What Tulane Baseball Needs in the Transfer Portal
After missing out on a conference tournament for the first time in over a decade, the Tulane baseball team has a chance to start anew in the 2026 version of the NCAA Transfer Portal.
Last year, the Green Wave brought in nineteen new faces via the portal:
- Jude Abbadessa (RHP)
- Jack Brafa (RHP)
- Jack Frankel (RHP)
- Owen Geiss (RHP)
- Sam Larson (RHP)
- Max Mazinter (RHP)
- LuisPablo Navarro (LHP)
- Aidan Rath (RHP)
- Beau Sampson (LHP)
- Caden Tarango (RHP)
- Jake Toporek (LHP)
- Tom Vincent (LHP)
- Tye Wood (OF)
- Johnny Elliott (C)
- A.J. Groeneveld (INF/OF)
- Jack Johnson (UTL)
- Trent Liolios (INF)
- Nolan Nawrocki (INF)
- Brett Rowell (C)
The numbers looked promising on this group. However, for the most part, the nineteen did not pan out.
Injury Big Bites Hard
Injuries played an immense part of the lack of production from this portal crew. Almost half of those listed above missed all or part of the season because of the bite of the injury bug:
- Jude Abbadessa (RHP)
- Jack Frankel (RHP)
- Owen Geiss (RHP)
- Max Mazinter (RHP)
- Aidan Rath (RHP)
- Beau Sampson (LHP)
- Johnny Elliott (C)
- A.J. Groeneveld (INF/OF)
- Nolan Nawrocki (INF)
Production Not There
Those that did get to contribute did not help lift the Green Wave baseball program to the next level, as it was hoped they would.
To wit, the only Tulane batter to hit above the .300 mark was sophomore returnee Jason Wachs, who made the American Conference 1st team. The only transfer who had enough at bats to qualify for the final statistics was Trent Liolios, who was 60-points down the batting average column from where Wachs was.
The only pitcher from this group to come through regularly was Sam Larson, who was slated initially as the Green Wave closer but had to move into a starting role because of the injuries and a lack of production by those entrusted to a starting roll. Though he was pitching in a different slot than was expected of him, he still was one of the top performers of an otherwise pedestrian pitching group, earning a 3.95 ERA for the year, behind only Blaise Wilcenski in that category.
Targets for the Baseball Transfer Portal
As we look at what could happen for Tulane baseball in the portal, here is our wish list.
Pitching
After a Fall of good news, the Tulane pitching staff did not live up to the hype. Coaches will tell you injuries are part of the game, but this staff was decimated by them. The result was pitchers put into positions the coaching staff did not want to place them (i.e.: Sam Larson from closer to starter). Green Wave pitchers, after having a stellar Fall with their strike-to-ball ratio, slipped dramatically during the season. Because of that, the team ERA was third from the bottom in the American Conference.
On SI Tulane would love to see a strengthening of the pitching staff. There is hope that people like Julius Ejike-Charles will be back to full strength next season, that Jack Frankel, Beau Sampson, Max Mazinter, Aidan Rath, and Owen Geiss will be able to return to the mound from their various injuries.
The starting pitching was not Tulane's strongest suit in 2026. Friday starter Trey Cehajic never did find a consistent groove, ending up in the bullpen in the middle of the conference season. Beau Sampson did not pan out as a Saturday starter, was moved into the bullpen where he was absolutely lights out, then had a season-ending elbow injury. Sunday starter Jack Frankel was the most dependable. Then, once moved into the Saturday roll, he ended up with an injury that kept him out for the rest of the season.
The Green Wave need to find some arms. If the walking wounded can return, the addition of some quality pitchers would make this a completely different squad.
Power
The Green Wave hit 41-home runs in 2025. That's less than half the Wave cranked in the rare-air season of 2024 when the Sluggerbirds earned that moniker with 91-dingers. In recent history, only the Covid-shortened season of 2020 had less. That's when the Greenies knocked fifteen out of the park. From what we can find, besides that Covid year, 2026's 41-round trippers is the least amount of homers a Tulane team has hit going back to 2015, when the Wave hit 29.
The Wave need some power. We may not ever see 90-plus home runs in a season again, but it would help if batted balls can find the fence more often.
Keeping Jason Wachs
The sophomore from Florida is special. He is not only a batter who is just now hitting his stride, he is the kind of player you can build a team around. We hear Tulane coaches are promoting him for Team USA. Defensively, his arm in right field should never be challenged. There were a few times this season and it was, and we now know what a cannon looks like on a human being.
Wachs likes Tulane. He has told that on numerous occassions. He loves the school, the program, the coaches, the city of New Orleans, and the academics. We are hoping he sticks around, because if he does, there is no telling how good a team can be built around him as its star.
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Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.