Seattle University Baseball’s Travis Farrell was recently named the Rawlings West Coast Conference (WCC) Pitcher of the Week from April 6-12 after his stellar performance leading Seattle U to a 5-1 win against their rivals from the south, the University of Portland, April 2.
Against Portland, Farrell tossed a complete game, only allowing one run with 10 strikeouts and just three walks. He is only the third Seattle U pitcher to throw a complete game in the modern era of Redhawks baseball (2010-present), following current right-handed pitcher in the Orioles organization, Nestor German in 2021 and former left-handed pitcher Jake Prizina in 2019. He is also the second Redhawk this season to be named WCC Pitcher of the Week, after Sophomore right-handed pitcher Kyle Hammer took home the title for the week of March 16.
Farrell spent the last four years at Division 2 Colorado State University-Pueblo and is currently pursuing a leadership formation certificate here at Seattle U. Prior to arriving at Seattle U, Farrell was named Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2025, after going 8-3 while boasting a 5.09 ERA in 74.1 innings pitched.
Baseball has been a part of Farrell’s life for as long he remembers, playing since he was just four years old, and he still carries the same passion for it today.
When off the field, Farrell participates in the “higher up wellness challenge” on social media, where he posts an Instagram reel every day. Having done it for over 100 days, Farrell is improving his public speaking skills day-by-day. This challenge was spearheaded by online mentor and wellness coach, Michael Smoak, who started the challenge at the end of 2025
The following is an excerpt from an April 9 interview. Initials indicate the speaker.
JP: How did you get into baseball, and what made you want to pursue it at a collegiate level?
TF: I think definitely my family and my sister and my dad. When I got to college, I realized that I liked it more than I thought. I want to play for myself, you know?
JP: This is your first year playing baseball at Seattle U. How are you finding it compared to when you played at your previous institution?
TF: It’s good. It’s all got its differences and its similarities, but I like it here. It’s definitely a different vibe, so I’m glad I came here.
JP: What do you like about playing here at Seattle U?
TF: My teammates, and obviously the coaching. It’s just a change of scenery for the one year I’m here, you know? It’s definitely different.
JP: Can you tell me a bit about how it felt to be named WCC pitcher of the week?
TF: That was crazy, because last year, for my conference, I was the D2 pitcher of the year. So just trying to do that again in this conference and just trying to play my best every game, just like it’s my last.
JP: I’ve heard that you do a public speaking challenge on social media. Can you tell me a little bit about that?
TF: You record for 60 seconds, and you just talk without using filler words or as little as you can. It’s 60 seconds, and you can’t cut it or edit it, and you just have to post it and just break that insecurity wall. People have insecurities for no reason, you know? There’s nothing holding you back. The guy that started the challenge, I just really liked him, and I connected with it really well, so I just started doing it.
JP: What are your plans for after graduation? Do you plan to continue playing baseball?
TF: I want to go into professional baseball, whether that’s the draft or Indie ball or whatever it may be.
