Tag: Baseball Transfer Portal

Former LSU pitcher Samuel Dutton announces transfer SEC rival

Samuel Dutton will be joining his older brother, a Birmingham Southern transfer, at Auburn next spring.

Former LSU pitcher [autotag]Samuel Dutton[/autotag] has announced that he will be transferring to the Plains to play for the Auburn Tigers.

I don’t know if it is the only reason, but I know of one really good reason for him to transfer to Auburn. His older brother [autotag]Andrew Dutton[/autotag] is transferring to Auburn as well. Andrew spent last season playing for Birmingham Southern College which closed its doors permanently during the Panthers’ run to the Division III College World Series.

Dutton spent three seasons on the Bayou and he finished last season with an 0-2 record with a 5.86 ERA. He played in 20 games and struck out 29 hitters while only walking six. Dutton will be a senior next season while his brother will be a graduate student.

I don’t blame Sam for this decision at all. It’s so rare that two brothers get to play at the highest level of Division I baseball in the SEC. I hope for the best for both of them.

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LSU baseball lands star Wofford pitcher transfer Zac Cowan

The Tigers added a big-time portal arm on Tuesday.

In less than an hour, the LSU baseball team landed two starting pitchers from regional foe Wofford.

The latest was [autotag]Zac Cowan[/autotag], a sophomore right-hander from Blythewood, South Carolina. After seeing 15 appearances with one start as a true freshman, turning in an ERA over six, he improved markedly in his sophomore season.

He made 17 starts, earning a 10-2 record while cutting his ERA down to 3.35. He struck out 124 batters in 24 while walking just 29, earning All-SoCon honors in the process.

Previous reports also indicated that fellow Wofford pitcher Camden Wicker would be joining Cowan in Baton Rouge, but The Advocate’s Koki Alexander reported that Wicker has not committed to the Tigers.

With LSU potentially set to lose its top two weekend starters in [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag] and [autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag], adding pitching help was a major need this offseason. LSU has done just that, adding three portal arms so far. Cowan is the most accomplished of the bunch and likely projects as a weekend starter in 2025.

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LSU baseball’s Jay Johnson on how the transfer portal changes team building

Jay Johnson discussed how the transfer portal affects building a program in the new era

College sports are in an era of change. One of the biggest changes in recent years was the addition of the transfer portal, which has drastically shifted how some coaches and programs approach roster contruction.

LSU baseball head coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] works the portal as well as anyone. In 2022, Johnson hit the portal for superstar pitcher [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] along with slugger [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag]. Both adds proved to be critical during LSU’s 2023 national title run.

Johnson spoke to the media this week and offered his thoughts on what the transfer portal has meant for the sport.

“The reality is we’re in a different landscape right now. I don’t think it’s about building a program anymore and that’s my wheelhouse. My specialty is developing a program,” Johnson said. “But I think it’s probably now about building your team one year at a time and I don’t say that in any other way than I want the guy that [autotag]Skip Bertman[/autotag] was able to redshirt.”

That’s harder to do these days, Johnson said, forcing an adjustment.

Johnson is already off to a strong start in the transfer portal this cycle with the addition of Indiana State slugger [autotag]Luis Hernandez[/autotag].

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LSU baseball adds a big-time slugger from the transfer portal

The Tigers landed one of the best sluggers in the country in the transfer portal.

[autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] has ventured into the black hole that is the transfer portal and he has stepped out with an Avenger. The Tigers have landed one of the best power hitters in the country from Indiana State.

[autotag]Luis Hernandez[/autotag] is a 6-foot, 190-pound sophomore catcher from Puerto Rico who was a star for the Indiana State Sycamores this season. He finished the season with a .359 batting average with 14 doubles, 23 homers, and 76 RBI. He had a .694 slugging percentage and showed power to both sides of the field.

Hernandez played catcher for the Sycamores but he can also play first base. LSU is losing two catchers, [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] and [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag]. That leaves them with [autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] as the main catcher on the roster. Hernandez could play behind the dish or he could play first base and the Tigers could use [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] as a designated hitter.

This is a huge pickup for LSU. He can bring instant pop to the lineup and make the team better.

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Veteran LSU pitcher Samuel Dutton enters transfer portal

A key arm from LSU’s bullpen is entering the transfer portal.

LSU baseball’s exodus of arms since the conclusion of the 2024 season continued on Monday as junior right-hander [autotag]Samuel Dutton[/autotag] entered the transfer portal, according to On3.

Dutton, a native of Southside, Alabama, appeared in 57 games and made 15 starts over the last three seasons, with most of the starts coming during his true freshman campaign in 2022 when he was the Sunday starter for most of the season.

Dutton made 20 appearances in 2024 with four starts, finishing with a 5.86 ERA in 27.2 innings pitched. He struck out 29 batters while walking just six, the best ratio of his college career so far.

