Kentucky Wildcats Baseball Transfer Portal Tracker 2024: List of all players who've entered the transfer portal
After making the College World Series for the first time in program history, the Kentucky Wildcats have begun their preparations for the next college baseball season. The coaching staff, led by coach Nick Mingione, is currently studying the composition of their 2025 roster as some players have entered the transfer portal.
These players are now looking for teams that could fully maximize their abilities next season. Here are the Wildcats players who decided to enter the portal:
Kentucky Wildcats players who entered the transfer portal
#1. Christian Howe, RHP
Christian Howe did not pitch in the 2023-24 season after playing seven games with Kentucky the prior season. The six-foot-four redshirt freshman played eight innings and was 1-0 with a 5.63 ERA. Howe allowed five runs, two home runs and six walks. He had eight strikeouts and faced 39 batters in the 2022-23 season.
#2. Travis Smith, RHP
Travis Smith played for two seasons with Kentucky. He appeared in 26 games (19 starts) and pitched 86 innings. Smith finished with a 7-7 win-loss mark and a 5.44 ERA. The right-handed pitcher struck out 76 batters during his stint with the Wildcats.
#3. Drew Lafferty, RHP
Drew Lafferty started in eight games for the Wildcats last season and pitched 21 innings. He went 1-1 with a 6.86 ERA. The six-foot-one Lafferty, an incoming sophomore in 2025, struck out 17 batters and walked nine others this past season.
#4. Colby Frieda, RHP
Colby Frieda played for three seasons with Kentucky and had 32 appearances, primarily as a reliever, pitching a combined 27 1/3 innings. Frieda had an ERA of 7.24 and recorded 36 strikeouts and 24 walks. The six-foot-three pitcher threw 510 pitches (297 for strikes) in three seasons for Kentucky.
#5. Carson Applegate, RHP
Carson Applegate didn't pitch for Kentucky but had stints in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (2022) and the Northwoods League (2023). The six-footer also played as a position player in both leagues and combined for 29 runs in 139 at-bats. The team that secures Applegate's commitment will get four years of eligibility and a dual-position threat, as he can both pitch and hit.
#6. Zach Hise, RHP
Zach Hise played in 32 games over three seasons with Missouri and Kentucky. Hise started in 12 games during that span and had a 1-8 record and three saves. The six-foot-five pitcher had a 7.32 ERA and pitched for 75.0 innings. He struck out 61 batters and walked 39 others.
#7. Austin Fawley, C
Austin Fawley played 10 games for the Wildcats this past season and hit .222. The six-foot-two catcher had three hits, two of which were home runs and five RBIs. He scored four runs for Kentucky, with an on-base percentage of .263 and a slugging rate of .611.
#8. Ben Higdon, OF
Ben Higdon played one season for Memphis as both a pitcher and a batter. As a pitcher, he posted a 3.37 ERA with four strikeouts in four games. Higdon held opposing hitters to a .143 average. As a hitter, he was 1-of-7 and had a .400 on-base percentage.
In 2023, Higdon had a junior college stint at John A. Logan College where he appeared in 58 games. He hit .459 with 21 home runs, two triples and 29 doubles. He had 95 RBIs and scored 78 runs. In the summer of 2023, Higdon played in the California Collegiate League. The outfielder represented Lincoln in the CCL All-Star with four home runs and 18 RBIs. He announced his commitment to play for Southern Mississippi as per 247Sports.com.
#9. John Skowronski, UTIL
John Skowronski played 26 games with the Utica Blue Sox in the Perfect Game Collegiate League. The six-foot-five incoming sophomore hit. 289 in 76 at-bats and scored 15 runs and 14 RBIs. He had one home run, two doubles and four stolen bases.
#10. Blake Bowen, UTIL
Blake Bowen appeared in 12 games during the summer of 2023 and batted .237 in 59 at-bats. The six-foot-two freshman had 12 runs, one double, one triple and nine RBIs. He recorded five stolen bases and had hits in nine of those games.
Bowen announced his commitment to Akron, where he will use his four years of eligibility.
#11. Lukas Schramm, UTIL
Lukas Schramm played for nine games with Kentucky this past season, where he had 21 at-bats. He hit .238 and smacked one home run and five RBIs. Schramm had 11 total bases and had an on-base percentage of .304 and a slugging rate of .524.