Portal news - 2024...

[ptrich]

Now that the season is over for us, I thought I would start a thread where all of the portal news coming out would be under one thread and not spread out. The portal opened for baseball on the date the tournament field was announced which would be May 27th and it's open for 45 days. That would put the window closing around July 10 or 11 for players to enter the portal and be eligible for next season. There are exceptions to the eligibility rules with players being able to transfer whenever there is a head coaching change or there are changes in financial aid from previous years. There might be some other exceptions that I'm unaware of. Hopefully, I've got all of that right.

Right now, the only name in the portal that's listed for IU is Brooks Ey and I don't remember him being on the opening day roster. He's listed as entering the portal on 05-25-2024 which is a couple of days before the portal opened on selection Monday, and I don't know the situation on that, but that date may be for players that were officially on the roster ending May 27th.

 

[Bucket Getter]

Now that the season is over for us, I thought I would start a thread where all of the portal news coming out would be under one thread and not spread out. The portal opened for baseball on the date the tournament field was announced which would be May 27th and it's open for 45 days. That would put the window closing around July 10 or 11 for players to enter the portal and be eligible for next season. There are exceptions to the eligibility rules with players being able to transfer whenever there is a head coaching change or there are changes in financial aid from previous years. There might be some other exceptions that I'm unaware of. Hopefully, I've got all of that right.

Right now, the only name in the portal that's listed for IU is Brooks Ey and I don't remember him being on the opening day roster. He's listed as entering the portal on 05-25-2024 which is a couple of days before the portal opened on selection Monday, and I don't know the situation on that, but that date may be for players that were officially on the roster ending May 27th.

Brooks, we hardly knew ye.

 

[Charlesroast]

Now that the season is over for us, I thought I would start a thread where all of the portal news coming out would be under one thread and not spread out. The portal opened for baseball on the date the tournament field was announced which would be May 27th and it's open for 45 days. That would put the window closing around July 10 or 11 for players to enter the portal and be eligible for next season. There are exceptions to the eligibility rules with players being able to transfer whenever there is a head coaching change or there are changes in financial aid from previous years. There might be some other exceptions that I'm unaware of. Hopefully, I've got all of that right.

Right now, the only name in the portal that's listed for IU is Brooks Ey and I don't remember him being on the opening day roster. He's listed as entering the portal on 05-25-2024 which is a couple of days before the portal opened on selection Monday, and I don't know the situation on that, but that date may be for players that were officially on the roster ending May 27th.

Thanks for all you have done this year, must be a labor of love. Brooks had a moment in 2023.

 

[ptrich]

Two new names appeared in the portal today.

INF Hayden Carlson - A freshman infielder out of California. He played in 11 games while starting one game. He had six at-bats with no hits and he last appeared in a game against Michigan on 5/16.

RHP Cooper Katskee - He was not listed on the roster at the end of the season. He pitched 3.1 IP this season with an ERA of 10.80 in three appearances on the season.

 

[ptrich]

C Austin Bode entered the portal yesterday.

He's from Columbus, IN and was a transfer out of Louisville, being with the Cards in 2022 and then redshirting there in 2023. He appeared in 17 games for IU this season with six starts. His last appearance in a game was on 5/3 against Purdue, and on the season, he was 6 for 22 at the plate for a .273 average.

 

[ptrich]

RHP Ethan Phillips out of Dunedin FL entered the portal today. He appeared in 17 games while starting nine games. He had an ERA of 6.16 in 30.2 IP this past season.

LHP Nathan Ball out of Ohio was not on IU's roster this past season and last played for IU in 2023 pitching 5.0 innings in six appearances and an ERA of 12.60. His name appeared in the portal today as an entrant out of IU. Since he didn't play anywhere this past season, I would assume/guess he was recovering from some sort of injury or maybe he decided to just sit out a year.

 

[Bucket Getter]

RHP Ethan Phillips out of Dunedin FL entered the portal today. He appeared in 17 games while starting nine games. He had an ERA of 6.16 in 30.2 IP this past season.

LHP Nathan Ball out of Ohio was not on IU's roster this past season and last played for IU in 2023 pitching 5.0 innings in six appearances and an ERA of 12.60. His name appeared in the portal today as an entrant out of IU. Since he didn't play anywhere this past season, I would assume/guess he was recovering from some sort of injury or maybe he decided to just sit out a year.

Anyone wanna bet Ethan Phillips won’t drop that ERA below 4.5 next year as a dependable weekend starter wherever he lands?

 

[ptrich]

INF Carl Sefcik out of Palos Heights, IL, entered the portal today. He appeared in 26 games with nine starts and I believe most if not all of those starts were as the DH. He hit .167 in 48 at-bats, and he had 8 hits with 2 homers.

Carl has a brother, Luke Sefcik, who was a redshirt soph with the Cincy Bearcats this past season, starting much of the season at 2b there. Luke transferred to Cincy after spending the 2023 season with Central Michigan. I don't know if Carl would be interested in transferring there since his brother already holds down one of the infield spots, but his brother might be drafted in July.

