Former Notre Dame pitcher Caden Aoki transfers to USC

Caden Aoki is heading home. The former Notre Dame pitcher announced he’s transferring to USC earlier this week.

Aoki, a rising sophomore, was the first of five Notre Dame pitchers to enter the NCAA transfer portal after former Irish head coach Link Jarrett left for Florida State last month. Aoki went into the portal on June 28. He announced his decision to continue his career with the Trojans on July 13.

Aoki is from Huntington Beach, Calif., 40 miles south of USC’s campus. He appeared in four games for Notre Dame and went 0-2 with a 3.86 ERA. He struck out 10 batters and walked two in 9.1 innings.

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Committed to the University of Southern California!! FIGHT ON ✌️ pic.twitter.com/LxVuSxny9o

— caden (@Cadenaoki) July 13, 2022

Three of the five Notre Dame pitchers who entered the portal after Jarrett’s departure have announced where they’re playing next. Aoki went to USC. Fellow rising sophomore Roman Kimball announced his decision to transfer to South Carolina on July 12. Saturday, another rising sophomore, Jack Findlay, told BlueandGold.com he’s staying in South Bend and sticking with the Irish.

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Findlay was the most important piece new head coach Shawn Stiffler had to convince to come back. Mission accomplished. The freshman All-American had the best ERA (2.17) on a team that finished ninth nationally in that statistic with a staff-wide mark of 3.91. Findlay earned four saves in the NCAA Tournament and went 6-2 in 20 appearances, eight of which were starts. He had 54 strikeouts and 16 walks in 49.2 innings.

Rising fifth-year senior Alex Rao and rising sixth-year senior Austin Temple are still in the portal and are undecided on their next moves. Rao could get selected in next week’s MLB Draft. Temple has already transferred once in his college career and is not as highly-regarded as a prospect for the next level. He’d have to receive a medical redshirt for one more year of collegiate eligibility, too.

Losing Aoki and Kimball will take a toll on Notre Dame’s overall depth from a pitching perspective, especially if the Irish are without Rao and Temple — two hurlers who combined to make 43 appearances with a total of 116.1 innings on the mound in 2022. Notre Dame is also losing staff ace John Michael Bertrand to graduation. He threw a team-high 109 innings and went 10-3 with a 2.81 ERA in 18 starts.

Retaining Findlay was a must, but Stiffler still has work cut out for him in preparation for his first season as the Notre Dame skipper.