A Lodi High graduate is taking the next step in his baseball journey.

Andrew Wright, a 2023 Lodi grad who has played the last three years for Cal State-Fullerton, has signed an undrafted free agent contract with the San Diego Padres organization, and will be assigned to begin his pro career soon.

Wright didn’t hear his name called in the Major League Baseball draft on July 11 and 12. But he did hear his phone ring.

“I was hoping for my name to be called during the draft,” said Wright, a left-handed pitcher. “But I got a call like five minutes after it ended.”

Wright played two full seasons of varsity baseball at Lodi (plus a few games as a sophomore), pitching and playing outfield. He finished with a career earned-run average of 1.72 in 126 innings pitched, including a 0.99 ERA as a senior with a 6-5 record. He batted .246 over 59 games.

“I like playing outfield, but I wanted to be on the mound,” he said.

At Fullerton, Wright has strictly been a lefty pitcher out of the bullpen (the one start as a freshman was an oddity). He’s made 59 appearances with 84 innings pitched, for a career ERA of 4.07 and a 6-10 record.

This spring as a junior, Wright went 3-6 with a 3.82 ERA and five saves, recording 50 strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings. He made the All-Big West first team in 2025, and the second team in 2026.

“I feel like I’ve grown a lot, as a person too, not just as a baseball player,” Wright said. “I think I just became more disciplined with everything.”

He also has baseball running through his family — his dad Ryan played college ball at University of New Mexico, and his uncle Daron played for Mississippi State and single-A ball in the Phillies organization.

After missing out on the draft, Andrew Wright didn’t take long to secure a spot with the Padres organization.

“I just got a call from my advisor, and he talked to them, and they said we’ll sign him for this number, and I said yeah,” Wright said. “It was like a 30-minute thing going back and forth.”

For now, Wright is assigned to the Arizona Complex League Padres, a development landing for draft picks, recent signings and organization players on injury rehab assignments. He said he eventually intends to return to Fullerton, where he majored in communications, and finish his degree. But for now, his focus is on baseball.

“(My goal is to) just keep learning from coaches and teammates,” he said, “and keep growing and keep developing and going up levels, and hopefully get to the majors.”

He’s not the only former Lodi pitcher aiming for the majors — 2021 Lodi High grad Fidel Ulloa, who played college ball at Louisiana State — has been working his way up the ranks in the Colorado Rockies organization. He is currently playing for the Hartford Yard Goats in the double-A Eastern League, where he currently sports a 4-2 record and a 2.27 ERA in 27 relief appearances.