Niko Gallego

Nicholas Anthony Gallego

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 180 lb.
• School UCLA
• High School Esperanza High School

• Born December 29, 1988 in Orange, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Infielder Niko Gallego is the son of Mike Gallego.

Niko hit .400 as a junior and .320 as a senior in high school, being named All-League both years. The Colorado Rockies chose him in the 37th round of the 2007 amateur draft but he opted for college. As a freshman, he hit .317/.378/.415 as a backup second baseman for UCLA, his father's alma mater. That summer, he batted .211 in the Northwoods League. He was UCLA's starting shortstop as a sophomore but fell to .273/.361/.326. He played in the prestigious Cape Cod League in the summer, putting up a .229/.327/.229 line for the Brewster Whitecaps, serving as their main shortstop.

As a junior, Gallego hit .273/.389/.398 and stole 27 bases in 28 tries through June 21, the highest steal total by a UCLA Bruin since Eric Byrnes swiped 30 in 1998. He helped UCLA to the 2010 College World Series. The Arizona Diamondbacks took him in the 27th round of the 2010 amateur draft. Assigned to the Visalia Rawhide, he was batting .218/.246/.255 after 19 games as a pro.

Gallego returned to UCLA as an assistant coach in 2015.

Sources

• UCLA bio
• Cape Cod League