Kentucky pitchers Carson Applegate, Colby Frieda enter NCAA Transfer Portal

The Kentucky Wildcats have had two right-handed pitchers, Carson Applegate and Colby Frieda, enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

Their decision to transfer comes shortly after the Kentucky Wildcats had their season end in Omaha and the College World Series. There, the Wildcats won their first game against NC State once they got to Omaha but they dropped the next two against SEC opponents to get eliminated from the postseason.

This came after what was an excellent season for Kentucky overall. The Wildcats went 46-16 and 22-8 in SEC play. That earned them a national seed in the NCAA Tournament and, eventually, their first trip to the College World Series in program history.

Carson Applegate is a redshirt freshman from New Jersey. He took a redshirt in 2023 before coming back for the 2024 season where he pitched in two games. Between those two appearances, he pitched in one inning and had a 27.00 ERA. He has also competed in the Perfect Game Collegiate League and the Northwoods League, including as a position player.

Coming out of high school, Applegate was ranked as the No. 197 player nationally and the No. 9 player in New Jersey by Perfect Game.

Colby Frieda, meanwhile, is a junior hitting the Transfer Portal. He has made an on-field contribution for the team in every season since 2022. In total, he pitched in 27.1 innings over 32 appearances in his three seasons at Kentucky. One of those appearances was even a start. His ERA in three seasons of college baseball is a 7.24 with 36 strikeouts.

A Florida native, he was ranked the No. 240 overall player and the No. 88 right-handed pitcher in the nation by Perfect Game coming out of high school. He’s also played in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League.

The Transfer Portal for College Baseball

College baseball is in the middle of its main Transfer Portal window, in which players are able to enter the portal. That opened in May, amid the postseason, and runs for 45 total days. There is also another portal window that opens up in December and remains open for a total of 15 days.

Scholarship distribution in college baseball can be a challenge for coaches to navigate in the portal. That’s because NCAA Division I baseball teams get between 11 and 12 scholarships to use. That’s less than half of the number of players on a team, leaving most players on a partial scholarship.

So, amid player turnover in the portal, coaches must manage those partial scholarships and take full advantage of them.