College Baseball Transfer Portal: Top Mid-Major Classes

We’ve said it time and time again… the transfer portal has completely reshaped college baseball. Much of the focus is often on teams from the Power Five conferences, but some mid-majors have utilized the transfer portal to their advantage.

Some retooled after key departures, while others loaded up to make a serious run at conference titles and NCAA Tournament bids. Here are the top mid-major transfer portal classes and the programs poised to make the biggest splash this season, per our friends at 64Analytics.

#16 Tulane Green Wave

Key Names: Jack Frankel (Liberty), Owen Geiss (Long Beach State), Tye Wood (New Mexico), Jack Brafa (Tennessee Tech), Jake Toporek (Wagner)

The Tulane Green Wave received the highest ranking among all mid-major teams, and it is easy to see why. Head Coach Jay Uhlman and company came away with two top 100 players and five top 200 players from the portal.

Let’s start with the biggest name in Jack Frankel out of Liberty. Coming in at #50 in the portal rankings per 64Analytics, Frankel was a force as a freshman for the Liberty Flames.

Frankel posted a 3.40 ERA in 18 games last year, striking out 32 batters in 45 IP. That ERA was good enough to lead the entire team as a true freshman. He also posted a 1.09 WHIP, which was in the 95th percentile in all of D1 Baseball. Just a huge get for Tulane.

Tulane rounded out their arms by also snagging Owen Geiss (#79 on the board) out of Long Beach State and Jack Brafa (#130 on the board) out of Tennessee Tech.

Geiss posted a 4.90 ERA while striking out 44 batters in 68 innings. He started 11 of 16 games he appeared in and should give the Green Wave a solid potential rotation option.

Brafa pitched mostly out of the bullpen but to the tune of a 3.48 ERA with 38 K in 51 innings pitched. Don’t forget about Jack Toporek either. This kid went 8-1 while posting a 3.49 ERA and struck out 69 batters in 87.2 innings pitched.

The Green Wave should have a deep pitching staff in 2026.

On the offensive side, Tye Wood out of New Mexico, Trent Liolios out of Northwestern, John Elliott out of USC, and Nolan Nawrocki out of South Carolina all present a potential spark for the Green Wave lineup.

Tye Wood is a definite tablesetter, as he slashed .317/.448/.509 with 14 2B, 5 HR, 32 RBI, and 7 SB. He should fit nicely at the top of the lineup and play corner OF for the Green Wave.

Trent Liolios has hit 25 home runs over the last two seasons and driven in 35 RBI in each of the last two seasons. He should provide some thump from 1B or DH.

Overall, this is just a fun class for a Tulane team that has made back-to-back appearances in the AAC championship and just recently appeared in two regionals in 2023 and 2024.

Is the Green Wave back to the team of old that made College World Series appearances in 2001 and 2005? Time will tell.

#19 Troy Trojans

Key Names: Nico Azpilcueta (Stony Brook), Blake Dean (Kansas State), Tommy Egan (UIC), Zach Crotchfelt (Texas Tech)

Now, let’s dive into one of the best teams in the Sun Belt Conference, the Troy Trojans. Many would argue that the Trojans deserved an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament, and I’d probably agree.

Head Coach Skylar Meade and company didn’t waste any time as they reloaded to make another run in 2026.

The top of their class started with a big-time bat with some thump in Nico Azpilcueta, who was the #165-ranked player in the portal per 64Analytics. Azpilcueta put up some video game numbers with Stony Brook, slashing .320/.390/.711 with 14 2B, 20 HR, and 61 RBI.

Troy really lacked some thump in the lineup last year, with catcher Brooks Bryan leading the team with 12 home runs. Bryan was drafted, so they really needed to replace that loss of power. Nico should give them that.

On the pitching side, they added right-hander Blake Dean out of Kansas State, who posted a 4.72 ERA while striking out 64 batters in 61 innings. They also nabbed UIC’s Tommy Egan, who posted a 4.76 ERA in 51 innings, and he should bring them some depth in the rotation.

It’s a good class for the Trojans. This team went 39-21 last year, made a run in the Sun Belt tournament, and came up short, just missing the NCAA tournament. They’ll look to take that next step and capitalize in 2026.

#20 Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Key Names: Chase Krewson (UCF), Charlie Meglio (Campbell), Jacob Pedersen (Stony Brook), Ryan Jaros (NC State)

Rutgers Baseball had a down year in the Big 10. A team that usually makes some noise finished 29-28 overall and finished 10th in the Big 10.

This was a team that just lacked the firepower on offense and depth in the pitching staff to really make a run. Pitching was the biggest question mark as they finished with a team ERA of 5.72. They looked to address some of this in the portal.

Their big addition on the mound was right-hander Jacob Pedersen out of Stony Brook. While he didn’t start many games, he posted a 4.37 ERA while striking out 40 batters in 47.1 innings.

They also added left-hander Jordan Savinon out of FDU, who started 10 games on the mound and should give them some depth in the rotation.

Righty Vincent Borghese might be the most intriguing. He came from DII Central Connecticut State, where he started 15 games on the mound and struck out 93 batters in 89.2 innings. He could be a solid rotation candidate.

The big names came with the bats, though. They got commitments from outfielder Chase Krewson out of UCF, who was ranked #90 overall, and third baseman Charlie Meglio out of Campbell, who was ranked #178 overall.

