Duke Baseball 2026

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Luke102452

Member
Here is a summary of the comings and goings of Duke baseball for the 2026 season:

There are currently 20 Duke players in the transfer portal. Of those 20, there are 11 who have already committed elsewhere. Several of those have followed Chris Pollard to Virginia:
Henry Zatkowski LHP
Zach Jackson OF
Max Stammel RHP
Sam Harris 1B/DH
AJ Gracia OF
Noah Murray IF
Kyle Johnson LHP/OF

Others who have committed elsewhere:
Macon Winslow C (UNC)
Collins Black RHP (NC State)
Kael Gahan RHP (Chipola)
Jay Slater C (Northwestern)

The following are still in the portal but have not committed elsewhere. It is possible some could return to Duke:
Aiden Weaver RHP
Andrew Healy LHP
Gabe Nard RHP
Owen Proksch LHP
Bryce Brannon RHP
Adam Troch OF
Trevor Johnson OF
Mark Hindy LHP
Jack Feehery RHP

Players of note who have not entered the portal: Tyler Albright OF, James Tallon LHP, Jeff Lougee IF, Edward Hart LHP, Roman DiGiacomo C/RHP, David Boisvert RHP, James Raidt RHP. Albright and Tallon are both draft eligible and could possibly leave via that route.

Coach Muscara has said he will likely have to fill the roster with mostly transfers the first couple of years. It is important to note that the 2025 freshman class Pollard had assembled was among the best recruiting classes in the country. However, most of those players re-opened their recruitment, or followed Pollard to UVa. Only 4 of the original 12 man recruiting class still remain committed to Duke, as of today.

Here are the transfer commitments Muscara has garnered to date:

Michael DiMartini OF (Dayton) .403, 14 HR, 65 RBI, 37 SB
Adin Zorn OF (Dayton) .321, 9 HR, 47 RBI, 8 SB
Coltin Quagliano 2B (Illinois) .266, 4 HR, 23 RBI
Jake Lambdin 3B (Xavier) .255, 5 HR, 25 RBI
Matthew Strand C (Stetson) .333, 1 HR, 14 RBI
Drew Bryan RHP (ECU) .675 ERA
Noah Jouras C (Davidson) .317, 7 HR, 28 RBI
Andy Leon RHP (Columbia) 0.00 ERA (2 innings pitched)
 
Luke102452 said:
Here is a summary of the comings and goings of Duke baseball for the 2026 season:

There are currently 20 Duke players in the transfer portal. Of those 20, there are 11 who have already committed elsewhere. Several of those have followed Chris Pollard to Virginia:
Henry Zatkowski LHP
Zach Jackson OF
Max Stammel RHP
Sam Harris 1B/DH
AJ Gracia OF
Noah Murray IF
Kyle Johnson LHP/OF

Others who have committed elsewhere:
Macon Winslow C (UNC)
Collins Black RHP (NC State)
Kael Gahan RHP (Chipola)
Jay Slater C (Northwestern)

The following are still in the portal but have not committed elsewhere. It is possible some could return to Duke:
Aiden Weaver RHP
Andrew Healy LHP
Gabe Nard RHP
Owen Proksch LHP
Bryce Brannon RHP
Adam Troch OF
Trevor Johnson OF
Mark Hindy LHP
Jack Feehery RHP

Players of note who have not entered the portal: Tyler Albright OF, James Tallon LHP, Jeff Lougee IF, Edward Hart LHP, Roman DiGiacomo C/RHP, David Boisvert RHP, James Raidt RHP. Albright and Tallon are both draft eligible and could possibly leave via that route.

Coach Muscara has said he will likely have to fill the roster with mostly transfers the first couple of years. It is important to note that the 2025 freshman class Pollard had assembled was among the best recruiting classes in the country. However, most of those players re-opened their recruitment, or followed Pollard to UVa. Only 4 of the original 12 man recruiting class still remain committed to Duke, as of today.

Here are the transfer commitments Muscara has garnered to date:

Michael DiMartini OF (Dayton) .403, 14 HR, 65 RBI, 37 SB
Adin Zorn OF (Dayton) .321, 9 HR, 47 RBI, 8 SB
Coltin Quagliano 2B (Illinois) .266, 4 HR, 23 RBI
Jake Lambdin 3B (Xavier) .255, 5 HR, 25 RBI
Matthew Strand C (Stetson) .333, 1 HR, 14 RBI
Drew Bryan RHP (ECU) .675 ERA
Noah Jouras C (Davidson) .317, 7 HR, 28 RBI
Andy Leon RHP (Columbia) 0.00 ERA (2 innings pitched)
Click to expand...
Very helpful. Thanks. Clear, comprehensive but concise. And light on graphics so it isn't a Russian novel. Much appreciated.
 
jwillfan said:
Their head coach came to Duke as Associate Head Coach, I believe. So, a tie - not a coincidence.

Searching for Baseball Optimism

We well know the roller coaster of emotions that accompany the commitment to “Bleed Blue “ But it seems like lots of piling on for the baseball program over the last couple of weeks.. A clarion call of commitment would be so welcome What are the chances of finding another hero (or two) for...
forums.dukebasketballreport.com forums.dukebasketballreport.com
Click to expand...
Yes, Scott Loiseau was the head coach at Dayton who Muscara hired as assistant coach.
 
jwillfan said:
Their head coach came to Duke as Associate Head Coach, I believe. So, a tie - not a coincidence. Check the post in the other baseball thread:

https://forums.dukebasketballreport...hing-for-baseball-optimism.51874/post-1863944
Click to expand...
Thanks, I knew I had to be missing something. I guess we should count our blessings, when a program loses their HC so he can be an assistant elsewhere isn't a good sign for the future at Dayton. Baseball has always seemed to me to be the one sport where the little guys can still succeed, but that writing is on the wall.
 
