Sun Devils prepare for 2027 with deep transfer class

(Photo: Madison Sorenson/WCSN)

PHOENIX – On May 31, Arizona State’s season came to a heartbreaking conclusion, falling to Ole Miss in extra innings for the second time in the Lincoln Regional final in what was the Sun Devils’ second straight regional exit.

After the game, the ASU players and coaching staff sat on the field at Haymarket Park in deep reflection and emotion. Many of them were crying and embracing one another, as they realized that the 2026 iteration of ASU baseball was over.

Just a day later, the Sun Devil coaches were warped back into the new reality of college baseball.

The first Sun Devil, freshman catcher Cooper Clouser, had entered the transfer portal.

Along with Clouser, impact players such as junior Garrett Michel, who started much of the season as the Sun Devils’ designated hitter, decided that their talents would be better off elsewhere. Michel finished the season hitting .277 after late struggles left him without a consistent lineup spot.

In addition to Michel, ASU lost its backup catcher, sophomore Coen Niclai, to Oregon State. While Niclai did not see the field much, with sophomore catcher Brody Briggs’ standout defensive play, he did show sparks of offense. Niclai hit two grand slams in one week for ASU back in April, including a game-tying home run against GCU to complete a seven-run comeback.

Those three, plus the additional 10 Sun Devils who left via the transfer portal, were depth pieces that head coach Willie Bloomquist was forced to replace; however, it was the 10 players who moved on to the professional ranks that left the widest gaps in ASU’s roster.

The biggest of which was the Sun Devil pitching staff, which saw five of its pitchers who started for the Sun Devils get drafted along with their top reliever, senior Sean Fitzpatrick. The two full-time starters, junior Cole Carlon and senior Kole Klecker, were both expected losses for ASU, with Carlon being a top prospect and the latter being out of eligibility.

There was a sliver of hope, however, that junior pitcher Jaden Alba, who became the regular Saturday starter, might return to be one of ASU’s key pitchers in 2027. Instead, Alba, along with bullpen pieces and part-time starters juniors Colin Linder and Alex Overbay, signed professional contracts.

On the infield, ASU lost both of its starting middle-infielders in redshirt junior Nu’u Contrades and junior PJ Moutzouridis. Contrades and senior outfielder Dean Toigo, who also signed a pro contract, were two of the Sun Devils’ three 20+ home run hitters, forcing Bloomquist to replenish the power in his lineup.

Here is a breakdown of his incoming transfer class.

Pitching

With the exit of Carlon, Klecker and Alba, Bloomquist was forced to find potential starting pitchers. Luckily for him, he found a well-seasoned starter in rising senior right-handed pitcher James Hays from Stetson.

Hays started his collegiate career at Georgia, but only appeared in two games as a freshman, leading him to move to Stetson. As a sophomore, Hays appeared in 12 games, punching out 49 batters.

Then, Hays had his breakout.

The rising senior became a regular starter for the Hatters in 2026, tossing 72.1 innings with a 4.73 ERA and 77 strikeouts. Hays has already proved that he can have lengthened-out starts, so he could be primed for a starting role, assuming his stuff translates to Big 12 play.

Another potential impact pitcher who could start, pitch out of the bullpen, or even close games is South Carolina rising senior southpaw Alex Valentin. The Florida native will be attending his fourth school in as many years, bringing with him a plethora of experience.

Valentin started his junior season out of the bullpen for the Gamecocks, but earned himself a starting role by the end, with six of his last seven appearances being starts. The incoming senior finished 2026 with a 5.21 ERA and 52 innings pitched. As the Sun Devils’ go-to left-handed pitcher, Sean Fitzpatrick went pro; Valentin may be used to fill a similar role and even take some starts.

Bloomquist also added some pieces to replenish the inconsistent Sun Devil bullpen, including bringing in rising sophomore right-handed pitcher Jett Wright from California. As a freshman, Wright appeared for 17 innings with a 5.82 ERA and 17 strikeouts. That 5.82 ERA is skewed by a four-run performance against national runner-up North Carolina, in which Wright recorded only two outs.

Likely joining Wright as a bullpen option is Kentucky transfer, rising redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Oliver Boone. Boone started his career at California, throwing 30.1 innings with a 4.45 ERA as a redshirt freshman. In his lone season in the SEC, Boone made just 10 appearances with 11.1 IP and a 6.35 ERA. Like Valentin, Bloomquist will hope that Boone’s SEC experience can translate into being a key bullpen arm for the Sun Devils.

Also out of the SEC, Bloomquist landed a pair of Georgia right-handed pitchers in rising redshirt junior Luke Wiltrakis and rising sophomore Dylan Wood. Wiltrakis appeared in just five games as a redshirt sophomore, posting a 12.00 ERA in three innings. He’s spent his summer in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Brewster Whitecaps, where he’s struggled with allowing free bases, giving up nine walks in 5.2 IP.

