Top College Baseball Transfer Portal Classes Entering 2025

1. LSU

No. of top 100 transfers: 9

If one school has “figured out” the transfer portal, it’s LSU. The Tigers landed the championship-winning core of Paul Skenes and Tommy White in 2022. This year, head coach Jay Johnson and his staff have once again put together another championship-caliber transfer class. Righthander Anthony Eyanson (6-2, 3.07 ERA) is the headliner on the pitching side, while dynamic infielder Daniel Dickinson (.367/.469/.661) leads the way positionally.

A trio of righthanders in Zac Cowan (10-2, 3.35 ERA), Jacob Mayers (5-1, 4.58 ERA) and Deven Sheerin (6-5, 4.76 ERA) will all compete for rotation spots. Cowan is a rubber-armed innings-eater with some of the best pitchability in the 2025 draft class. Both Mayers and Sheerin have thunderous stuff. However, don’t sleep on former South Florida righthander Chandler Dorsey (No. 22). He had a strong spring with the Bulls, an excellent summer on the Cape and has a mighty intriguing combination of strikes and stuff.

Between a completely revamped rotation combined with both new and returning firepower on offense, the pieces are there for LSU to hoist its second national championship trophy in the last three seasons.

2. Arkansas

No. of top 100 transfers: 8

It was a disappointing end to the season for Arkansas, who—as the No. 4 national seed—saw its season end on its home turf following an upset loss in regional play to Southeast Missouri. The Razorbacks coaching staff entered the offseason with serious work to do as it pertained to both adding and replacing talent, and their transfer class is perhaps the best to come to Fayetteville in the portal era.

They lost their entire rotation—Hagen Smith, Brady Tygart and Mason Molina—to the draft, but they added two of the best lefthanders in the portal in Landon Beidelschies (6-7, 4.15 ERA) and Zach Root (6-2, 3.56 ERA). Both will assume a weekend role this spring, and Arkansas has a bevy of weapons who will battle it out for the third starter spot. For as impressive a duo as Beidelschies and Root are, this class really shines positionally.

Charles Davalan (.288/.413/.514) has no shortage of tools packed into his compact frame, and the Florida Gulf Coast product will likely be the team’s everyday center fielder. Infielder Camden Kozeal (.284/.349/.439) will almost certainly start at second base, while a handful of other position players will be in the mix for starting roles. After a stunning end to 2024, Arkansas again has the look of a team that will be competing for a national championship.

3. Texas A&M

No. of top 100 transfers: 7

After being one win away from its first-ever national championship, Texas A&M remained in the spotlight for the rest of the summer when—in a stunning move—former head coach Jim Schlossnagle took the same role at Texas. When the news initially broke, it appeared as if his entire staff would follow him to Austin, which caused a swath of Aggies to enter the portal as an insurance policy. While it wasn’t quite as stunning as Schlossnagle’s move to Texas, A&M announced shortly thereafter that it hired former hitting coach Michael Earley as the program’s next head coach.

The domino effect of hiring Earley should not only lead to wins on the field, but it has already led to a plethora of wins off of it. For starters, the trio of Gavin Grahovac, Jace LaViolette and Caden Sorrell all announced their return to College Station, former third-round pick Ryan Prager did the same and the Aggies’ staff pieced together one of the deepest transfer classes of any program in college baseball. On the bump, lefthander Myles Patton (4-3, 3.26 ERA) rounds out what figures to be an all-southpaw rotation that also includes Prager and potential day one pick Shane Sdao (5-1, 2.96 ERA).

Texas A&M’s catching room will maybe be the most competitive in America, as Jacob Galloway (.286/.386/.451), Jamal George (.316/.409/.546) and Connor Harrison (.322/.410/.541) will battle it out all fall. All three are viable options behind the dish, but expect Harrison to be the No. 1 guy come opening day. Earley will also have tons of power on the corners thanks to third baseman Wyatt Henseler (.360/.465/.755, 22 home runs) and first baseman Gavin Kash (.300/.365/.561, 15 home runs).

A&M’s end to last season was painfully close to the promised land, but it’s even more talented heading into 2025. From this chair, the Aggies are my No. 1 team heading into the season and on the short list of teams that will compete for a national title.

4. Auburn

No. of top 100 transfers: 5

Auburn endured a rough 2024 and failed to make the tournament for the second time in four years. However, head coach Butch Thompson and his staff responded by putting together an excellent transfer class. The biggest fish they landed was top-ranked lefthander Cade Fisher, who struggled at times last year at Florida but has impressive stuff to go along with advanced strike-throwing ability. Former East Carolina outfielder Bristol Carter burst onto the scene as a freshman, hitting .346/.406/.440 with 10 extra-base hits and 31 RBIs in 56 games. He has a dynamic skill set and projects to hit in the top-third of the order all season.

