Tommy LaPour among Wichita State baseball players entering NCAA transfer portal

Following a spirited run to the championship game in the American Athletic Conference tournament, the Wichita State baseball team must now reckon with transfer portal season.

More than 1,400 college baseball players flooded the portal when it officially opened on Monday, including at least seven players from the Shockers’ 2024 roster. Players have until July 2 to officially enter the portal.

The most notable entry came late Monday evening when Pro Baseball Radar reported weekend starter Tommy LaPour had entered the transfer portal following a standout freshman season at WSU. LaPour has not publicly announced his decision, but sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Eagle that LaPour had indeed already entered the portal.

LaPour was a late addition to coach Brian Green’s first recruiting class at WSU, fending off several power-conference teams to win a recruiting battle for the highly rated prospect. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound right-hander lived up to the hype in his debut season with the Shockers, quickly becoming a weekend starter and finishing with a 6-3 record and 4.25 earned run average in more than 78 innings pitched. LaPour was voted the AAC Newcomer Pitcher of the Year.

Another highly rated pitching prospect also joined LaPour in the transfer portal in fellow freshman Ryan Geraghty, who originally committed to WSU with Loren Hibbs and Mike Pelfrey but remained following the coaching change. He made 15 appearances with an 8.00 ERA, but the Illinois native was rated a top-175 recruit in the 2023 class and received a highest-possible 10 grade from Perfect Grade scouting.

Combined with the graduation of ace Caden Favors, starting pitching is sure to be near the top of the priority list for Green and his staff.

Five other WSU players have publicly declared for the transfer portal: sophomore catcher Alex Birge, freshman shortstop Darnell Parker Jr., junior pitcher Gavin Oswald, junior pitcher Eric Fettinger and freshman infielder Holden Pantier. There is a possibility for players who have entered the transfer portal to potentially return to WSU, although those cases have proven to be rare.

Birge made a total of 23 starts this past season and finished with a .159 batting average, while Parker, a highly rated 2023 recruit, logged 12 starts for the Shockers and had a .176 batting average. Oswald, Fettinger and Pantier were not regular players for WSU.

WSU also graduated seven players, including starting outfielders Dayvin Johnson and Seth Stroh, closer Nate Adler and Favors

WSU is currently ranked No. 90 nationally in its 2024 high school class, which features highly rated prospects like Minnesota outfielder Carson Beavers, Overland Park outfielder Anthony Alvarez and Georgia middle infielder Melvin Blocker.

The Shockers still have a promising core of players in line to return, but it has become increasingly difficult for coaches across the country to retain players in the age of the transfer portal and money from name, image and likeness.