Kostiantyn Chukhas

• Bats Right, Throws Right

• Born September 24, 1996

Biographical Information

Kostiantyn Chukhas has played for the Ukrainian national team.

In the 2013 U18 European Championship, he hit .214/.313/.214 and allowed five runs (four earned) in 3 1/3 IP. His three pitching appearances tied for the lead. He stole three bases in three tries in the 2014 European Championship U21, batting .235/.350/.235 with eight runs in five games. He tied for third in runs and tied Martin Mužík for 8th in steals. He was 2 for 15 with a steal and two runs for KNTU Elizavetgrad in the 2015 European Cup.

He debuted for Ukraine's senior national team in the 2015 B-Level European Championship at age 18. He was 4 for 10 with 2 walks, three runs, two RBI, four steals in four tries and handling 12 chances error-free. He tied Antonio Horvatić for the tourney lead in swipes. He was 4 for 9 with a walk and 3 runs for Elizavetgrad in the 2016 CEB Cup. He tied Horvatić for 9th in average and was 10th in OBP. Only four teams (none of them major European powers) played in the 2016 European Championship U21; Chukhas batted .353/.450/.412 with six runs in four games. He tied Nikita Laykov for 4th in average, was 10th in slugging, ranked 6th in OBP, tied for the most runs and tied Laykov for 4th in hits.

In the 2017 European Championship U23, he hit .440/.500/.800 with eight runs and ten RBI in six games, stole three bases in four tries and fielded .902. He was among the event's leaders in average (tied Vladyslav Kosenko for 7th), slugging (4th), hits (tied for 2 d, 11, 2 behind Denzel Richardson), RBI (tied Richardson and Michal Puškár for 4th), runs (tied for 9th), triples (2, 2nd, one behind teammate Heorhii Hvrytishvili), total bases (21, 3rd, behind Martin Mužík and Hvrytishvili) and assists (26, 1st, 3 ahead of Richard Brereton; infield mate Kostiantyn Boiko led in putouts). He struggled in the 2017 B-Level European Championship, though, going 1 for 14 with 3 walks, 5 whiffs, two runs and three RBI. His lone hit was a home run, though, and he handled 24 chances error-free, tying for the most assists (12).

Chukhas was 3 for 3 against Minsk in the 2018 CEB Cup and 1 for 7 in the other games to finish at .400/.455/.500 with two steals in two tries, 3 runs in 6 innings and a .750 fielding percentage. He tied for 4th in swipes. In the 2018 C-Level European Championship, he was 3 for 8 with a double, homer, two walks, two times hit, three steals in three tries, seven runs and no errors in four games for the champs. He also pitched five shutout innings to beat Hungary. In the round-robin, he was 5th in slugging (.714), tied for 3rd in runs (6), tied for 1st in homers (1), tied for 3rd in steals (3) and tied for the most innings by someone who did not allow an earned run (with teammate Oleksii Savchenko). He did not pitch enough to qualify for the ERA lead, which went to Eduard Pirvu. Ukraine won, though, and Chukhas took home the MVP.

The 22-year-old hit .313/.389/.438 for Biotechkomando KNTU in the 2019 CEB Cup with four runs in four games. He also struck out ten in a victory over Vindija Varadzin and handled 17 chances in the tournament without an error. He tied for second in steals (two behind Boiko) and tied for 3rd in batters fanned (behind Jose Diaz and Ondřej Furko) but was also second in times he himself fanned (7, two behind Noah Williamson). He picked off two runners, the only hurler to do so. He also tied Borna Strelec for 4th in assists (12). He next was with Ukraine for the 2019 B-Level European Championship, hitting .357/.400/.714 with two triples, five runs and four RBI in four games. He pitched very well but lost to the Swiss national team (2 R in 8 2/3 IP). He fielded .800, the one down spot for the event. He was 4th in ERA, between former Reds farmhand Jakub Ižold and Pirvu. He also was 8th in slugging and tied for second in triples,. He fell to .188/.235/.375 in the 2019 European Championship U23, but pitched two shutout innings (with a save) and fielded .941. He tied for 5th in steals (2), tied for 2nd in saves and tied for 3rd in assists (11).

After there were no international tournaments in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was back with Ukraine for the 2021 European Championship Qualifier. He hit .286/.375/.429 with four runs and five steals (not caught) in four games, fielding .952, as Ukraine won a spot in the 2021 European Championship (their first European Championship since 2010. He was second in the pool in swipes, two behind Kosenko]. At the 2021 Euros, he started at short for Ukraine. In the opener, he drew a walk from Spain's Carlos Sierra to be Ukraine's first baserunner. His first European Championship hit came the next day off Croatian national team hurler Andrew Jones. He came up big in Ukraine's first European Championship win since 2007, with a triple off Martin Lukačka in the bottom of the 9th then scoring on a bases-loaded walk later by Ihor Lukin. In the 13th/14th place game against Greece, he got the nod on the hill and went the distance. He allowed ten hits, four walks and four runs (two earned) while striking out one (Max Warren) in throwing 127 pitches to beat Alex Gounaris, 5-4. He finished the Euros at .438/.550/.688 with two runs and three RBI in five games as a shortstop. He led Ukraine in hits (7), doubles (2), RBI (3, tied with Boiko), average, slugging and OPS (second to Denys Brechko in OBP). He was second to Hvrytishvili for the team lead in ERA and tied him for the win lead at one.