Former South Warren and Western Kentucky baseball player Michael Darrell-Hicks has been promoted to the highest rung of minor league baseball.

Darrell-Hicks, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound right-handed pitcher, was assigned to the Los Angeles Angels’ top minor league affiliate, the Triple-A Salt Lake City Bees, on Tuesday. The Bees play in the Pacific Coast League.

Before the promotion, Darrell-Hicks was having a stellar season for the Angels’ Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas.

While pitching for that Madison, Alabama, based club in the Double-A Southern League, Darrell-Hicks mostly dominated as a closer. The 26-year-old appeared in 30 games spanning 41 2/3 innings this season for the Trash Pandas, posting a 6-4 record and a 1.73 earned run average with 46 strikeouts. Darrell-Hicks led the team with eight saves.

The South Warren graduate started his collegiate career at WKU and stayed with the Hilltoppers for five years (2017-21) before finishing up his collegiate career at Jacksonville.

Darrell-Hicks was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Angels in July 2022 and is in his third professional season.