Three former Aggies turn 2018 title run into major league success
Three former NMSU baseball players from the Aggies’ 2018 WAC championship team are now making their mark in Major League Baseball.
Kyle Bradish, Joey Ortiz and Nick Gonzales went from NMSU’s first WAC Tournament Championship team to the big leagues and the NM State Athletics Hall of Fame.
Tiffany Acosta, New Mexico State University
LAS CRUCES - In 2018, the New Mexico State University baseball team won its first Western Athletic Conference Tournament Championship. Eight years later, three players from that squad, Kyle Bradish, Joey Ortiz and Nick Gonzales, were inducted into the US Bank/NM State Athletics Hall of Fame in January 2026.
“I feel like no matter who we were playing, we were always ready to go, and we never really had to fear anyone,” said Ortiz, shortstop for the Milwaukee Brewers who was a sophomore in 2018.
Now the trio, who are making a name for themselves in the major leagues, echo the same sentiment about entering the hall of fame together.
“It’s pretty crazy to think how three of us were on the same team not too long ago, and now we’re here. All three of us are in the big leagues having success. It’s just really crazy to think about and a big blessing,” said Bradish, a right-handed pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles.
After his junior season in 2018, Bradish was drafted in the fourth round by the Los Angeles Angels before the Orioles acquired him in December 2019. Bradish became the first Aggie to ever appear in the MLB postseason when he started Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Texas Rangers in October 2023.
Bradish said he enjoys the atmosphere in Baltimore and the hype for the team to return to the playoffs.
“They love their baseball there,” Bradish said. “It’s a great baseball city.”
Ortiz, who was drafted by the Orioles in the fourth round in 2019 after earning WAC Player of the Year honors as a junior, was traded to the Brewers in February 2024. He credits the team’s chemistry with helping the Brewers win an MLB-best 97 games in 2025.
“We’re all pretty close,” Ortiz said. “The group is a bunch of good people, and good ballplayers, and gritty ballplayers, and I think that’s why we play so well. Murph (Pat Murphy) does a good job in instilling that in us, and as the head coach of the team, the manager, he does a great job.”
Michael Navarrette
As the youngest of the trio, Gonzales, who was a freshman in 2018, became the highest MLB draft pick in Aggie history when the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him seventh overall in 2020 following his COVID-shortened junior season. He believes his time at NMSU helped foster his success.
“The environment and the culture is just so family-oriented and loving and embraced me with open arms,” Gonzales said. “It felt like home right away. I was born and raised in Tucson, so it’s not too far from here, and it felt so much like home that I was really comfortable right off the bat. I enjoyed my time here, and my family did, and it was a smooth transition when I came here when I was 18 years old.”
Gonzales said he hopes to help the Pirates return to the playoffs for the first time since 2015.
“I love the city of Pittsburgh,” Gonzales said. “All the fans are so awesome to me. The stadium is just beautiful.”
Before the 2026 season, Ortiz and Gonzales reunited in March 2026 to play for Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic, along with left-handed pitcher Samy Natera Jr., who was drafted by the Angels in 2022.
A version of this story was published in the spring 2026 issue of Panorama. For more stories, visit https://panorama.nmsu.edu.
Tiffany Acosta writes for New Mexico State University Marketing and Communications and can be reached at 575-646-3929, or by email at tfrank@nmsu.edu.
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