Krewson provides more of a tablesetter profile as he slashed .279/.395/.329 in 45 games and walked almost as much as he struck out. He could provide some RBI opportunities for their big thumpers like Peyton Bonds. He started his career at Duke, and Rutgers becomes his third team.

Meglio should provide some more thump as he has hit 16 2Bs and 12 HRs while driving in 41 for Campbell in 2025.

Overall, this is a very good portal class for the Scarlett Knights. Will it be enough to help them make a run in the Big 10? Who knows. It’ll be hard with the likes of Oregon and UCLA, but Rutgers should improve from their 2025 season in 2026.

#22 Liberty Flames

Key Names: Jaxon Lucas (NC State), Jordan Jaffe (Richmond), Aydan Decker-Petty (Indiana)

Each year, Liberty baseball seems to be a team that is overlooked by most. While 2025 didn’t live up to their expectations as they finished 30-27 overall and 10-17 in conference, the Flames didn’t let that stop them from trying to compete in 2026.

The Flames started their portal class with two players in the top 160 per 64Analytics. The first name is right-handed pitcher Jaxon Lucas out of NC State. While the ERA wasn’t sexy, Lucas struck out 20 batters in 19 innings. Lucas has some electric stuff that he just needs to rein in.

Liberty followed Lucas with a big-time bopper out of Richmond in first baseman Jordan Jaffe. He slashed .364/.429/.599 with 19 2B, 10 HR, and 59 RBI in 2025. Liberty had strong pitching in 2025, but the offense really struggled. Jaffe should provide them with some much-needed thump.

Following that, Liberty secured some more commitments from intriguing arms like Aydan Decker-Petty out of Austin Peay, Matt Porter out of Pittsburgh, and Bradley Zayac out of ECU. As the saying goes, you can never have too many arms.

Will this be enough for Liberty to make a run in the Conference USA? They sure hope so, as the Flames will most definitely want to improve from their eighth-place conference finish.

#23 Lamar Cardinals

Key Names: Balin Valentine (Northwestern State), Braden Benton (Northwestern State), Travis Lutz (Bradley)

It always feels like we never talk enough about Lamar. Did you know the Cardinals won 40 games last year? Probably not, but you should!

Head Coach Will Davis has built something special, and Recruiting Coordinator Scott Hatten has worked tirelessly to improve this ballclub.

Lamar came in with the 23rd overall class in college baseball, and that is largely in part thanks to depth, as they brought in 19 different players from the portal.

That started with two big-time names from Northwestern State in Balin Valentine and Braden Benton. Valentine, an outfielder, slashed .292/.375/.468 with 8 2B, 8 HR, and 38 RBI with 20 SB in 2025. It’s an intriguing profile with some swing and miss, but he should be a steady producer.

His teammate Braden Benton was just as productive as he slashed .297/.473/.572 with 10 2B, 10 HR, and 42 RBI. He also walked more (46) than he struck out (36). Valentine and Benton should give them some top-of-the-order type bats to help this offense produce.

Travis Lutz out of Bradley was their top arm. The stuff is intriguing, so you can ignore the ERA for now, as he did strike out 45 batters in 41.1 innings. If any pitching coach in the nation will help him hone it in and get it to the next level, it’s Sean McGrath.

Landon Grigg out of ULM, Gage Burdick out of A&M Corpus Christi, and Cam Diaz out of Sam Houston are all other arms that could play a significant role for this Lamar team.

Overall, it is a lot of depth for Lamar on both the mound and at the plate. Getting quantity seemed to be the move for Lamar, and you can’t fault the process. They have some really intriguing names that could help this program reach the next level.

#24 UCF Golden Knights

Key Names: Landon Moran (Stetson), Zak Skinner (Lamar), John Smith (South Alabama), Roman Kimball (South Carolina), Michael Gillen (Clemson), Chandler Dorsey (LSU), JD Rogers (Vanderbilt)

UCF struggled mightily in the Big 12 last year, finishing 9-21 in conference and 29-26 overall on the season. The Big 12 is just getting better at baseball, and UCF is looking to catch up.

It’s never easy to recruit in a state where you are competing with Florida, Florida State, and Miami, but UCF put together a solid top 25 portal class that should help them hopefully boost this program’s abilities in 2026.

UCF was able to snag some of the top 150 players, including first baseman Landon Moran out of Stetson. Moran isn’t your typical bopper of a first baseman, but he put up solid numbers, slashing .268/.398/.395 with 92 B, 5 HR, and 41 RBI.

As well as Moran, they added two other intriguing bats in Zak Skinner out of Lamar and John Smith out of South Alabama. Skinner slashed .277/.374/.411 with 15 2B, 5 HR, and 50 RBI. Smith put up some significant numbers, slashing .314/.412/.466 with 8 2B, 7 HR, and 30 RBI. Both should provide some much-needed production for UCF.

South Carolina right-hander Roman Kimball was the most intriguing arm to me. While the numbers are far from pretty, Kimball is a guy who has generated a lot of MLB Draft buzz in the past but has battled injuries.

UCF also snagged some big-time conference guys who saw limited playing time due to depth, including Michael Gillen and Austin Jacobs from Clemson, Chandler Dorsey from LSU, JD Rogers from Vanderbilt, and James Hankerson from Florida State.

This should be an intriguing UCF team. Will they make some noise in the Big 12 in 2026? It’s really unclear. But this portal class is a great sign of hopefully positive things to come for the Golden Knights.