He appeared in both regional losses to North Carolina, struggling as he couldn’t get through an inning in either outing while allowing two earned runs in each.

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LSU baseball loses another pitcher to the transfer portal

Aiden Moffett is moving on after two seasons with the Tigers.

A day after LSU lost [autotag]Micah Bucknam[/autotag] to the transfer portal, another Tigers pitcher put his name into the portal.

This time, it’s [autotag]Aiden Moffett[/autotag], a sophomore right-handed pitcher from Mount Olive, Mississippi. As a freshman last year, he only appeared in one game, giving up one run and walking three hitters without registering an out.

This season he appeared in 16 games and finished with a 0-1 record and a 5.60 ERA. He gave up 11 runs in 17.2 innings pitched. He struck out 21 hitters while only walking 12 in that span. His last appearance came in the first game against North Carolina at the Chapel Hill Regional. He pitched 0.1 innings and struck out the only hitter he faced. His best outing of the season came against Texas A&M when he pitched 3.1 innings and gave up three hits and zero runs as he struck out six hitters and only walked one.

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LSU pitcher enters transfer portal after season ends in regionals

The Tigers are already seeing some postseason attrition in the transfer portal.

The 2024 baseball season has come to an end which means the transfer portal is wide open. Recently we found out that LSU will be losing some depth out of their bullpen as one of their pitchers has announced he is entering the portal.

Sophomore right-handed pitcher [autotag]Micah Bucknam[/autotag] announced on his Twitter account that he will be entering the transfer portal. He signed to LSU out of high school and he has appeared in 16 games over his first two seasons as a Tiger. As a freshman, he appeared in eight games and finished with a 0-0 record and an 11.57 ERA. This season he had a 0-0 record and a 7.00 ERA.

His last appearance of this season was on April 20 against Missouri when he went 0.2 innings and allowed one run on two hits. Bucknam is from Canada so it is possible he may head closer to home when he transfers.

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LSU baseball infielder Austen Roellig enters transfer portal after redshirting in 2024

Austen Roellig didn’t make any appearances as he redshirted this season.

LSU saw a departure from one of its signees in the 2023 recruiting class as true freshman infielder [autotag]Austin Roellig[/autotag] opted to enter the transfer portal. The news of his decision was reported by On3.

A 5-foot-11 prospect from Etiwanda High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California, Roellig ranked as the No. 11 shortstop and No. 37 prospect in the state of California coming out of high school. He also ranked as the No. 51 shortstop in the nation and the No. 234 overall player.

Roellig didn’t make any appearances as a true freshman for the Tigers, and coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] told the media in April that he was one of several players who would be taking a redshirt year.

Roellig will have four remaining years of eligibility at his next stop.

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Mac Bingham and Gage Jump talk about transferring to LSU

Two of the biggest transfers that LSU landed in the recruiting class after winning the national championship were Mac Bingham and Gage Jump.

Two of the biggest transfers that LSU landed in the recruiting class after winning the national championship were [autotag]Mac Bingham[/autotag] and [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag].

Bingham was recruited to play for [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] at Arizona and stayed with the Wildcats when Johnson left for the Bayou.

“For me, I only had 16, 17 innings in college so it was really different and tough because I knew a lot of colleges wouldn’t really be as interested,” Jump said. “I’ve known Coach Johnson throughout high school he’s known my family. He wanted my brother to come here. We already knew each other and had a little bit of a relationship. I knew he wanted me to play for him and I wanted to play in the SEC and LSU was the only place I wanted to go to.”

“When I first entered, Coach Johnson was the first to reach out right away,” Bingham said. “Obviously, I know the whole staff which is really welcoming. This decision was really easy. Obviously, this is the best baseball school possible, and knowing the entire coaching staff it wasn’t a difficult decision.”

LSU will start their 2024 season on Feb. 16 against VMI.

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LSU has No. 2 transfer class according to D1Baseball

Jay Johnson signed seven players out of the transfer portal to join the 2024 baseball team.

[autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] signed seven players out of the transfer portal to join the 2024 baseball team. Those recruits were some of the best in the country. That is why D1Baseball has the Tigers ranked as the No. 2 transfer portal class in the country.

LSU signed [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag], [autotag]Mac Bingham[/autotag], [autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag], [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag], [autotag]Justin Loer[/autotag], [autotag]Fidel Ullola[/autotag] and [autotag]Kade Woods[/autotag] to the 2024 team out of the transfer portal. Most of those guys will play a huge role in LSU being able to defend their national championship.

Holman and Jump are projected to be two of LSU’s starting pitchers this season. Those two will join [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] to make one of the best pitching rotations in all of college baseball. Bingham may be a day-one starter in the outfield for the Tigers after spending his past few seasons at Arizona.

Woods and Braswell were transfers from SEC schools that will play a big role on the infield.

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