Oregon pitcher Santiago Garcia enters NCAA transfer portal

Oregon left-handed pitcher Santiago Garcia has entered the NCAA transfer portal, On3’s Pete Nakos has learned. He played just one season for the Ducks after transferring in from the JUCO level.

Garcia appeared in 22 games this past season to finish with a 3-0 record and an ERA of 4.18. He also recorded four saves as he was one of the team’s relief pitchers, getting 28 innings of work to throw 38 strikeouts to only 18 walks.

Prior to his arrival in Eugene, Garcia made 16 appearances for Central Arizona Community College in 2024. He pitched 23.2 innings with a 3.04 ERA, striking out 38 batters.

Oregon is coming off of a 42-16 season and earned the No. 12 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. However, the Ducks bowed out early with back-to-back losses at home in Regional play.

Garcia is the 12th Oregon player to enter the transfer portal so far this offseason. He is also the eighth pitcher, joining names such as Sammy Cova and Cole Stokes.

The Ducks will look to bounce back from this disappointing finish to 2025 when they return next year for their seventh season under coach Mark Wasikowski. It will also be interesting to see who Oregon brings in through the portal to replace its multiple losses.

The Transfer Portal for NCAA Baseball

College baseball has two separate windows for players to enter the Transfer Portal. The main window is open now. That’s starting in late May, while the NCAA Tournament is underway, and it remains open for a total of 45 days. The other window that college baseball has is open for 15 days in December.

Unlike sports like football, baseball has unique challenges relating to scholarship distribution that coaches need to manage and could impact players as they transfer. With the house settlement passing, roster sizes are about to shrink.

NCAA Division I baseball teams currently get between 11 and 12 scholarships despite the rosters being more than double that size. It means players receive partial scholarships. That means that coaches need to find a way to balance those scholarships with players already on the roster and who they’re bringing in.

According to On3’s Transfer Portal College Baseball Tracker, 3,179 players have enters the portal so far. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.