 

[ptrich]

2B Brandon Burckel entered the portal today. He is out of Lindale, TX and was a transfer from Houston. He was mentioned often in preseason articles as a good get for Mercer out of the portal and he started the season at 2B with Cerny moving to SS. He appeared in 26 games with 15 starts which were early into the season.

He last started a game against Vandy on 3/12 with highly touted freshman Jason Oliver taking over the 2B position after that game. After the Vandy game, Burckel had just two at-bats the rest of the season, often pinch running for players while being a late game replacement at 2B.

He hit .114 on the season with 35 at-bats and 4 hits to include a homer.

 

[kraft cheese+macaroni]

2B Brandon Burckel entered the portal today. He is out of Lindale, TX and was a transfer from Houston. He was mentioned often in preseason articles as a good get for Mercer out of the portal and he started the season at 2B with Cerny moving to SS. He appeared in 26 games with 15 starts which were early into the season.

He last started a game against Vandy on 3/12 with highly touted freshman Jason Oliver taking over the 2B position after that game. After the Vandy game, Burckel had just two at-bats the rest of the season, often pinch running for players while be a late game replacement at 2B.

He hit .114 on the season with 35 at-bats and 4 hits to include a homer.

This was a no-brainer. Good luck to the kid.

 

[ptrich]

Both LHP Brandon Keyster and RHP Evan Whiteaker also entered the portal today. I'm sorry to see Keyster go since I thought he had the potential to be a major contributor next season, but I guess he is taking that potential elsewhere. Whiteaker had been buried deep into the bullpen this season so his entry was no surprise.

Keyster is a redshirt soph out of Channahon, IL and he transferred to IU out of John A. Logan College. He appeared in 17 games with two starts. He had an ERA of 4.71 in 21.0 IP and he had 18 Ks to 5 BBs this season. He pitched in the season ending loss to So. Mississippi in the Knoxville Regional, going 5.0 IP while giving up 6 hits and one earned run in the game.

Whiteaker is a soph out of West Chester, OH. He appeared in eight games this season with no starts. He had an ERA of 12.27 in 11.0 IP and he had 11 Ks to 2 BBs, but he had a whopping .393 OBA in his limited action. He last pitched on 4/24 in the tie game with Ball St. and he went one inning in that game.

 

[gonnerm]

 

[kraft cheese+macaroni]

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Not bad numbers for a lefty out of the pen, I guess. ERA not great, but walk rate and K rate seem ok to me, but I'm not in tune with the modern baseball stat analysis.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=gubito000ant

 

[ptrich]

Not bad numbers for a lefty out of the pen, I guess. ERA not great, but walk rate and K rate seem ok to me, but I'm not in tune with the modern baseball stat analysis.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=gubito000ant

Yes. Gubitosi appeared in 19 games with one start for the Fighting Blue Hens this past season. He will be a junior and he had an ERA of 4.75 in 36.0 IP and a WHIP of 1.28 with an OBA of .217. He had 48 Ks to 18 BBs.

 

[gonnerm]

Glant seems to have a type. Big arms. Good strikeout rates. Minimal production.

 

[gonnerm]

 

[ptrich]

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Another Sycamore player, Parker Stinson, who started in RF and hit .295 with 15 homers, is going to the B1G also after committing to Oregon.

 

[ptrich]

RHP Julian Tonghini of New Canaan, CT, is on the move again after one season at IU after entering the portal today. He spent two seasons at Boston College before coming to IU.

He appeared in 19 games with two starts and he had an ERA of 6.25 in 36.0 IP and a WHIP of 1.72 with an OBA of .262. He had 47 Ks to 25 BBs.

 

[gonnerm]

 

[ptrich]

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Tyler DeMartino was listed by Xavier as a senior outfielder out of Potomac, MD. I'm assuming he was hurt for much of 2024 since he appeared in just 9 games which were all starts, but I haven't found anything to substantiate that. In the 2023 season, he started 43 games for Xavier with 41 of those games as the DH, and he was also named to the 2023 Big East All-Tournament team. In his limited number of at-bats in 2024, he was 11 for 27 at the plate for a .407 average with one homer and two doubles.

 

[Charlesroast]

Tyler DeMartino was listed as a senior outfielder out of Potomac, MD for Xavier. I'm assuming he was hurt for much of 2024 since he appeared in just 9 games which were all starts, but I haven't found anything to substantiate that. In the 2023 season, he started 43 games for Xavier with 41 of those games as the DH, and he was also named to the 2023 Big East All-Tournament team. In his limited number of at-bats in 2024, he was 11 for 27 at the plate for a .407 average with one homer and two doubles.

I understand this is college sports right now, but I wish IU baseball would not get too deep into this. We have outfielders and first basemen.

 

[Bligedy]

I understand this is college sports right now, but I wish IU baseball would not get too deep into this. We have outfielders and first basemen.

Who are the outfielders? Obviously Taylor. Probably Wiggins. Joey B at 1b. After that it's a bit of an unknown isn't it?

