« Baseball 2021

Zach Pettway

School
UCLA
Position
Right-Handed Pitcher
Major
Sociology

Classroom

Pettway studied sociology at UCLA, graduating in 2021. He was named to the UCLA Athletic Director’s Honor Roll five times.

Following his baseball career, Pettway aspires to be a firefighter. For class, he submitted a paper detailing how his hometown of Long Beach retained high quality of life measures and public perception ratings after being designated a sanctuary city.

Character

Pettway is a two-time team captain for UCLA. He has helped establish and maintain the team culture. He elected to return to UCLA for his senior season and earn his degree, with hopes of helping the Bruins win a championship.

He has dealt with injuries at UCLA, sidelining him for the season in 2019 and the postseason run in the build up to 2021.

For the last three years, Pettway has been a leader and mainstay on the rotation. In his sophomore year, he was the opening day starter for a team that led the country in ERA.

Community

Pettway’s childhood best friend passed away from leukemia, and a foundation was established in his honor. He aspires to play a central role in that foundation after college.

He has also made several speaking appearances with his high school team upon return visits to Long Beach Wilson High School.

Playing at UCLA has given Pettway the opportunity to interact with local veterans. They host several official events with veterans each year, highlighted by the Jackie Robinson Day Fantasy Camp. Veterans are invited to the stadium to participate in an annual hitting and field practice that celebrates the life and legacy of Jackie Robinson. Veterans are also provided with apparel and a meal during the day.

Competition

Pettway is a four-year member of the UCLA rotation. Entering 2021, he has a 13-6 record and 3.44 EA.

He was named the 2020 PAC-12 Pitcher of the Year by D1Baseball and an All-America first team selection. In the shortened season, he went 3-0 with a 1.05 ERA and 29-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Pettway is a two-time PAC-12 preseason Pitcher of the Year and has twice been UCLA’s opening day starter. During his career, he has taken home three PAC-12 Pitcher of the Week awards, including two consecutive in 2020. He was the first Bruin to do so since Trevor Bauer.

Pettway has accrued three separate double-digit strikeout games since arriving.

He started his career with a standout season, culminating in All-America freshman and All-PAC-12 honorable mention honors.