Wood only pitched 4.2 innings as a freshman – although he did post an impressive 3.86 ERA in his short stint in Athens. While there isn’t much game action to go off, Bloomquist likely sees a young SEC talent that he will hope that pitching coach Jeremy Accardo can turn into a valuable asset for ASU.

Rising junior right-handed pitcher Joey McMannis is also technically transferring from an SEC school, as he is transferring from national champion Oklahoma. However, McMannis never actually appeared in a game for the Sooners, with his last recorded game being in 2025 for Maryland. As a sophomore for Maryland, McMannis made 10 starts and pitched 42.0 innings with an 8.21 ERA.

The Sun Devils brought in two pitchers from a lower level of college baseball. Rising redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Johnny Stacy is heading to Phoenix from NCAA Division II Angelo State. While Stacy did not play much as a redshirt sophomore, only throwing 9.2 innings, his freshman season stands out. The San Antonio native threw 53.2 innings with a 6-1 record and five saves as a freshman.

ASU also supplemented its pitching by bringing in rising sophomore right-handed pitcher Liam Roche from Johnson County Community College. Roche started his career at Iowa, where he did not see the field as a freshman. At JCCC, Roche impressed with a 16-0 record with 78.1 innings and a 4.02 ERA.

Much of the new Sun Devil pitching staff is unproven, but Bloomquist and his staff will hope that the talent they see will turn into dominance on the field.

Hitters

When the Sun Devils lost both Contrades and Toigo to the MLB Draft, it left a wide, 41 home run gap at the top of the Sun Devils’ batting order. Fortunately for Bloomquist, he landed the commitment of prized rising junior outfielder Jackson Hotchkiss from Washington.

As a freshman, Hotchkiss hit .241 with just six home runs for the Huskies. However, in a similar fashion to upcoming junior and star Sun Devil Landon Hairston, Hotchkiss launched himself to national attention in his sophomore season.

The Washington native mashed .339 and 20 home runs in 2026 with a .720 slugging percentage. If Hotchkiss can continue those numbers, especially in a hitter-friendly ballpark like Phoenix Municipal Stadium, then the Sun Devils will have received a much-needed offensive boost.

Joining Hotchkiss to headline the incoming Sun Devil offense is rising senior infielder Marcos Rosales from UNLV. Rosales started his first two seasons at Cal State Fullerton before heading to Las Vegas, where he hit .304 with nine home runs and 42 RBIs, including four against the Sun Devils.

The rising senior will likely be a big help in replacing Contrades and Moutzouridis in the middle infield, as he posted a .967 fielding percentage as a junior at second base. The Sun Devils will hope for a similar success from a UNLV transfer that they got last season with Toigo.

The Sun Devils added one additional outfielder to their roster with rising senior Preston Newberry transferring from Incarnate Word, where he posted a .340 average with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs as a junior. After two seasons in junior college, Newberry’s first D1 season led him to second-team all-conference honors, putting him on ASU’s radar.

After Niclai and Clouser’s exits, Bloomquist was forced to go into the portal to find a backup catcher for rising junior Brody Briggs.

There, he found rising junior Caden Sheridan from Morehead State.

Sheridan made just two errors from behind the plate as a sophomore, giving the Sun Devils a reliable backup if Briggs needs a rest day. The Ohio native does bring in a different offensive profile from Briggs, slashing .262 with 12 home runs for the Eagles as a sophomore.

Bloomquist also grabbed catcher Adolfo Pacheco from nearby Chandler-Gilbert Community College, where he hit .344 with 12 home runs in 55 games this past season.

In order to help with the infield even further, ASU went into the portal and found a high-potential JUCO product, rising junior David Hogg II. Hogg started his career at LSU as a top-100 national high school prospect, per Perfect Game.

After receiving just two at-bats as a freshman, Hogg moved on.

The infielder initially transferred to Kansas, but ended up spending the 2026 season at Grayson College, where he hit .371 with 11 home runs and 58 RBIs, leading him to a new home in Phoenix. Bloomquist and his staff will try to get Hogg to reach the potential that LSU once saw in him.

Rounding out the Sun Devils’ incoming transfer class is rising sophomore infielder Davis Perkins from Tyler Junior College. Perkins hit .318 with 31 RBIs and nine home runs in his lone college season. Additionally, the incoming sophomore has spent his summer as a shortstop in the Cape Cod League, where he has slashed .333 with 23 RBIs and two home runs. Perkins, like Hogg, will likely be competing for a spot in the Sun Devil infield, with both spots being unoccupied by the draft.

The large transfer class of 16 was named an honorable mention, just outside Baseball America’s top 10 classes in the country. As the new Sun Devils head to campus in the fall, they will try to keep the momentum that has been built under Bloomquist, with two straight regional appearances–even trying to exceed it with the first Sun Devil super regional appearance since 2011.