Hunter Pence, a former professional baseball player best known for his time as a right fielder with the San Francisco Giants, was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and grew up in Arlington. He attended Arlington High School, where he played as an outfielder for his first three years before switching to shortstop during his senior year.
After high school, Pence played one year at Texarkana College, where he focused on batting. He then transferred to the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), where he returned to outfield duties and had a standout sophomore season, batting .347 and earning First Team All-Conference honors. Although an arm injury sidelined him for part of the next season, he bounced back to lead the Southland Conference with a .395 batting average and set a school record with five doubles in a single series. He was named Southland Conference Player of the Year.
Pence was first selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 40th round of the 2002 MLB Draft but chose not to sign. He re-entered the draft in 2004 and was selected in the second round, 64th overall, by the Houston Astros after finishing his college career at UT Arlington.
He began his professional career that same year with the Tri-City ValleyCats, playing alongside future MLB players Ben Zobrist and Drew Sutton. The team secured a 50-win season in the New York-Penn League—one of the best finishes in the franchise’s history. The ValleyCats won their playoff opener against the Brooklyn Cyclones but were defeated by the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in the league championship game.
| Net Worth 2021: | 45 million |
