Junior (2014): After receiving increased playing time from his sophomore campaign to his junior campaign, Higginbotham now enters his final season with the Aggies. Higginbotham appeared in 18 games for NM State with three starts in 2014. He recorded a career-high two strikeouts against Saint Mary’s (Feb. 16), and matched that performance three more times throughout the season with two strikeouts against Seattle (April 18), Arizona St. (April 29), and Chicago St. (May 17). Higginbotham also pitched a career-high 3.1 innings in the game against Arizona St. (April18).Â
Sophomore (2013): Higginbotham finished the 2013 season with a 1-1 record on 19 appearances, including two starts. He finished with the fourth-lowest ERA on the Aggie squad at 5.18. Higginbotham had 35 strikeouts on the season while only allowing 28 hits and 19 earned runs in 33 innings of work. He allowed his opposing batters a team-low .233 batting average while only giving up one home run all season. Higginbotham was also second on the team and tied for fifth in the WAC in runners picked off with four on the season. His lone victory of the season came during his first start as an Aggie, the second game of a doubleheader versus Alabama A&M (Mar. 16). Higginbotham pitched a career-high five innings while only allowing two hits and two unearned runs and also collecting a career-high seven strikeouts in a 5-3 NM State win.
Freshman (2012): Higginbotham made 15 appearances as a relief pitcher for NM State during the 2012 season. He pitched a total of 8.2 innings, finishing with a 2.08 earned run average and seven strikeouts while allowing seven hits and two earned runs. Higginbotham had a season-high two strikeouts in one inning of work versus Texas Tech (May 1). He pitched for more than one inning only once, against Fresno State (May 12), when he pitched for 1.1 innings.
High School: Higginbotham lettered in baseball at Ironwood Ridge High School in Tucson, Ariz. from 2009-11. Under the guidance of coach Jason Hisey, Higginbotham earned all-southern division honors and set the school record for strikeouts in a game with 14. He helped the Nighthawks to a 22-11 record in 2009 and led the team to a district championship as well as a state quarterfinal appearance. During his senior season (2011), Higginbotham worked just over 62 innings and tallied a school-record 116 strikeouts. He held his opponents to a .187 batting average during the 2011 season and held opponents to a .184 batting average the previous season. After a stellar senior year, Higginbotham received the 5A Southern Arizona Pitcher of the Year award, was selected to the 5A all-state team, and selected to play in the 5A all-star game. He was also selected to represent Team Arizona in the Heartland Classic Tournament in Norman, Okla.
Personal: Higginbotham is the son of Lee and Marilyn Higginbotham and was born in Tucson, Ariz. He is majoring in engineering.
