No. 2 Notre Dame baseball starting pitcher enters NCAA transfer portal
Four Notre Dame baseball players entered the NCAA transfer portal this week before the passing of the July 1 deadline to preserve eligibility at a new destination in 2023. They’re all pitchers.
No. 2 starter Austin Temple was the latest to put his name in late Friday. Temple asserted himself as the Saturday starter behind ace John Michael Bertrand in his one year on the Notre Dame roster. He went 4-1 with a 3.50 ERA in 18 appearances (15 starts).
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Temple came to Notre Dame after four seasons at Jacksonville. His was granted a fifth season because of the COVID-19 pandemic waiver, but it appears he might be also eligible for a medical redshirt. He only started in two games in 2021 before his season ended early due to injury.
Temple struck out 87 batters and only walked 37 in 2022. Opposing hitters held a batting average of .200 against him, better than Bertrand’s mark of .234. He also earned two saves, which tied for the third most on the team. He was a unique arm that relied on off-speed pitches and a fooling slider to get through lineups.
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As with rising sophomores Caden Aoki and Roman Kimball and potential fifth-year senior Alex Rao, who all entered the portal earlier in the week, Temple could return to Notre Dame in 2023. If the four hurlers like who Notre Dame hires as its next head coach, they’re able to take themselves out and go back to South Bend. Putting your name in the portal is not an end-all.
Aoki, Kimball, Rao and Temple would all be huge assets for whoever is set to replace former Irish head coach Link Jarrett. After the injury to Ryan McLinskey, Rao was Jarrett’s most-used bullpen arm. Aoki and Kimball are working to get themselves into that mix early in their careers. Temple’s value goes without saying, especially after losing Bertrand.
The MLB Draft is coming up July 17. Rao is certainly a candidate to hear his name and ship off to the next level. Temple might not be. It’s imperative Notre Dame find a new head coach to try to stabilize the roster for the 2023 season.