Luke102452 said:
The connection between Muscara and Loiseau is that both coached at D2 Southern New Hampshire, Loiseau as head coach and Muscara as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I saw that in Muscara's bio. SNHU has leaned very heavily into online learning to compete with University of Phoenix so I had to look it up as I didn't realize that it had a physical presence with athletics but apparently it does.
 
Luke102452 said:
Drew Bryan RHP (ECU) .675 ERA
Click to expand...
I was confused as to whether his ERA was 6.75 or the 0.675 posted? It is the former, at least for the brief 1.1 innings pitched at ECU last year.
It looks like he had a lot of success at the Div III level before transferring to ECU. Does anyone know any more about why he pitched so little last year? Was it just the transition from DIII? Or was there an injury? It seems like he was a promising project going into the season.
 
nocilla said:
I was confused as to whether his ERA was 6.75 or the 0.675 posted? It is the former, at least for the brief 1.1 innings pitched at ECU last year.
It looks like he had a lot of success at the Div III level before transferring to ECU. Does anyone know any more about why he pitched so little last year? Was it just the transition from DIII? Or was there an injury? It seems like he was a promising project going into the season.
Click to expand...
It was 6.75 ERA. My error. I have no idea why he pitched so little for ECU. However, perhaps his relative success in summer league ball indicates some potential. Here is a link to all his career stats: https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=bryan-001dre
 
nocilla said:
I was confused as to whether his ERA was 6.75 or the 0.675 posted? It is the former, at least for the brief 1.1 innings pitched at ECU last year.
It looks like he had a lot of success at the Div III level before transferring to ECU. Does anyone know any more about why he pitched so little last year? Was it just the transition from DIII? Or was there an injury? It seems like he was a promising project going into the season.
Click to expand...
I read an article elsewhere that he had fractured ribs and was in rehab most of his stay at ECU.
 
Luke102452 said:
Here is a summary of the comings and goings of Duke baseball for the 2026 season:

There are currently 20 Duke players in the transfer portal. Of those 20, there are 11 who have already committed elsewhere. Several of those have followed Chris Pollard to Virginia:
Henry Zatkowski LHP
Zach Jackson OF
Max Stammel RHP
Sam Harris 1B/DH
AJ Gracia OF
Noah Murray IF
Kyle Johnson LHP/OF

Others who have committed elsewhere:
Macon Winslow C (UNC)
Collins Black RHP (NC State)
Kael Gahan RHP (Chipola)
Jay Slater C (Northwestern)

The following are still in the portal but have not committed elsewhere. It is possible some could return to Duke:
Aiden Weaver RHP
Andrew Healy LHP
Gabe Nard RHP
Owen Proksch LHP
Bryce Brannon RHP
Adam Troch OF
Trevor Johnson OF
Mark Hindy LHP
Jack Feehery RHP

Players of note who have not entered the portal: Tyler Albright OF, James Tallon LHP, Jeff Lougee IF, Edward Hart LHP, Roman DiGiacomo C/RHP, David Boisvert RHP, James Raidt RHP. Albright and Tallon are both draft eligible and could possibly leave via that route.

Coach Muscara has said he will likely have to fill the roster with mostly transfers the first couple of years. It is important to note that the 2025 freshman class Pollard had assembled was among the best recruiting classes in the country. However, most of those players re-opened their recruitment, or followed Pollard to UVa. Only 4 of the original 12 man recruiting class still remain committed to Duke, as of today.

Here are the transfer commitments Muscara has garnered to date:

Michael DiMartini OF (Dayton) .403, 14 HR, 65 RBI, 37 SB
Adin Zorn OF (Dayton) .321, 9 HR, 47 RBI, 8 SB
Coltin Quagliano 2B (Illinois) .266, 4 HR, 23 RBI
Jake Lambdin 3B (Xavier) .255, 5 HR, 25 RBI
Matthew Strand C (Stetson) .333, 1 HR, 14 RBI
Drew Bryan RHP (ECU) .675 ERA
Noah Jouras C (Davidson) .317, 7 HR, 28 RBI
Andy Leon RHP (Columbia) 0.00 ERA (2 innings pitched)
Click to expand...

Thanks for setting this thread up!
 
CameronBornAndBred said:
They might believe in him, but have little faith in team success. Is being a good pitcher for a great teacher on a bad to middling team appealing?
Click to expand...
That's an actually very interesting question. Does getting "seen" on a good team but being meh outweigh getting the most cutting-edge coaching and pitch design guidance and having a great individual season for a losing team? Which sets you up for potential professional success? Or maybe it's "I can coast academically and contribute to a winning program and have fun, I don't plan to be a pro"? I'm sure there are more permutations.
 
jwillfan said:
That's an actually very interesting question. Does getting "seen" on a good team but being meh outweigh getting the most cutting-edge coaching and pitch design guidance and having a great individual season for a losing team? Which sets you up for potential professional success? Or maybe it's "I can coast academically and contribute to a winning program and have fun, I don't plan to be a pro"? I'm sure there are more permutations.
Click to expand...
It's also quite possible he simply followed the money. F$U pays more, so regardless of the coach and team, he let his wallet lead the way. He's a very good pitcher; I'm sure Duke and F$U weren't the only ones competing for his services.

I'm guessing it's the combo of getting paid well plus landing with a high profile program that is a post-season regular that swayed him.
 
CameronBornAndBred said:
It's also quite possible he simply followed the money. F$U pays more, so regardless of the coach and team, he let his wallet lead the way. He's a very good pitcher; I'm sure Duke and F$U weren't the only ones competing for his services.

I'm guessing it's the combo of getting paid well plus landing with a high profile program that is a post-season regular that swayed him.
Click to expand...
Still disappointing.
 
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