Landon Hairston announces return to Arizona State for junior season

Landon Hairston is coming back to Arizona State.

During an appearance on MLB Network on Thursday morning, Hairston officially announced he will return to ASU for his junior season, delivering a massive offseason boost for the Sun Devils.

The Queen Creek native returns to Phoenix after one of the most dominant individual seasons in program history and following ASU’s second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

In the past week, Hairston was named a finalist for both the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy and was selected as Baseball America’s Player of the Year following a historic sophomore season. The slugger broke ASU’s single-season home run record with 28 homers, led the nation with a 1.366 OPS, hit .400 and drove in 81 runs while earning Big 12 Player of the Year honors. He became the program’s first conference player of the year since Zack MacPhee in 2010.

It was a sophomore breakout unlike any other. Nicknamed “Hairy” Bonds, a nod to MLB legend and former ASU outfielder Barry Bonds, Hairston captured national attention during a remarkable stretch in which he hit 20 home runs in 24 games. The surge transformed him from a highly touted prospect into one of the faces of college baseball while helping lead Arizona State to its best season since 2016.

His return is especially significant given his long-standing connection to the program and head coach Willie Bloomquist. Hairston verbally committed to Bloomquist in 2021 before officially signing with the Sun Devils in 2023. When Bloomquist’s contract extension was announced in January, Hairston called his head coach “the reason I came here” and said knowing Bloomquist would remain at ASU through the remainder of his college career was “pretty important” to him.

The ending to his award-filled sophomore season, however, was far from ideal.

Hairston’s final at-bat of 2026 came in ASU’s regional matchup against Nebraska, when he was ejected after tossing his bat into the air following a controversial strikeout. He was forced to miss the Sun Devils’ season-ending loss to Ole Miss that same night.

Now, Hairston returns with unfinished business.

Despite likely having opportunities to command a larger NIL package elsewhere, the Arizona native chose to remain close to home and continue building his legacy in maroon and gold. He will once again serve as the centerpiece of an ASU roster that is expected to undergo significant offseason turnover as Bloomquist and his staff work to replace a large graduating class and reload through the transfer portal.