TORONTO, Ontario — Former Sacramento State standout Nathan Lukes is headed to Major League Baseball's biggest stage after helping his Toronto Blue Jays club win the American League pennant and advance to the World Series for the first time in 32 years on Monday night at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario.
Lukes becomes the second Hornet to advance to the World Series alongside former college teammate Rhys Hoskins (2012-14), who helped the Philadelphia Phillies to the Fall Classic against the Houston Astros in 2022.
The Blue Jays face the Los Angeles Dodgers in game one on Friday (Oct. 24) in Toronto after completing a dramatic come-from-behind, 4-3, victory in game seven of their series against the Seattle Mariners on Monday night, completing Toronto's comeback from down three games to two in the series and clinching the American League pennant.
Lukes, a three-year letter winner for the Hornets from 2013-15 before being drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the seventh round of the 2015 MLB Draft, finished 9-for-27 (.333) in the series against the Mariners, scoring three runs and driving in a pair. Overall for the postseason, Lukes is 13-for-39 (.333) with three doubles and seven RBI, slugging .410 with a .381 on-base percentage.
After making his Major League debut with Toronto back in 2023 against St. Louis, Lukes appeared in 135 games for the Blue Jays during the 2025 regular season, hitting .255 with 55 runs scored, 12 home runs, and 65 RBI.
As a Hornet, Lukes wrapped up his collegiate career as the program's all-time leader in hits (244), ranked second in runs scored (137), and finished tied for ninth with 37 career doubles, all the while earning a pair of All-Western Athletic Conference first-team awards as a sophomore and junior. He led the team in average and hits in each of his last two seasons.
As a sophomore in 2014, Lukes hit .347 with 90 hits, 54 runs scored and 26 RBI, helping Sacramento State win the WAC Tournament title and advance to the program's first NCAA Regional at the Division I level, posting a win over No. 18 Arizona State in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
