Oklahoma Baseball: Sooners Make Big Transfer Addition to Bullpen

Oklahoma is staying busy in the transfer portal.

After a huge MLB draft that saw a country-high 11 players get drafted, the Sooners have made a highly notable addition to their 2023 roster on Sunday night.

Virginia right-handed pitcher Blake Bales announced he would be joining Skip Johnson’s club as a graduate transfer.

Thankful to announce I’ll be using my final year of eligibility at the University of Oklahoma #boomersooner pic.twitter.com/CUOmylA9rV
— Blake Bales (@blakebales44) July 25, 2022

Used strictly out of the bullpen with the Cavaliers, Bales was one of the best relievers in the country in the 2021 season.

The Michigan native had a microscopic 0.71 ERA with a whopping 54 strikeouts in 38 innings pitched in relief.

His big season helped him become just the third reliever in Virginia school history to be named a finalist for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award.

Named a second team All-American by the NCBWA, Bales allowed an earned run in only two of his 25 appearances, and allowed just six of his 23 inherited runners to come in to score.

Now, with one year of eligibility remaining, he comes to Oklahoma certainly expecting to be a high-leverage arm in the OU bullpen as the Sooners look to make a return trip to Omaha after their memorable run to the College World Series finals last month.

The addition of a relief pitcher is certainly a welcome sight for Oklahoma with closer Trevin Michael off to the next level along with fellow relievers Chazz Martinez, Jaret Godman and Javier Ramos - along with the entire weekend starting rotation.