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Pitcher Caden Aoki transfers to Georgia: 'Everything fit what I was looking for'

Jeremy Johnsonby: Jeremy Johnson06/07/25JeremyO_Johnson
Caden Aoki
USC pitcher Caden Aoki (Katie Chin/USC Athletics)

Georgia continues to bolster its pitching staff in the transfer portal. Georgia has landed two transfers in the last 24 hours.

USC pitcher Caden Aoki has also confirmed his decision to transfer to Georgia to DawgsHQ. Aoki’s transfer was first reported by Kendall Rogers of D1 Baseball.com

“I can’t wait, go Dawgs,” Aoki told DawgsHQ.

Aoki, a right-hander, was one of the Trojans’ weekend starters on the mound. He had a 6-4 record. He pitched 93 innings and struck out 90 batters. Aoki carried a 3.99 earned run average.

Georgia will be Aoki’s third school. He began his career at Notre Dame before transferring to USC after his sophomore season.

Georgia checked a lot of boxes for Aoki ahead of his final season of eligibility. The attraction to Georgia starts and ends with Georgia head coach Wes Johnson. Aoki is a former teammate of Eric Hammond, who was able to give Aoki some insight into the benefits of playing for Johnson.

“The belief in Coach Johnson (helped make the decision),” Aoki said. “You hear about the kind of pitching mind he has, but when I was able to talk to him, he blew me away. I also have a former teammate in Eric Hammond, who is on the team and truly loves the program, and that just confirmed what I already believed. So I’m very excited to work with Coach Johnson.”

Georgia was what Aoki was looking for. He’s intrigued by the opportunity to play in the SEC.

“Everything fit what I was looking for,” Aoki said. “The SEC is the biggest challenge in college baseball, and I’m ready to take it on. Growing up, I always wanted to play in the SEC in front of the fans, and I’m able to do that. Playing in the SEC also means working with a coach like Coach Johnson.”

The Bulldogs also landed Stanford right-handed pitcher Matt Scott, according to his Instagram on Saturday.

Aoki is the fourth pitcher that Georgia has added via the transfer portal. One of those players, Kenny Ishikawa, is a two-way player. He’s joining the Georgia program by way of Seattle University and Asia University in Japan. He posted a 4.20 ERA last season.

The Bulldogs also added Grant Edwards from New Orleans University. The Louisiana native was the program’s Friday night starter in 2025, posting an ERA of 4.23 while striking out 92 batters and walking 29.

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