Tennessee Baseball Lands Four Pitchers Among Top 50 Transfer Arms List

D1 Baseball released their final installment of the "Top 50 Transfer Pitchers Countdown" list on August 27th. This list includes four out of the six transfer pitchers brought in this offseason by Josh Elander and the rest of the Tennessee coaching staff as he prepares for his second season as head coach. All four Tennessee pitchers included in the list were ranked in the top 25, with former South Carolina lefty Jake McCoy ranked 24th, former Northwestern State lefty Brody Trosclair ranked 11th, former Clemson righty Hayden Simmerson ranked 10th, and former UC Irvine lefty Ricky Ojeda ranked 4th.

#24 Jake McCoy

Jake McCoy is a 6-foot-1, 185-pound left-handed pitcher from Fort Mill, South Carolina. McCoy committed to South Carolina as part of the 2023 recruiting class, where he posted a 7.11 ERA, 97 strikeouts, and a 5-5 record through 76 innings in his two seasons with the Gamecocks. Although posting lackluster stats at South Carolina, McCoy impressed many during the summer of 2025, where he dominated the Cape Cod League in a small sample size, posting a 1.46 ERA, 26 strikeouts, and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 8.33 in 12.1 innings.

On January 22nd, 2026, McCoy left a scrimmage with a UCL tear, causing him to miss the entirety of the 2026 collegiate season. McCoy entered the transfer portal following the 2026 season, committing to the Tennessee Volunteers on June 22nd after a visit to Rocky Top on June 19th. McCoy was selected in the 18th round of the 2026 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays before ultimately deciding to uphold his commitment to Tennessee.

McCoy currently has a four-pitch mix, including a mid-90s fastball that can touch up to 98 MPH, a mid-80s slider that can occasionally eclipse 3,000 RPMs, a cutter that sits in the high 80s to low 90s, and an upper-80s changeup that he sometimes struggles to locate. McCoy has struggled with command at times but has shown improvement with his strikeout numbers and could potentially have two-plus pitches in the arsenal as his control continues to develop.

🆕 Top 50 Transfer Pitchers Countdown: 30-21

Kendall Rogers looks at Transfer Pitchers ranked 21-30 from Auburn, Vandy, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Virginia, Miami and Ole Miss. https://t.co/2Uqf0vw1ap
— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) August 25, 2026

#11 Brody Trosclair

Tennessee Baseball — Jun 24, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; Batting helmets and glove for the Tennessee Volunteers are seen before a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Brody Trosclair is a 5-foot-11, 186-pound left-handed pitcher from Thibodaux, Louisiana. Trosclair committed to Northwestern State as part of the 2025 recruiting class, where he posted a 1.89 ERA, 55 strikeouts, and a 5-1 record over 38 innings in his freshman season. Trosclair was named the 2026 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year for his dominant performances, despite missing the final two months of the regular season due to an injury. The lefty went down with an elbow injury on April 2nd, 2026, which required surgery to reattach his ligaments to the bone and place an internal brace on top of the ligaments for stability on April 27th.

Following the 2026 season, Trosclair entered the transfer portal, where he garnered attention from other SEC programs, including Auburn, LSU, Arkansas, and Florida, before committing to Tennessee on June 8. Trosclair will have three years of eligibility remaining with the Volunteers and won't be eligible for the MLB draft until 2028.

Currently, Trosclair has a four-pitch mix that includes a four-seam fastball that sits in the low to mid-90s, a two-seam fastball that sits in the low 90s, an impressive slider with a 3000 RPM spin rate that he threw 64% of the time, and a low 80s curveball with good vertical break from the left-hand side. Trosclair has expressed interest in adding a cutter to his arsenal, as well as a changeup or splitter, in an attempt to better mix pitch speeds, per Ryan Schumpert of On3 via X.

What Brody Trosclair told me about his pitch mix.

4-seam fastball: Sits 90-94 mph. Topped at 95 mph last fall.
2-seam: Sits 90-92 mph.
Slider: Best pitch. Threw 64% of the time in his freshman season. Can throw in any count. 3000 RPM
Curveball: 80-82 mph. Good vertical break.…
— Ryan Schumpert (@ryanschumpert00) June 11, 2026

🆕 Top 50 Transfer Pitchers Countdown: 20-11

The fourth installment of our transfer pitchers countdown features new additions for Tennessee, Louisville, Florida, LSU, Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, North Carolina, and Oregon.https://t.co/zRWFwSzbYM
— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) August 26, 2026

#10 Hayden Simmerson

Hayden Simmerson is a 6-foot-2, 205-pound right-handed relief pitcher from Salisbury, North Carolina. Simmerson committed to Catawba College as part of the class of 2023, where he spent two seasons, recording an ERA of 3.67, 156 strikeouts, and 25 saves in 136.2 innings. Following the 2025 season, Simmerson elected to transfer to the University of Clemson, where he led the team in saves with 4 and recorded an ERA of 3.62, 46 strikeouts, and an impressive WHIP of 0.897 in 32.1 innings pitched.

Simmerson entered the transfer portal on June 2nd after spending one season with the Tigers and committed to Tennessee, where he will play his final collegiate season on July 9th. The righty was projected as a mid-to-late-round pick in the 2026 MLB draft but went undrafted and will now look to boost his draft stock with the Volunteers in 2027.

Simmerson showcases a two-pitch mix that includes a mid-90s fastball with 20 inches of vertical break, making it appear to rise, and an impressive curveball with a 47% whiff rate that took major strides last season with Clemson.

No. 10 on D1Baseball's Top 50 Transfer Pitchers Countdown…@Vol_Baseball RHP Hayden Simmerson 🍊

Equipped with 94-95 mph fastball and a power curve that had a 47% whiff rate in 2026, the righty gives Tennessee another dynamic bullpen weapon.

Top 10 👉 https://t.co/TkKdTlI4Vf pic.twitter.com/haUa7xZ6MX
— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) August 27, 2026

#4 Ricky Ojeda

Ricky Ojeda is a 5-foot-11, 185-pound left-handed relief pitcher from Valencia, California. Ojeda committed to UC Irvine as part of the 2023 recruiting class, where he played three seasons, recording an ERA of 3.60, 219 strikeouts, and a 22-5 record through 180 innings pitched.

The left-handed relief pitcher entered the transfer portal on June 3 following the conclusion of his junior season. On June 19th, Ojeda committed to the University of Tennessee, where he will finish his final season of college eligibility. The 20-year-old was ranked as the No. 243 prospect in the 2026 MLB Draft by MLB.com before ultimately going undrafted and deciding to fulfill his commitment to the Volunteers.

Ojeda has a 4-pitch mix in his arsenal, including a low to mid-90s fastball that he threw 73% of the time, an average to slightly above average low to mid-80s split-change that he throws more than any other secondary pitch, a low 80s slider, and a low 70s curveball with a sharp downward bite and slight glove side movement.

No. 4 on D1Baseball's Top 50 Transfer Pitchers Countdown…@Vol_Baseball LHP Ricky Ojeda 🍊

The polished lefty brings proven starter/closer versatility and four pitches that all grade out between 110 and 125 on the Stuff+ scale to Rocky Top.

Top 10 👉 https://t.co/TkKdTlI4Vf pic.twitter.com/gCMAOlmSyf
— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) August 28, 2026

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