a June graduation ceremony.

C.J. Gillman, a former Air Force Academy assistant coach who became the Reds' minor-league hitting coordinator, called Hurtubise and told him how much he disliked facing Army while the speedy, aggressive Hurtubise was there. Gillman, who now works for the Mariners, convinced Hurtubise to sign with Cincinnati, Jon Morosi wrote for MLB.com in 2021.

Hurtubise spent 47 months training to serve the United States.

"A big part of who I am starts with my experience at the West Point Military Academy," Hurtubise said, per The Enquirer's Charlie Goldsmith. "I learned a lot about resilience and grit. … I've seen a lot of pitches over the years. Some people are better at plate discipline than others, and I've been gifted with a good eye and patience at the plate."

"We are exceptionally proud of Jacob," Army West Point director of athletics Mike Buddie said, per Army West Point Athletics Communications, when Hurtubise signed with the Reds. "He has earned this opportunity through his hard work and determination while representing the Corps of Cadets on the field. … I am thrilled for Jacob to get this incredible opportunity and am convinced this will only make him a better officer when that time comes."

"We are very proud and excited for Jacob to get this opportunity with the Cincinnati Reds," Army baseball head coach Jim Foster added. "He has been a huge part of our baseball program and will be remembered as one of the greats in program history. He has been the definition of what we want in a player and, more importantly, a person and a leader."

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Who is Jacob Hurtubise? Cincinnati OF is second West Point grad in MLB