Oklahoma’s baseball team will have a bit of a Wichita State feel next season. Recently, the Sooners landed a commitment from Jace Miner to bolster their ranks. Now the Sooners added their second transfer from the Shockers on Thursday afternoon as right-handed pitcher Austin Henry committed to Oklahoma.
Henry hails from South Dakota but spent his first year at Wichita State. He was the No. 1 player in the state according to Perfect Game and Prep Baseball Report. Perfect Game had him tabbed as the No. 72 recruit nationally and the No. 20 right-handed pitcher in the country.
He stands 6-foot-5 and weighs over 215 pounds. In high school, he was South Dakota’s first-ever Perfect Game All-American and was selected for the 2021 Perfect Game All-American Classic. Perfect Game also listed him as the top recruit joining the American Athletic Conference in the fall of 2022.
Boom. #lovetheprocess pic.twitter.com/dQ90g6RNRN
— Austin Henry (@austin_henry24) June 22, 2023
Henry’s redshirt year comes after Tommy John’s surgery in 2022 and should have him ready to start for Oklahoma next spring. He entered the transfer portal after some coaching changes at Wichita State. There’s tremendous upside with this commitment, and paired with the pledge of James Nesta, it gives the Sooners two high-ceiling arms that could headline their rotation over the next few years. Both players have professional aspirations.
From a scouting perspective, Henry’s fastball was sitting comfortably in the low to mid 90’s. That velocity could see a notable uptick as he gets stronger and in a collegiate strength and conditioning program. His curveball may be his best pitch, with spin rates over 3,200 RPMs. Pairing the two together and finding another secondary pitch to keep hitters off balance should be next in his evolution as a pitcher.
Skip Johnson has been a busy man as he continues to make sure Oklahoma’s pitching woes from the 2023 season aren’t a problem he has to sweat next year.
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