Baseball: Two-Way Star Payton Tolle to Transfer to TCU
It's been less than a week since the Horned Frogs were sent home from Omaha in a heartbreaking loss to the eventual national runner-up Florida Gators, but Kirk Saarloos and company are taking no breaks. The staff added one of the biggest names in the transfer portal in Payton Tolle on Tuesday afternoon, making him the third player and the second pitcher to join TCU via the transfer portal so far this cycle.
But what makes Tolle interesting is his two-way ability, an attribute that is becoming increasingly popular in baseball thanks to the MLB's amazing Shohei Ohtani and Florida's breakout freshman Jack Caglianone.
Tolle spent his first two collegiate seasons at Wichita State, where he saw success on the mound and in the batter's box. After a promising freshman season, his numbers skyrocketed in 2023 on both sides of the ball.
As a pitcher, Tolle went 9-3 during his sophomore season and pitched in 85.2 innings, striking out 97 batters, a 48-strikeout increase from his freshman year. The ex-Shocker recorded four games with at least ten strikeouts in 2023.
On offense, the 6'6" lefty started in 55 games and had a batting average of .311. Tolle hit 13 home runs and finished the season with 50 RBIs and 66 hits. His best showing offensively came in March against Oakland, where he went 5-5 with 6 RBIs and a home run.
The Horned Frogs made a somewhat unlikely College World Series run in 2023 and are looking to advance deeper in the postseason next year. Tolle joins Jack Basseer and fellow lefty Ben Hampton as the three transfer additions (so far) that Saarloos has made. The two-way star will not only be lethal offensively for a lineup that lost a few key contributors, but will also compete for a permanent weekend starting role with a talented TCU pitching staff, a group that could get a lot stronger in the coming days (stay tuned).
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