Evan Nicholas Skoug (born October 21, 1995) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher ...

. He attended

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciple ...

(TCU) and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

TCU Horned Frogs The TCU Horned Frogs are the athletic teams that represent Texas Christian University. The 18 varsity teams participate in NCAA Division I and in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for football, competing mostly in the Big 12 Conference. The sc ...

, for whom he is currently an assistant coach. He played professional baseball in the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

organization from 2017 to 2023.

Playing career

Skoug attended

Libertyville High School Libertyville High School, or LHS, is a public four-year high school located in Libertyville, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Located at the intersection of Park Avenue (IL Rte 176) and Dawes Street, on the ...

Libertyville, Illinois Libertyville is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and a northern suburb of Chicago. It is located west of Lake Michigan on the Des Plaines River. The 2020 census population was 20,579. It is part of Libertyville Township, whic ...

. Considered a potential second or third round pick in the

MLB draft The first-year player draft is the primary mechanism of Major League Baseball (MLB) for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on a lo ...

, Skoug wanted to go to college. He fell to the 34th round of the

2014 MLB draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

, where he was selected by the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadi ...

. Skoug did not sign, and enrolled at

(TCU). As a freshman for the

, he batted .285 and led the team with 46 RBIs. He was named a Freshman

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n. After the 2015 season, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operate ...

with the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie All ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thous ...

. In 2017, he struggled in his first 20 games of the season, batting below the

Mendoza Line The Mendoza Line is baseball jargon for a sub-.200 batting average, the supposed minimum threshold for competence at the Major League level. It derives from light-hitting shortstop Mario Mendoza, who failed to reach .200 five times in his nine ...

. After making adjustments to his swing, Skoug ended the season with 20 home runs. He was named

Big 12 Conference Baseball Player of the Year The Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year is a baseball award given to the Big 12 Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1997 season, with both pitchers and position players eligible. After the 2001 season, th ...

. The

selected Skoug in the seventh round, with the 207th overall selection, of the

2017 MLB draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on ...

. Skoug signed with the White Sox, receiving a $300,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. After signing, he was assigned to the

AZL White Sox The Arizona Complex League White Sox are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Camelback Ranch in Phoenix, Arizona. The team is compos ...

, and after batting .529 with one home run and three RBIs in four games, was promoted to the

Kannapolis Intimidators Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan counties, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte and is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The city of Kannapolis was incorporated in 1984. T ...

where he finished the season, posting a .154 batting average with two home runs and seven RBIs in 21 games. He returned to Kannapolis in 2018, batting .192 with five home runs and 31 RBIs in 83 games. Skoug once again returned to Kannapolis to begin 2019. On the year, he played in 62 games split between Kannapolis and the High–A

Winston-Salem Dash The Winston-Salem Dash are a Minor League Baseball team in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They are a High-A team in the South Atlantic League and have been a farm team of the Chicago White Sox since 1997. The Dash began playing their home games a ...

, hitting a cumulative .168/.284/.330 with 6 home runs and 24 RBI. Skoug did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. He returned to action in 2021, spending the year in Winston-Salem, as well as playing in 3 games for the Triple–A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

. In 49 games for the Dash, he batted .175/.293/.364 with 7 home runs and 19 RBI. Skoug began the 2022 season with the Double–A

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current ...

. He would go on to enjoy his best season yet, hitting .233/.369/.456 with a career–high 11 home runs and 25 RBI in 69 games played. In 2023, Skoug played in 43 games for Triple–A Charlotte, hitting .171/.299/.325 with 4 home runs and 15 RBI. On July 25, 2023, Skoug was released by the White Sox organization.

Coaching career

On August 25, 2023, Skoug was announced as an assistant coach at his former school,

, for the upcoming season.

Personal life

Skoug was born in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropol ...

. He has an older brother and older sister.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skoug, Evan 1995 births Living people People from Libertyville, Illinois Baseball players from Lake County, Illinois Sportspeople from Kalamazoo, Michigan Baseball players from Michigan Baseball catchers TCU Horned Frogs baseball players Falmouth Commodores players Arizona League White Sox players Kannapolis Intimidators players Winston-Salem Dash players