TCU pitcher Kole Klecker enters NCAA transfer portal

TCU right-handed pitcher Kole Klecker has entered the NCAA transfer portal, On3’s Pete Nakos has learned. He played the past three seasons in Fort Worth and appeared in 10 games with five starts this past season.

Klecker posted a 4.66 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings of work this past season. TCU won every gae he pitched in and he managed to hold opponents without a run in four of his five relief appearnaces.

Klecker arrived at TCU in the 2023 season, after which he was named a Freshman All-American. He started in a team-high 17 of 19 appearances and was the first Horned Frogs freshman to record 10 wins since 2014. He posted a 3.72 ERA and led the team with 97 2/3 innings pitched with a team-high 72 strikeouts.

Kole Klecker has just 14 starts over the past two seasons following that impressive freshman campaign, however. Part of that had to do with an oblique injury he was dealing with this past season, but it appears he’s ready to move on and close out his career elsewhere.

TCU is coming off of a 39-20 finish this past season and saw its season end in Regional play of the NCAA Tournament. The Horned Frogs have lost several players to the transfer portal now and will look to make up for it by bringing a few in. That included fellow pitcher Storm Hierholzer, who made seven appearances in 2024 and pitched 9.1 innings overall for an ERA of 3.86 with 12 strikeouts.

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.

NCAA Division I baseball teams 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.