Recapping Rutgers baseball's recent transfer portal activity
The Rutgers baseball team has been very active in the transfer portal following its exit from the Big Ten Tournament last month. The Scarlet Knights have added three players to their roster from the transfer portal.
Senior outfielder Pete Ciuffreda joins Rutgers from Lafayette in his final year of college eligibility. Ciuffreda finished the season with a .265 batting average, a team-leading 13 home runs and 29 runs batted in (RBI).
Senior left-handed pitcher Joey DeChiaro will finish his collegiate career with the Knights after transferring from Old Dominion. Last season, DeChiaro owned a 4.43 earned run average (ERA) and struck out 22 batters.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Jack Eshleman transferred to Rutgers from Hamilton with three years of college availability. Eshleman boasted a 3-0 record and owned a 1.14 ERA. He also threw 51 strikeouts in 31.2 innings pitched.
The Knights have also lost players, as 10 players have entered the transfer portal, including senior outfielder Evan Sleight, freshman infielder Maximus Martin and junior right-handed pitcher Sam Bello.
Sleight was one of the best hitters last season as he had a .315 batting average with 44 runs batted in and 12 home runs. He also boasted a 1.006 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) and started in every game last season.
Martin, who started in 25 games last season, owned a batting average of .203 with 12 RBI’s and four homers to his name.
Bello earned a record of 2-1 last season and boasted a 5.79 ERA. He also threw 15 strikeouts while walking nine batters in 18.2 innings pitched.
With Rutgers losing key pieces, head coach Steve Owens will need to continue his splashes in the transfer portal and look elsewhere for new starting roles.
After an early exit from the Big Ten Tournament, the Knights will look to improve next season and make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007. With new transfers including Ciuffreda and Eshleman, Rutgers has taken a step in the right direction to further success.
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