The College Baseball Foundation (CBF) has announced the 2026 class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame, and former Arizona baseball player David Stegman and longtime Tucson resident Brent Strom are two of the 21 individuals selected for induction into the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
The 2026 class comprised of 16 former players, two former coaches, two former umpires, and one administrator/contributor, includes former Arizona State All-American Barry Bonds.
The 19th induction class will be honored at the 2027 Night of Champions on Feb. 11, 2027, in Overland Park, Kan., the home of the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
Stegman joins a legendary Arizona group in the College Baseball Hall of Fame. Jerry Kindall (2007), Terry Francona (2011) and Frank Sancet (2012) are previous selections.
Stegman competed for the Wildcats from 1973-76 and stands as one of the most prolific players in the history of the program.
A three-time All-American, at the conclusion of his career with Arizona, Stegman ranked first in program history in games played (222), runs (287), hits (321), total bases (487), walks (202), doubles (72), and consecutive games played (155).
He currently ranks first in runs and doubles, second in hits, extra-base hits (110), and total bases, third in walks and stolen bases (86), fourth in RBI (198), sixth in games played, seventh in triples (20), stolen base percentage (.835), and batting average (.390), eighth in at-bats (823), ninth in consecutive games played, and 10th in on-base percentage (.481).
Stegman was drafted three times – once out of high school and twice after his junior season – but elected to return to Arizona each time before completing his collegiate career in 1976.
Stegman’s senior season in 1976 was one of the most remarkable in program history, as he was named a First Team All-American and the team’s Most Valuable Player after hitting .425 with 111 hits, 91 runs, 30 doubles, seven home runs, 64 RBI, and 26 stolen bases, while leading Arizona to an overall record of 56-17 and the program’s first ever National Championship. He still holds the single season program record for games played (73), runs, and hits, while ranking tied for first in doubles, fifth in stolen base percentage (.897), and tied for seventh in extra-base hits (40) and batting average.
Stegman was named to the 1976 College World Series All-Tournament Team and, in the Championship Game against Eastern Michigan, he went 3-for-4 with three RBI to help lead the Wildcats to a 7-1 victory.
Following his senior campaign, Stegman was drafted by the Detroit Tigers with the second overall pick of the 1976 MLB Draft. Stegman made his MLB debut in September 1978, and went on to play six seasons in the majors for the Tigers, New York Yankees, and Chicago White Sox.
Stegman was inducted into the University of Arizona Athletics Hall of Fame in 1981 and remains one of the most decorated players in program history.
During a recent reunion of the 1976 team at the Arizona Sands Club, Stegman discussed his recruitment to Arizona with his former teammates.
Stegman was playing high school baseball in California and thought he would end up at Santa Clara where his brother played football, or San Luis Obispo, but he didn’t get offers from those schools. His offer came from Kindall at Arizona.
Kindall was in California recruiting Roy Howell, who was the fourth overall pick in the 1972 draft by the Texas Rangers.
After taking Howell and his family out to dinner, Kindall made a visit to the Stegman household. Following some discussion, Kindall told Stegman he had a scholarship if he wanted it.
Stegman’s reaction: “It about floored me. I just looked at my parents and said, ‘Of course’ and that’s where I ended up.”
Strom, a veteran pitching coach in MLB who retired after last season, was selected to the College Baseball Hall of Fame for his exploits at USC. He led the Trojans to two College World Series championships as a right-handed pitcher.
Strom, 78, pitched for the Tucson Toros in 1980 and was hired by the Houston Astros to be pitching coach of the Toros from 1989-95.
It was during his time with the Toros as a coach that Strom, who hails from San Diego, and his wife Carrie bought a house in Tucson.
They resided at their Tucson home during Strom’s offseasons when he was an MLB pitching coach for the Astros (1996),
Kansas City Royals (2000–2001), Astros again (2014–2021), Arizona Diamondbacks (2022–2024) and Pittsburgh Pirates (2025).
During his time as Toros pitching coach, Strom started a popular pitching training camp in Tucson named the Strom Pitching Institute.
The Tucson Toros won PCL titles in 1991 and 1993 while Strom was on the staff with managers Bob Skinner (1991) and Rick Sweet (1993).
Recommended for you
