Overview

• Russ and Laura Skubal are credited with shaping their son’s competitive edge, with Russ serving as an elementary school principal and former coach in Kingman, Arizona, and Laura working as an administrative specialist in Mohave County.
• Skubal declined to sign with the Diamondbacks in 2017 to attend Seattle University, then joined the Tigers after the 2018 draft and went on to a unanimous 2024 AL Cy Young, a pitching Triple Crown and consecutive 200-strikeout seasons.
• He married Jessica Valandingham on November 23, 2021, and the couple now has two sons, Kasem (born October 2023) and Klay, whose arrival was shared in August 2025.
• Coverage reiterates that Skubal is American and that he has not publicly disclosed his ethnic background or a religious affiliation, though he took a Sports and Spirituality class at Seattle University.
• The Sporting News notes his first name is Arabic for “strike” and reports his surname is of Czech origin, details that add curiosity without clarifying his personal identification.