Ross Puskarich

Class

2018
Honors

Baseball (2015-2018)

Major: Finance
Hometown: Bakerfield, CA
Career Highlights: Four-time letter winner for Baseball; 2016 2nd Team All-WCC; Con Dempsey Award

Biography: Puskarich played baseball on the Hilltop from 2015-2018. he played primarily at first base, and also occasionally saw time as the Dons designated hitter. He had a solid senior season in 2018, hitting .253 with 5 home runs and 34 RBIs. In 2017 as a junior he made 49 starts in 55 appearances, hit .262 overall with three home runs with 30 RBIs. As a sophomore in 2015, Puskarich was named second-team All-WCC, as he led the team with a .331 average overall, and was second on the team with five home runs and 29 RBI. Puskarich hit .344 in WCC contests, which ranked 8th in the conference. In his debut season as a freshmen, he started 23 of the 33 games he appeared in, and hit .240 in 75 at-bats.

Did You Know: Puskarich's cousin is former NFL center Joe Hawley who played for both the Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Life After USF: After graduation from USF, Puskarich had a brief professional baseball career with the San Rafael Pacifics in the Pacific Association. He is currently a Leasing Manager for the Abbey Company in Bakersfield, California.

Puskarich keeps it pretty simple. It makes sense for a guy who hit safely in 29 straight games - spanning the final 17 games of 2016 and the first 12 of this year - to not want to overcomplicate things. A perfect day for the junior slugger? "Wake up and head to the field, maybe hit a dinger or two, hit the showers and head to the beach with all of my best buddies."

Puskarich's stripped down approach is starting to pay off for him. The 6-foot 215-pound first baseman saw action in 34 contests as a freshman in 2015, hitting a modest .241. But Puskarich, a 35th round pick of the Boston Red Sox coming out of Liberty High School in Bakersfield, really enjoyed a breakout year as a sophomore, where he led the team in batting average (.331) and ranked second in home runs (5) and RBI (29), which earned him Second Team All-WCC honors.

"I like to work hard at the game and try to be better every day while keeping it pretty relaxed and crack a few jokes here and there," Puskarich said. "I keep a nice mix of hard-nosed and laid back. My freshman year I didn't play as much as I'd like and nobody likes to not play, so I worked harder and got better so I could be an impact player on this team."

Puskarich, who is working toward his Degree in fFnance, was awarded the team's Con Dempsey Award at the conclusion of the 2016 season. The award served as a testament to his growth and a validation of his tireless approach.

"The Con Dempsey Award is given to the player that comes on late in the season and no one was talking about early and that was Ross," head coach Nino Giarratano said. "All of a sudden his sophomore season he's emerging as an All-WCC performer and a guy that bolsters the middle of our lineup. He came from obscurity to being ultra successful and helping us win games. A lot of that is how hard he works."

"When I look back and see myself now as opposed to when I was a freshman it's night and day," Puskarich said. "I have just tried to make the best of every opportunity that comes my way on the field and I have found a way to learn from my mistakes. Coach G and Coach Naks have so much knowledge to offer, not only in the game of baseball but in life as well, so I just try to not take that for granted and listen and work hard on and off the field to be a better player and person in any way that I can."

This season, Puskarich has picked up right where he left off, literally, in carrying over his hitting streak from last year, which ranks as the longest on record in program history. He's tied for the team lead with 28 RBI as the Dons (22-20, 7-11 WCC) head into a three-game series with BYU this weekend looking to make a late-season push (USFAthletics).

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