Vineland, NJ, native Josh Hood hits first professional home run

Josh Hood, a Vineland native and St. Augustine Prep graduate, hit his first professional home run on Friday night - a grand slam.

Hood, is another in a growing number of South Jersey high school alums making noise at the next level.

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The sixth-round pick of the Seattle Mariners hit a go ahead grand slam to help his Modesto Nuts win the game in the ninth.

In two games so far, the 2018 Hermits grad, is hitting .333 with one hime run and six RBI, hitting in the No. 3 spot in the order.

It's been quite the journey for the Vineland native, from Richland to the University of Pennsylvania, where he was drafted in the 20th round by the Boston Red Sox.

After COVID, Hood transfered to North Carolina State and was drafted by Seattle in 2022.

He had the opportunity to play with the Mariners during the Cactus League in Spring Training and now the 22-year old is at Single-A, Modesto.

While at St. Augustine, Hood was the Press Player of the Year, leading the Hermits to Non-Public A state championship (2018) and three straight South Jersey Non-Public A championship games.