The 30-year-old arrives at the League Two club as a free agent after being released by Fleetwood Town.
Hughes made 22 appearances for the Cod Army last season.
His former clubs include Crystal Palace, Peterborough United and Notts County.
Cambridge start the new campaign at home to Newport County on August 8.
Restore Data
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS | |
| 1 | Wycombe WanderersWycombe | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 32 | 16 | 16 | 32 |
| 2 | Birmingham CityBirmingham | 13 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 24 | 12 | 12 | 30 |
| 3 | Wrexham | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 22 | 10 | 12 | 28 |
| 4 | Barnsley | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 25 |
| 5 | Lincoln CityLincoln | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 21 | 17 | 4 | 25 |
| 6 | Stockport CountyStockport | 15 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 25 | 17 | 8 | 24 |
| 7 | Mansfield TownMansfield | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 24 |
| 8 | Huddersfield TownHuddersfield | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 23 |
| 9 | Reading | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 22 | 21 | 1 | 23 |
| 10 | Bolton WanderersBolton | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 22 | 24 | -2 | 23 |
| 11 | Exeter CityExeter | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 22 |
| 12 | Peterborough UnitedPeterborough | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 31 | 27 | 4 | 21 |
| 13 | Charlton AthleticCharlton | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 19 |
| 14 | Stevenage | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 16 | -5 | 18 |
| 15 | Rotherham UnitedRotherham | 15 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 18 | -4 | 17 |
| 16 | Bristol Rovers | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 16 | 21 | -5 | 17 |
| 17 | Northampton TownNorthampton | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 18 | 21 | -3 | 16 |
| 18 | Blackpool | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 21 | 28 | -7 | 16 |
| 19 | Wigan AthleticWigan | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 14 |
| 20 | Leyton Orient | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 18 | -4 | 14 |
| 21 | Crawley TownCrawley | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 27 | -13 | 12 |
| 22 | Cambridge UnitedCambridge | 13 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 12 | 23 | -11 | 10 |
| 23 | Burton Albion | 14 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 25 | -10 | 8 |
| 24 | Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury | 15 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 27 | -14 | 8 |
| > League One Full Table | |||||||||