Carter and Fisher are the biggest names, but infielder Eric Snow is a fantastic supplemental piece. Like Carter, he will be a stalwart in the starting nine next season. Snow’s productivity took a bit of a step back this spring, but he had a fantastic summer on the Cape where he hit .326/.407/.424 with three doubles, a pair of home runs and was named an all-star. Catcher Lucas Steele will provide much-needed depth at the catcher position, while former LSU Tiger Sam Dutton is in line to log plenty of innings on the hill.

5. Georgia

No. of top 100 transfers: 5

Year one of the Wes Johnson era in Athens was a resounding success. Johnson was named the SEC’s coach of the year and led the Bulldogs to their first super regional appearance since 2008. Johnson and his staff then hit the portal hard to put together a high-quality class and make sure 2024 isn’t an anomaly.

The ‘Dawgs boast five players ranked inside the top-100, led by infielder Ryan Black. Don’t let his somewhat modest 2024 season fool you, the 6-foot-1 infielder has tools and will be a name to follow closely throughout the 2025 draft cycle.

2024 SoCon freshman of the year Daniel Jackson is in line to take over as the starting catcher following the departure of savvy veteran Fernando Gonzalez. Jackson enjoyed a fantastic freshman campaign, hitting .358/.460/.599 with 10 doubles, 12 home runs and 69 RBIs. On top of Black and Jackson, expect the experienced Robbie Burnett to also be a familiar face in Georgia’s lineup this season. Across three standout seasons at UNC Asheville, the veteran outfielder hit .339/.450/.623 with 27 doubles, 36 home runs and 113 RBIs in 137 games. The hulking Ryland Zaborowski’s (.305/.421/.532) plus raw power will likely net him plenty of quality at-bats.

Georgia’s most notable addition on the mound was former Virginia Commonwealth righthander Brian Curley. Curley was the Rams’ most relied upon weapon in relief last spring, and for good reason. The rising junior pitched his way to a 2.87 ERA with 78 strikeouts in 87 innings over the course of 19 appearances. Though they lost plenty of firepower from last year’s squad, this was much more of a reloading offseason than a rebuild for Georgia. 

6. Wake Forest

No. of top 100 transfers: 4

Wake Forest came into last season with arguably the most hype of any team in the country and—after an impressive run in Omaha in 2023—was the preseason favorite to win the national championship. It was an up-and-down season for the Demon Deacons, who saw their run to a national title end much earlier as they were knocked off in the Greenville Regional.

Head coach Tom Walter and his assistants are one of very few coaching staffs in college baseball who seem to have mastered the art of the transfer portal. This cycle was no different. Ethan Conrad is undoubtedly the headliner of the class. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound outfielder wouldn’t look out of place on the football field, but this spring at Marist he hit .389/.467/.704 with 18 doubles, a nation-leading 13 triples, nine home runs and 52 RBIs in 55 games. Conrad is a plus runner with above-average power, advanced contact skills and exceptional athleticism.

While Conrad is the headliner positionally, former Missouri hurler Logan Lunceford leads the way on the hill. Although he struggled at times this spring, Lunceford thrived on the Cape where he pitched his way to a 1.80 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 10 innings. Lunceford’s fastball has been up to 94 with life at the top of the zone, but he also features a big mid-70s curveball, an effective slider and a borderline double-plus changeup. His battery mate Jimmy Keenan (.335/.403/.615) will add strength and physicality to the lineup. Lefthander Matthew Dallas (4.70 ERA) has a chance to really blossom on the bump.

The standard for success in Winston-Salem has been raised drastically in the last few seasons. The 2025 version of the Demon Deacons has a chance to etch themselves in the program’s history books.

7. Tennessee

No. of top 100 transfers: 4

The Volunteers enjoyed one of the best seasons in college baseball history in 2024 that was capped off by the program’s first national championship. They didn’t stop winning there, however, as they again put together a strong transfer class. Quality over quantity seems to be the theme, as both Gavin Kilen (No. 3) and Andrew Fischer (No. 6) rank inside the top 10 of the portal rankings.

