South Bound & Down
Fansided

Georgia Baseball's 2024 Transfer Portal Class

By Elliot Reeder

State Farm College Baseball Showdown
State Farm College Baseball Showdown / Ben Ludeman/Texas Rangers/GettyImages
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Heading into year #1 under new baseball head coach Wes Johnson, Georgia brought in one of the nation's largest and most talented transfer portal classes. All in all, Georgia brought in 17 new players via the portal this offseason, and the class was ranked 13th in the nation by D1baseball.com. The class featured ten position players, six pitchers, and one two-way player.

Here is a breakdown of the Dawgs' portal additions, broken up by position groups:

INFIELDERS

  • INF Kolby Branch (Baylor)

A unanimous Big 12 All-Freshman team selection in 2023, Branch won Baylor's "Triple Crown" (leading the team in average, home runs, and RBI) in his lone season in Waco. On the year, he hit .325 with 6 HR, 17 doubles, 2 3B, and 41 RBI (good enough for a .939 OPS). Branch was also named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Overall, he led Baylor in double-digit offensive categories.

  • INF Paul Toetz (Purdue)

Another team's 2023 Triple Crown winner and a doubles machine, Toetz led Purdue in Batting Average (.335), Home runs (10), and RBI (53) in 2023. He also added 14 doubles and had an OPS of 1.004 and was a Third team All-Big Ten selection. In 2022, Toetz hit .285 with 4 HR, 13 doubles, and 33 RBI. Prior to his two year stint with the Boilermakers, Toetz started his career with Indiana where he hit .281 with 18 doubles in 2021. For his career, Toetz has a .302/.386/.478 slash line (.863 OPS), 15 HR, 45 doubles, 4 triples, and 110 RBI across 557 at-bats in 146 games.

  • INF/RHP Tyler McLoughlin (Emory)

A two-way star for Division 3 Emory University, McLoughlin was a Second Team D3 All-American, First Team All-Region, and First Team All-Conference performer last year. As a hitter, McLoughlin hit .352 with 12 HR, 13 doubles, and 41 RBI in 2023. He had a .687 slugging percentage and an OPS of 1.160. As a pitcher, he had a 3-0 record and a 1.80 ERA across 20 IP (13 appearances, all out of the bullpen). He put up a 28:12 K:BB ratio and only allowed opposing hitters to hit .129 against him. In 2022, McLoughlin had a .276/.378/.541 slash line with 6 HR and 22 RBI as a hitter, plus 3.52 ERA in 30 2/3 IP as he worked more as a starer (6 starts in 7 appearances). McLoughlin is also a Georgia native, having played for Milton HS (on the outskirts of Atlanta) before Emory.

  • C Henry Hunter (UAB)

A rising Junior catcher out of Grayson, Ga., Hunter had a strong Freshman season in 2022, but did not have as good of a 2023. Hunter hit .175 with 3 HR, 3 doubles, and 3 triples with 21 RBI in 46 games/42 starts in 2023. In his Freshman season in 2022, Hunter hit .286 with an .881 OPS. Across his two-year career in Birmingham, Hunter threw out 29 of 78 possible stolen base attempts.

  • C Josh Katz (Emory)

A teammate of McLoughlin's at D3 Emory, Katz hit .277 last season. Katz threw out 10 of 26 possible base-stealers while behind the dish and had a .988 fielding percentage. Katz is also a Georgia native, from Riverwood International Charter School in Sandy Springs, Ga.

  • INF Slate Alford (Mississippi State)

Alford transfers to Georgia from SEC foe Mississippi State, where he played two seasons. In 2023, Alford was MSU's main third baseman, where he hit .248 with 9 HR and 36 RBI (had a .772 OPS) in 157 at-bats across 45 appearances. As a Freshman in 2022, Alford hit .209 in 43 AB's.