She was an All-American at UGA. Now, she’s carving her path in pro baseball.

She has also taken on an adviser role for the Women’s Professional Baseball League, a newly formed league which will hold tryouts in August and launch in 2026.

And you’ll see her involved in MLB All-Star Week in Atlanta, participating in Home Run Derby X, a 3-on-3 coed competition, alongside former MLB talent, including Jeff Francoeur and Andruw Jones.

Ahead of those All-Star happenings, the AJC caught up with Hugo to discuss all she has going on (interview has been edited for length/clarity):

Q: As a roving instructor for the A’s, what are some of the biggest things you’ve learned, as far as making you a better coach or just opening your eyes to different parts of the game?

A: There’s always a chance to (learn) something from someone. … I love infield. So when I first got there, you know, I gravitated toward that. And I kind of got a shift in what they needed me to do this year, which was on the hitting/data side. So I’ve been learning, and I’m not a very technological person at all. I use my phone for everything and I don’t how to do an Excel sheet or anything. So, I get put in this position and our, the hitting guy that’s at the complex in Arizona, he’s great. He’s been such a mentor to me, but like, it’s been really cool learning the data side.

And even though I’m not a biomechanist and I don’t understand all of the big numbers, it’s been cool to see how the data can translate to an on-field explanation to these guys, and it makes them more comfortable with the information that’s given. And I think it’s important because, you know, like, this is really beneficial stuff for them to better their career and to familiarize them with what’s happening at the big league level.

So it’s been interesting, and I really like it and it allows me to kind of become closer and learn from people that are on a different side of the coaching staff in a sense, because you’re not going to talk to everybody every day, especially like it’s spring training, when everybody’s there. So it’s been kind of neat.

Q: What do you like most about it, but also what’s the biggest challenge? Especially, I imagine it keeps you on the road a lot.

A: For sure. Yeah. I mean, my wife’s great and my mother-in-law is great. She holds down the fort and it allows me to travel. And I think we both know that it’s going to be beneficial in me furthering my career, but also like learning, which, you know, we value.

I enjoy it because this specific position allows me to see each affiliate and really get to know kind of our pipeline in a sense of, you see these guys come from the complex and then you see them go to low A, high A, and people are floating around. But it also allows me touch each coaching staff and learn from them and kind of build a relationship with both sides.

Q: What’s got you most excited about helping shape the (WPBL)?

A: I think, you know, there’s a lot of people doubting it, and I know that we are going to have to prove ourselves and that’s obviously our intention. But you know, people ask me all the time, ‘What do you like better, softball or baseball?’ … My answer is the same all the time. They’re very different. They’re different games, they’re different sports, even though they have similarities.

So having the opportunity and people that are willing to provide a league where people can, females can play baseball — because females want to play baseball, females do play baseball — I think is huge… I hope to kind of inspire the people already within that world and also continue to grow it. I think it’s important for the young kids that I work with through like (MLB Youth Development), and stuff like that, like these kids can have something to strive for instead of, you know, like ‘What am I going to do after high school?’ ‘Am I going to be able to play baseball?’"

Q: What do you envision for the league’s future and the future of women in baseball? I think a lot of people perceive it as, a lot of girls and women play softball, and more are playing baseball, too, but it’s not the first picture that jumps into people’s heads, necessarily.

A: Right, so I think how it was structured before, and obviously we have multiple females playing collegiate baseball, but it’s not accessibly realistic because there’s not female teams in the NCAA. So you meet these kids and they’re like, yeah, I play baseball, but I also play softball. And it’s like, I don’t want either to be viewed as a negative. If you want to play softball, baseball, basketball, I don’t care. You should have the opportunity to.

So whether that’s collegiately or the USA team, or you have aspirations to play within this league, I feel like it should just be open to, just to be available, I guess, and also to be at the standard that we want it. Like if they want to strive for this obviously like I feel they now have a little bit more motivation to continue doing what they’re doing and not feel so deterred because there’s not any options for them.

Q: What are you excited for about tryouts and just getting to see the pool of people who will try out?

A: I think it’ll be interesting selfishly just because like, let’s say for the USA team, we host open tryouts before like a World Cup year, or that’s kind of gotten a little weird after COVID, but you see kind of the same pool with some exceptions. And so I’m interested to see how much that expands outside of that for these tryouts. And we’re also kind of thinking about, because the highest stage as of right now for baseball is the (World Baseball Softball Confederation), so you have these international teams with great players from around the world.

And I think it’s been really cool, like, accepting that this is a U.S. league, but we’re also wanting the best talent. So then we’re going to be pulling from the international circuit, which I think you should. I think, you know, if you look at the MLB, they’ve got guys from everywhere. So you have to, you have to really stand by your ideas of ‘We want the best talent in the world,’ not just the best talent that’s convenient, if that makes any sense.

Q: You mentioned your time with the USA women’s national baseball team. What was that like? What were your biggest takeaways from that experience and your seasons doing that?

A: I love representing my country. So for me, it’s a very, like personal, patriotic thing. It’s been really great. I kind of say like, you know, softball was such a big part of my life for so long. And this is kind of like my second half to my career… You know, being 31, you think, yeah maybe I should be done, but it’s almost kind of like the best of both worlds because I get to work within baseball and I get to also play baseball and because for international play, you’re not in a four-month long season, you know, like we would be in like a pro softball league or whatever, so it’s accessible to me to continue to represent my country and play, which I think is really big.

And it’s taught me a lot, you know, it’s taught me that I, cause I was thrown into this world where, you know, females are playing baseball and I had never played baseball before. Even though I loved baseball growing up, it was like, this is new. It’s a challenge. I get to learn something and it has been really beneficial for my personal life and my career life as well.

Q: Atlanta has the All-Star Game this year, and you’ll be participating in Home Run Derby X. What can people expect at that event?

A: So Home Run Derby X is like. … It’s my favorite event because it’s so much fun. But it also allows you to be competitive. So when they threw this idea to me and like, I think it was ‘21 or ’22. … But I was like, you know, nervous, excited — I got to meet all these awesome retired MLB guys, I was like, I don’t belong in this place. And then, you know, you build all these relationships and you realize that these people that seem so much larger than life to you, like, they’re supporting what you’re doing.

So it’s been, selfishly, it’s been really good for me to just continue to build relationships. And like I said earlier, continue learning. But the home run derby in general, it’s like 3-on-3 baseball. So it’s a home run derby, but it’s also got like a defensive aspect to it. The dimensions of the field are different. But it’s also kind of for the fan’s sake, it’s a quicker-moving event than a regular nine-inning baseball game. So for some people, that’s like a total sell because they don’t want to go sit for nine innings, you know.

So how it’s been structured is you have four teams, so you have two semifinal events and they’re like 30 minutes each and then you have a final. So that’s the whole event, and everything’s always moving. You’re always seeing action and a lot of home runs and a lot of music and fun.

Q: With all you’ve accomplished, do you have a big dream job or something you’d love to do in the world of baseball, softball, sport, whatever it may be?

A: I’ve never been a person to like have this ideal job, I guess, even as a kid. And even right now, like I’m very much an in-the-moment kind of person. So I’ve been very blessed that my path has led me to bigger things. And so I’m just going to keep adopting that idea, I think.