Kilen enjoyed the most productive season of his college career to the tune of a .330/.361/.591 slash line with 23 doubles, nine home runs and 41 RBIs, while the ultra-physical Fischer hit .285/.397/.643 with 10 doubles, 20 home runs and 57 RBIs. Their skill sets complement each other nicely, and both will hit in the top-half of Tennessee’s lineup this spring. Fellow former Rebel Liam Doyle (5.73 ERA) decided to follow Fischer to Knoxville and will hold down a weekend starter spot, but the class’ x-factor is righthander Tanner Franklin.

Franklin this season posted a 5.60 ERA with 43 strikeouts across 27.1 innings, but was outstanding on the Cape to the tune of a minuscule 0.75 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 12 innings. Franklin relies heavily on his loud fastball-slider combination, but each offering has flashed plus and he has the look of a potential lights-out, late-inning arm. The best is the standard in Tennessee and 2025 should be no different.

8. Alabama

No. of top 100 transfers: 4

Rob Vaughn is another first-year coach who had a successful first year at his new school. He led the Crimson Tide to their third regional in the last four seasons and then proceeded to put together a top-10 transfer class. Alabama’s biggest portal addition is former LSU catcher Brady Neal, who last year hit .276/.409/.578 with eight doubles, nine home runs and 31 RBIs. Neal will provide some thump with his bat as well as advanced defensive acumen, and he will be the Tide’s everyday backstop in 2025.

First baseman Jason Torres is fresh off a productive season at Miami in which he hit .331/.385/.529 with 15 extra-base hits including eight home runs and 32 RBIs in 39 games. My favorite member of Alabama’s transfer class, though, is Carson Ozmer. The sidewinding righthander has an east-to-west profile on the mound. Nothing he throws is straight and he consistently stays off the barrel of opposing hitters. This spring he also flashed his ability in the box and hit .328/.444/.454/ over the course of 119 at-bats. Look for Alabama to again be competitive in the SEC and in the mix to host come June.

9. Oklahoma State

No. of top 100 transfers: 4

The Cowboys reached their 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament in 2024 and won the most games (43) in a single season since 2016. Unlike previous Oklahoma State teams, however, the biggest strength of the team was its pitching. It was evident that in this summer’s transfer cycle head coach Josh Holliday and company put an emphasis on reloading the pitching staff, as three of the Cowboys’ four top-100 portal players are arms.

Righthander Sean Youngerman seems destined for a weekend role after posting a 3.71 ERA with 69 strikeouts against only 15 walks in 70.1 innings this spring at Westmont College (D-II). Where he really shined, though, was on the Cape for Yarmouth-Dennis where he posted a 2.55 ERA with 33 strikeouts to 10 walks in 24.2 innings. Fellow righty Hunter Watkins (3.83 ERA) stands at an imposing 6-foot-8 and will be one of Holliday’s most relied upon arms out of the bullpen. Funky lefthander Harrison Bodendorf (4.61 ERA) provides a unique look and while he split time this spring between the rotation and the bullpen, he projects to start full-time this spring.

His bread-and-butter is a plus changeup that plays nicely off his high-80s fastball and flashes plenty of drop and fade. The biggest bat Oklahoma State added this offseason is former Arkansas third baseman Jayson Jones. He logged just 43 games in two years at Arkansas, but enjoyed a strong summer on the Cape in which he was named an all-star and hit .269/.317/.426 with 11 extra-base hits and 17 RBIs. Jones is a physical player with arm strength that translates both to a corner outfield spot and third base, and he also has above-average raw power.

10. Oregon

No. of top 100 transfers: 4

Oregon has been one of the more underrated teams in the country as it pertains to identifying and developing talent in the transfer portal. This offseason was no different, and the Ducks will again welcome a quality transfer class to Eugene. 6-foot-9 righty Jason Reitz (6.00 ERA) struck out 65 hitters across 48 innings this spring, and then proceeded to post a 2.30 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 15.2 innings on the Cape. Unsurprisingly, Reitz gets plenty of extension which allows his entire arsenal—but especially his fastball—to play up. I expect him to be one of the Ducks’ weekend starters.

Outfielder Parker Stinson was one of a litany of Indiana State players to hit the portal in the wake of former head coach Mitch Hannahs’ departure. He was one of Indiana State’s most productive bats this season and hit .295/.442/.604 with 32 extra-base hits—including 15 home runs—and 51 RBIs. Southpaw Sam Boyle pitched his way to a career-best 3.40 ERA this spring and notched 36 strikeouts across 42.1 innings. His fastball sits in the high 80s and is a pitch he throws 86% of the time, but it is effective thanks to Boyle’s deceptiveness. Head coach Mark Wazikowski turned Oregon into a perennial contender in the Pac-12, and I expect him to do the same as the Ducks transition into the Big Ten.