The SEC has been a powerhouse conference in college baseball for years now, claiming their sixth straight National Title just three months ago. This year SEC schools did pretty well when it came to the transfer portal and reloading for the 2026 season. Here is a look at the Top 8 transfers who found a new home in the SEC.

1. Joey Volchko is our #2 ranked player in the portal and is heading to Georgia for 2026. In his two seasons at Stanford the 6’4 righty posted a 5.89 ERA with 109 strikeouts across 113.0 innings pitched. In ACC play this past season he started 10 games striking out 39 batters in 49 innings. He has a true four pitch mix headlined by a fastball in the mid to upper 90’s which he pairs with a tight slider in the low 90’s, a power curve in the mid 80’s and a solid change up.
2. Next up we have Chris Hacopian who sits at #4 in our portal player rankings. After two massive seasons at Maryland he will be taking his talents down to Texas A&M. Chris has been one of my favorite players to watch these past two years after a huge freshman season in 2024. This past season for the Terps he hit .375 hitting 14 home runs and knocking in 61 RBI across 52 games. His dad Derek was one of the best players in the history of Maryland baseball, notably hitting .490 his senior year. Good news for Aggie fans is the hit tool has been passed down to the next generation of Hacopian’s.
3. Another Stanford pitcher heading to the SEC is Matt Scott. Matt checks in at #5 in our portal player rankings and will also be throwing baseballs at Georgia this spring. This past season for the Cardinal he posted a 6.02 ERA with 56 strikeouts across 52.1 innings pitched. Imposing doesn’t quite do Scott’s 6’7 245 lbs frame justice, he is down right scary on the mound. He has a fastball that’ll routinely hit 97-98 mph that he pairs with a bigger slider, a tight cutter and a good fading change up.
4. #6 ranked player Henry Ford is leaving Charlottesville and heading to Tennessee to play for the Vols this season. As a Virginia fan I just want to thank Henry for hitting a lot of bombs at Davenport field and look forward to watching him mash at Lindsey Nelson. In his two seasons with the Hoos Henry hit .348 with 22 doubles, 28 home runs and knocked in 115 RBI. Over the summer on the Cape he was one of the most exciting players to watch on the Chatham roster, coming in second in both home runs and RBI. Ford has one of those simple easy swings that is just loaded with power, he has the unique ability to get his arms extended on just about any pitch regardless of location which will make for a lot of fun home runs for the Vols this season.
5. Another Hoo that is off to the SEC is Tomas Valincius. Tomas is following Head Coach Brian O’Connor to Mississippi State where he will be a massive part of the pitching staff. Last season as a freshman Tomas made 13 appearances with 12 starts and ended the season with a 4.59 ERA. He collected 70 strikeouts across 64.2 innings with just 17 walks. I think Tomas will be a fan favorite in Starkville and look forward to seeing Justin Parker’s work helping him adapt to SEC pitching. Valincius is ranked #8 in our portal player rankings.
6. Next up we have our only SEC to SEC transfer on this list in Ethan McElvain. Ethan is transferring from Vanderbilt to Arkansas and checks in at #9 on our board. The 6’4 lefty posted a 5.33 ERA with 74 strikeouts across 52.1 innings over his two seasons at Vandy. The Arkansas pitching staff always ends up being one I’m impressed with every season so I’m excited to see what role Ethan will play for the Razorbacks in 2026. He works with an electric fastball that he pairs with a sharp slider and an absolute dead fish of a change up. He tunnels all of these pitches incredibly well from his lefty slot which will definitely continue giving SEC hitters problems this spring.
7. When it comes to guys who are playing their cards right, it is going to be tough to find a player doing it better than new Texas Longhorn Haiden Leffew. The reason Mr. Leffew is playing chess when the rest of us are playing checkers is simple, he spent his first two years with Corey Muscara at Wake Forest, who is one of the best pitching minds in college baseball and now he is transferring down to Texas where we have another one of the best pitching minds in college baseball in Max Weiner. See what I mean? Over his first two seasons at Wake Forest he held a 5.30 ERA in 69.2 innings pitched while collecting 97 strikeouts. I’m stoked we are going to see him face SEC hitters this spring. Haiden is listed as our #13 ranked player in the portal.
8. TJ Pompey is ranked #14 on our board and is heading to Arkansas for the upcoming season. The former Texas Tech infielder finished his 2025 campaign hitting .358 with 5 home runs and 15 RBI in just 18 starts. He did get sidelined with an injury in March which ended his season earlier than expected. However as a freshman in 2024 he batted .279 with 10 homers and 49 RBI. A healthy TJ Pompey is going to be huge for the Razorbacks since he’s incredibly versatile which is key as the team rebuilds their infield after losing a few players to the Draft.

The SEC will be loaded with talent in 2026 and we as fans are in for some quality baseball yet again.