Feels like there are a few that don't yet have established possible roles so they could look for a spot elsewhere if they don't think they can/will crack the lineup. I'll talk about them, but I must emphasize that these are just my thoughts and just speculation and I have absolutely zero indications on what these players might be thinking and what decision they might take. I'm sure that if any of them read this they might have their eyes roll out of their heads, but hey... what's a discussion board for if it isn't for things like this!?
Applegate - Seems to be a middle infielder. Possibly could move to third. Also can pitch. So, he has options, but the key here is that the middle is pretty much closed right now. Pitre is locked at second and if he returns Smith is locked at SS. There is little to nothing that will change that unless those two just fall apart. So, Applegate to play in the field would have to try to play at third or try some outfield. That isn't out of the question. He could also be content to play his first actual year as a pitcher and then as a backup and pinch runner. Knowing that he will likely have 2nd or SS locked down in 2025. Still, have to think that he is one that is possible, but don't think it's likely he transfers. Might depend on how quickly he wants to progress through college baseball.
Herrea - Similar to Applegate. Herrera could play third and I think that the staff looked at him there, but he had some illness that really hurt his development in the fall and he lost a lot of weight. He was just 170 when they made the roster. That just ain't going to cut it in this league. So, he could stick around and put that weight back on and try for third and maybe lock that down, or he might try to look elsewhere that he knows he will get a middle infield look. He was very lightly used this year despite being largely available and didn't really even feature as a pinch runner much.
Church - A bit of an oddity. He hasn't shown a ton of power and hasn't really been a feature defensively. Came into his own a bit more this season hitting .286. One thing I also notice with his stats is that he didn't really hit a ton of extra base hits either. Just 3 in 91 at bats (for comparison, Stanke had 3 in 67 at bats and was hitting just .179) So, I think if Church wants to play professionally he has to prove to scouts that he can either hit for more power and get more extra base hits, or he has to prove that he has defensive ability to go along with being able to hit for average. Right now he hasn't shown that he can be a highly valuable DH that oppponents fear and he hasn't shown off tools defensively. So, can he find a home at somewhere like 3rd base next year or will he be competing again for a DH spot? UK brought in Higdon who looks like he could fill one of those roles, so will that partially leave out Church? Don't know, but that could be cause for him to look elsewhere.
Ewell - Had his chance to find a spot in the outfield this season and just didn't perform. Has shown the ability to do so in the past, but didn't find it this season. Big guy that could provide some much needed power and also some good athleticism. Still 2 of the 3 outfield positions are largely locked in. McCarthy is likely in center (IMO) and Waldy is locked into left. Right field is open, but Schramm seems like he has an open door to get there. McCoy is a possibility to steal an OF spot if we find a different 1B. So, Ewell will have to take a step forward in order to push his way into that lineup. He could also DH, but that is going to be a spot where there is just spill over from other positions and he would likely have to do some work to lock that down. Especially, again, with Higdon coming in. I am not sure what options he has having already transferred, but if possible, it might not be out of the question that he looks to find more PT elsewhere.
Pitching is a bit tougher because it is hard to know who might be having a bit of tired arms or who might be just behind or what. Still, I'll take a stab.
Hagenow - Right now, barring any changes, the weekend rotation looks like it might be clear with Moore, Lee, and Travis Smith. So, is Hagenow content to be the guy that continues coming out of the bullpen? He will likely get plenty of use that way, but it seems most likely that his best path to success moving forward is to get into a starting rotation. He could still get there by being more consistent and also if say Lee happened to jump to the draft. Still, Martin is likely to return and he'd then be competing with Martin for that role as well.
Martin - I am hesistant to include him in this because I think it is less likely than some of the others. Still, the reason I put him here is because he had 1 bullpen appearance. Now, I don't know if that is because that is a role that he was not overly comfortable with or if UK just didn't need him to fill that role or what. If it is a role he's not as comfortable in then his options here are a bit more limited if the three starters mentioned above all pan out. Then again, they could conceivably also just stack him with someone like Moore, who we know is comfortable in those long relief and high pressure situations.
Logue - A legacy guy, so his ties to UK are deep, but he will be a senior next season and he just hasn't quite progressed at a great rate so far. Had limited appearances this year and one start. Not likely to start next year. Could come back and essentially be another arm, but without some improvement he isn't likely to be one of those big time feature guys who the staff leans on heavily, especially on the weekends.
Frieda - Not sure what happened with him. Could be an injury, could just be that he wasn't a major part of the plan. Regardless, his last appearance was May 9 against Tennessee Tech and he only had 8 appearances on the year. Contrast that with Byers, a redshirt sophomore, who had 24 appearances. Or even contrast it with redshirt freshman Howe, who while only having 6/7 appearances got 3 of those after May 12th, all against SEC opponents. So, he may have been injured, but if not, then it seems like they ramped him down in favor of Howe.
Nove - This one seems like one of the lesser likely ones. Not sure what happened to him in the last month or so, but his last appearance was against Florida in May 29th. Not really a long time ago in the baseball sense, but the point there is that he was not really a focus in those high pressure situations and when UK seemed to somewhat shrink the pitching rotation. I mean, let's be honest... if I am a healthy pitcher and UK is in a regional up 10-0 in an elimination game and rather than go to me they decide to go to a position player (McCoy - no offense to him), then I'd be a bit miffed. A chance to pitch in a regional is special and in a game we have well in hand, it would be frustrating to not get that chance. That being said, I have to emphasize that he might have had an arm issue that kept him out. May have also been that knowing UK had 2 possible games left that they wanted to keep him in case they needed him. Still, not getting that opportunity at all in the post season has to be frustrating for a guy who threw 18 times this year.
Gannon - Don't know what was up with him. Injured? There is no mention of it on the UK site. So, don't know. So, assuming he's not (which is a big assumption) then it has to be concerning for him that as a redshirt freshman that he got no mound time. Already burned the redshirt, so sitting out this year (if not injury) is an indication that he just might not be ready for this stage. So, he might look elsewhere to compete. Still, my real assumption here was that he was likely injured and didn't play for that reason.
Hise - Just don't really see a role for him moving forward if there isn't a good chunk of improvement. Had a chance to get a starting spot and wasn't able to show the stuff needed to lock it down. Hasn't pitched since the beginning of May. Don't know if he had additional arm issues after coming off a surgery in 2022, or if they just weren't comfortable with him in the weekend role given that he had an ERA of 7.11. Again, with a transfer under his belt already, I am not sure what options he has to do it again, but he might want a reset. Then again, as mentioned, the arm injury could have been holding him back and he may rebound and blow the expectations out of the water in 2024.
I think that is everything I can think of right now. Again, these are just me thinking out loud and no indication of what will or can or even might happen. I certainly don't think all of these go. Just seem like the most likely candidates if any people do decide to transfer.
