Centerfielder Julio Guerrero hit a walk-off home run on March 27, his fourth long ball in the last five games. The surging junior was greeted with excitement by his teammates and showed love for his family in the stands. 

Guerrero comes from Caracas, Venezuela’s capital city, and made his way to the United States in 2022. After moving countries, Guerrero started playing in a spring baseball league in Florida before dominating in his two years at North Central Missouri College. The Salukis scouted the talented and upbeat centerfielder, and Guerrero made his way to Southern Illinois University to play Division I baseball in 2025.

“It was an amazing transition,” Guerrero said. “I loved my experience with JuCo, but you can see the difference between JuCo and D1.” 

After meeting with Guerrero, head coach Lance Rhodes praised his presence on and off the field, which made him a prime target to bring to Itchy Jones Stadium.

“You can just immediately tell that he is a good human,” Rhodes said. “He can do everything on a baseball field really well, and when you combine his skillset with who he is as a person, it’s as good as it gets.”

Jacob McKenzie, an SIU catcher and Guerrero’s roommate, also values his interactions with him.

“We start talking about the game, life, and anything that’s going on. We just communicate like brothers,” McKenzie said. “How he is with people, how he treats people, he’s just a great guy.”

From March 20-28, Guerrero went on an offensive tear, notching five home runs and driving in 11 runs.

“I was just seeing the ball and hitting the ball well,” Guerrero said. “I was feeling really good that week.”

McKenzie also found a lot of success during that six-game stretch, driving in seven runs in a span of two games. The pair of roommates tallied 11 RBI in the three-game series at UIC.

“That was awesome. It was just see ball, hit ball, and it just felt good,” McKenzie said. “The first at bat, I grounded out, then after that I was like ‘let’s go, turn it on’ and then we started hitting well.” 

Amid that stretch of home runs, Guerrero hit a walk-off home run on a particularly special night.

“It was amazing. It was my first career walk-off home run,” Guerrero said. “My family was there and got to see it, so it was amazing. When they have the time, they come to support me, and I love them, and it was a really cool experience.”

While that week stands out on the stat sheet, Guerrero has been a consistent, high-level hitter during his time at SIU.

“He can hit for power and hit for average,” Rhodes said. “He’s a professional baseball player; he’s got what it takes.”

Guerrero is tied for the most stolen bases (18) among MVC hitters, despite playing 14 fewer games than the player tied for the lead.

“He’s got such a good feel for stealing bases that we just trust him once he’s on,” Rhodes said. “He’s one of the fastest kids we’ve had. So, not only does he have great instincts, but his foot speed is tremendous.” 

Along with his speed, Guerrero said he also works constantly to improve his base-stealing skills. 

“I’m fast, and people know that I’m fast,” Guerrero said. “I work on my speed all the time. I practice those details that people don’t see, but work in the games.” 

Not only does he display excellent speed and base-running abilities, but Guerrero also plays defense at an elite level.

“It’s hard to say because you don’t see everybody else every day, but I can’t imagine there is a better defensive centerfielder in the league than him,” Rhodes said. “Having him in centerfield is a pretty good feeling.”

Guerrero said he has his eyes set on big goals for himself and the Salukis.

“My goal is to win with the team, win the conference, and everything that you can win,” Guerrero said. “Personally, I want to be the MVC player of the year.”

Sports Reporter Noah Petschke can be reached at [email protected]

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