 

[Charlesroast]

Brayden Bakes, Evan Macintyre, & Cole Decker from last 2 classes. Joey B played outfield in summer ball last year. A.J. Sheppard played 1st at Conway but out rest of year, Stadler at least worked there, & Hanley played 1st too.

 

[Bligedy]

Brayden Bakes, Evan Macintyre, & Cole Decker from last 2 classes. Joey B played outfield in summer ball last year. A.J. Sheppard played 1st at Conway but out rest of year, Stadler at least worked there, & Hanley played 1st too.

Yeah. I can see what you mean but I have a hard time counting on freshmen and/or hurt guys.

 

[Charlesroast]

I understand, but I believe for our program to continue to improve it needs to show players develop here over the 3 seasons between enrolling and draft eligibility. The recent news that 6 kids, more than any other B1G program, were invited to the combine, especially since only Mathison was rated in PerfectGames top 500 for his class, supports that model.

 

[Charlesroast]

Is there a way to keep the site from deleting responses in the middle of typing?

 

[gonnerm]

 

[ptrich]

I missed it, but Purdue 1B Luke Gaffney entered the portal yesterday (Wednesday.) He's the B1G Freshman of the Year, so let the bidding war start with the ACC and SEC schools.

 

[ptrich]

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He had 21 appearances with one start for the Cards this past season. He didn't play in 2023 and I didn't see anything to say whether he was redshirted either medically or otherwise that season and he was listed as a soph outfielder this season with no reshirt indicated.

In addition to his .235 batting average, he had 17 at-bats with 6 hits to include a double.

Coming out of high school in 2022, he was rated as the No. 1 outfielder and No. 2 overall player in Kentucky and the No. 18 outfielder in the nation by Perfect Game. At that time, he chose Louisville over Miss. St., Auburn, Vandy, IU and Purdue.

He was selected in the 20th round of the 2022 MLB draft by the Twins, but he elected to honor his commitment to Louisville.

 

[Charlesroast]

I missed it, but Purdue 1B Luke Gaffney entered the portal yesterday (Wednesday.) He's the B1G Freshman of the Year, so let the bidding war start with the ACC and SEC schools.

It probably began before Wednesday. Look for him to go home to the big blue nation.

 

[gonnerm]

Dickerson a very worthwhile guy to take a chance on. Didn’t get on the field much at Louisville, but a huge recruit. Top 70 nationally. 6.39 runner.

 

[Orford]

FYI iubase.com website has both projected 2035 roster and is tracking 11 in portal with 4 inbound transfers

 

[Bucket Getter]

RHP Julian Tonghini of New Canaan, CT, is on the move again after one season at IU after entering the portal today. He spent two seasons at Boston College before coming to IU.

He appeared in 19 games with two starts and he had an ERA of 6.25 in 36.0 IP and a WHIP of 1.72 with an OBA of .262. He had 47 Ks to 25 BBs.

Why do I get the feeling some of these pitchers heading out of town are gonna kill it somewhere else?

 

[ptrich]

OF Brayden Bakes of Algonquin, Illinois, entered the portal today after sitting out his freshman season as an injury redshirt. He has a twin brother that plays at South Carolina. We hardly knew you, Brayden, but good luck wherever you end up.

 

[ptrich]

There's just under two weeks left (Tuesday, July 2nd) for players to enter the portal and be eligible to play next season unless there is a head coaching change, etc.

 

[ptrich]

FYI iubase.com website has both projected 2035 roster and is tracking 11 in portal with 4 inbound transfers

They are doing a really good job on their X account in providing updates and videos on players in summer ball, players at the MLB combine, and IU players in pro ball. Luke Sinnard is looking really good at the combine so we won't see him again in an IU uniform, and I wasn't expecting it anyway.

 

[Charlesroast]

Baseball Reference does a great job with up to date tracking of summer ball stats for individual players. There is a search line where you insert the players name and you get history and current stats. e.g. Korbyn Dickerson
Do you plan to update where kids of interest land from the portal? I hope we have a few who decide to stay put.
Again thanks for what you do. Between you and IUBASE we can keep up with the program better than the IU sports info folks provide.

 

[ptrich]

Baseball Reference does a great job with up to date tracking of summer ball stats for individual players. There is a search line where you insert the players name and you get history and current stats. e.g. Korbyn Dickerson
Do you plan to update where kids of interest land from the portal? I hope we have a few who decide to stay put.
Again thanks for what you do. Between you and IUBASE we can keep up with the program better than the IU sports info folks provide.

So far, none of the IU players that have entered the portal have announced a new destination. We've had players pull out of the portal before and rejoin the team, but that obviously has to be with the blessing of Coach Mercer. Thanks for the comments.

 

[Orford]

According to 64analytics Cal Sefcik is going to Cincinnati

 

[ptrich]

According to 64analytics Cal Sefcik is going to Cincinnati

No surprise since he has an older brother there that played most of the past season at 2B.

Update: His brother at Cincy is actually a little older than Cal so I was mistaken when I first called them twin brothers.

The portal closes in one week (Jul 2nd) for players that want to be eligible for next season, and then it's on to the MLB draft on July 14 through 16.