Duke catcher Macon Winslow enters NCAA transfer portal

Duke catcher Macon Winslow has entered the NCAA transfer portal with a do not contact tag, On3’s Pete Nakos has learned. He does so after spending the last two years with the Blue Devils.

Winslow is one of the nation’s best catchers. He was named to the Buster Posey Midseason Watch List earlier this year.

He’s coming off a season in which he hit .278 at the plate, knocking out 13 doubles, a triple and nine home runs. He had 48 RBI and also drew a total of 40 free bases — 31 via walk and nine via hit by pitch.

Macon Winslow is also extremely reliable. In two seasons he has started 96 games out of his 100 total appearances. That kind of durability will certainly earn him some looks out of the transfer portal, especially coupled with his productivity.

It didn’t take long for Winslow to get going after he arrived at Duke, either. As a freshman he hit .250 with six doubles and four home runs, driving in 17 runs.

Needless to say, someone will be getting a quality player in Macon Winslow out of the transfer portal. The Duke star will be highly coveted.

Duke loses coach Chris Pollard

The news of Macon Winslow’s entry into the transfer portal comes after some major news hit the program on Tuesday. Head coach Chris Pollard has taken the Virginia job, replacing Brian O’Connor, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. This comes after Mississippi State hired O’Connor away earlier in the offseason, hoping to get its own program back on the right track. Now, Duke will be going up against Pollard on a near-annual basis with the move inside the conference.

This brings an end to a decade-plus-long relationship between Pollard and Duke. He was brought to Durham ahead of the 2013 season and struggled out of the gates. Duke missed the NCAA Tournament in Pollard’s first three years before earning a bid in 2016.

By 2018, the Blue Devils were in their first Super Regional since 1961. On four different occasions did Pollard guide them there but never did he break through to the College World Series. Duke has not been to Omaha since the same 1961 campaign, as the drought extends to 64 years.

Pollard has an overall record of 419-293 during his time in Durham. If you include stops at Division III Pfeiffer and Appalachian State, his record grows to 804-611-2. A winner is making his way to Virginia, hoping to bring similar success up to Charlottesville.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh also contributed to this report.