Auburn baseball lands Belmont transfer pitcher Ethan Harden
The Auburn Tigers baseball season may have only ended a few short weeks ago, but head coach Butch Thompson and his staff are already busy seeking reinforcements in the transfer portal. One of those fresh faces officially committed this week, with former Belmont pitcher Ethan Harden set to join the Tigers next season.
The redshirt sophomore will join Butch Thompson's Tigers following a highly successful 2025 campaign as a Bruin. Standing at an even six-feet tall, the left handed reliever struck out 32 batters over 29 2/3 innings of work last season. Harden managed no earned runs across the final 6 innings of his campaign against eventual College World Series participant Murray State.
Auburn's newest relief pitching weapon also faired well against SEC competition in 2025. The incoming junior saw just one batter above the minimum in 2 scoreless frames against Kentucky early in the season before striking out 2 Vanderbilt Commodores in an inning he allowed a solo home run.
While predicting where the newest member of the Tigers' bullpen will fit in is difficult this far out into the season, Thompson's eagerness to capture Harden's talents in the portal this early in the offseason display how big of a piece he could be to Auburn's success in 2026.
Auburn will continue adding talent in hopes of reaching the College World Series for the first time since 2022 next season.
Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter@TheRealBHauch
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
22 minutes ago
- USA Today
Former Iowa football star DB signs NFL contract with Dallas Cowboys
As the 2025 NFL season draws closer, there are signings and workouts going on each day as teams work to finalize their rosters for the season. The Iowa Hawkeyes, a known pipeline of talent to the NFL, are seeing a flurry of their former stars working out or earning contracts at new teams. Former quarterback C.J. Beathard and wide receiver Brandon Smith have each made waves for the New York Jets during training camp. The latest Hawkeye making headlines in the NFL comes on the defensive side of the ball. The Dallas Cowboys are signing former Iowa cornerback Michael Ojemudia to a contract. Michael Ojemudia was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft with the 77th pick overall. He spent 2020-2022 with Denver before making a few other stops. Ojemudia played with the Chicago Bears in 2022, the Los Angeles Rams in 2023, and the Arizona Cardinals in 2024 before winning a UFL championship with the DC Defenders in 2025. Ojemudia has appeared in 22 NFL games and tallied 73 tackles to go with four pass deflections. While at Iowa from 2015-2019, Michael Ojemudia appeared in 51 games for the Hawkeyes while registering 125 total tackles, 17 pass deflections, and six interceptions, along with a second-team All-Big Ten nod in 2019. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Riley on X: @rileydonald7
USA Today
22 minutes ago
- USA Today
MSU football injury update: Pair of starters could miss opener vs. Western Michigan
Michigan State football has for the most part avoided the injury bug during preseason fall camp, but it sounds like that may have unfortunately changed. It came out late last week that starting tight end Jack Velling has been missing practice with a foot injury and now the Spartans could be without starting safety Nikai Martinez for the season opener next week. Spartans head coach Jonathan Smith met with the media on Monday, and provided a pair of notable updates on Velling and Martinez. According to Connor Earegood of The Detroit News, Velling took some reps on Monday after missing most (if not all) of fall preseason camp. He has been battling a foot injury but was believed to be back for the opener next week -- which this update aligns with, but we will have to still monitor over the next few weeks. Martinez is reportedly "banged up" and could miss the season opener against Western Michigan next Friday. According to a post from Earegood, Martinez missing the opener is "up in the air" at this time. Both Velling and Martinez are returning starters for the Spartans and will play important roles this season. The good news, though, is that it doesn't appear that either of them are suffering from long term issues -- which is what you want to avoid during fall preseason camp. Hopefully, both will be suited up and ready to go when Michigan State takes the field on August 29 against Western Michigan. Stay with Spartans Wire for continued coverage on both of these injuries we are monitoring leading up to opening kickoff next week. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.
USA Today
22 minutes ago
- USA Today
Take a look at where Florida landed in USA TODAY Sports' college football re-rankings
The SEC and Big Ten conferences have led the way in the two primary preseason polls, claiming a plethora of the top spots in both the US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25. Now that the dust has settled following both respective polls' release, it is time to take another look at the initial rankings. Among those offering their own takes on the opening standings is USA TODAY Sports writer Paul Myerberg, who re-ranked all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision schools based on his publication's Coaches Poll, making a few changes to his personal likings. "Texas and Ohio State don't top the list, however. Instead, the re-rank starts with No. 1 Penn State and No. 2 Georgia, followed by No. 3 Clemson. The Longhorns land at No. 4 and the Buckeyes at No. 6, sandwiching No. 5 Notre Dame." So where did the Florida Gators land? Billy Napier and Co. just barely cracked the top 25 at No. 25 overall — eight spots below their Coaches Poll ranking and 10 spots below the Associated Press' poll. That puts the Orange and Blue between the No. 24 Indiana Hoosiers and No. 26 Iowa Hawkeyes. Overall, the top 30 teams in the first re-rank include 10 from the SEC, eight from the Big Ten, five from the Big 12, four from the ACC, two from the Mountain West and one independent: the Fighting Irish. Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
