MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Just four days after the WVU baseball season ended, that same amount of players have entered the transfer portal.
Junior lefty Ben Hampton made the first off-season move. The left-handed pitcher entered the portal less than 24 hours after WVU’s season came to a close in the Lexington Regional.
By Thursday, three other members of the 2023 squad followed suit, including fellow pitcher Chris Sleeper. The sophomore righty only made five appearances this season. He struck out a total of four batters over 3.1 innings pitched. Sleeper was a key member of WVU’s pitching staff in his first season. He earned a spot on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team after finishing with a 3-4 record and a 3.63 ERA. In 14 appearances, including four starts, Sleeper fanned 28 batters through 42.1 innings.
Freshman infielder Tre Keels, the highest-ranked recruit in program history, and sophomore outfielder Evan Smith also hit the portal this week. Keels was tabbed the No. 66 overall recruit by Perfect Game when he joined the Mountaineers. He only played in 11 games this season and registered one hit.
Over two seasons, Evan Smith made 13 starts in 55 total appearances. He finished with 13 hits, 16 RBI and three stolen bases over that span.
With the addition of Michael Kilker who made his announcement before the NCAA Regional, that makes five players from the 2023 team who entered the transfer portal.