Catch up on CFB recruiting: The commits, flips, trends and transfers you might have missed
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Tom VanHaaren, ESPN Staff Writer
With the 2023 season underway and major changes happening seemingly weekly in college football, it can be difficult to keep track of all that goes on. That is especially true with recruiting and the transfer portal.
Thousands of prospects go through each cycle, and now thousands of athletes are entering the portal on a yearly basis.
If you missed any big commitments your team might have secured over the spring or summer, a big transfer or a team that got hot over the past few months on the recruiting trail, our guide will get you all caught up. Here’s a look at what you need to know and what you might have missed from the summer.
Jump to a section:
Notable commits
Impact flips
Schools that crushed the summer
Teams with work to do
Top uncommitted prospects
Remember these transfers
Who might be eyeing the transfer portal?
10 big commits you might have missed
DE Williams Nwaneri to Missouri
Nwaneri, a five-star prospect and the No. 12 recruit overall, chose Missouri over Georgia, Oklahoma, Oregon and Tennessee. He gives the Tigers a 6-foot-7, 260-pound defensive lineman who should be able to make an impact immediately based on his talent level.
DB Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. to Alabama
Kirkpatrick is a three-star prospect, but his name should sound familiar to Alabama fans. His father, Dre Kirkpatrick, played for Nick Saban at Alabama, won two BCS National Championships and went on to play in the NFL. The younger Kirkpatrick committed to Alabama on Aug. 18, and brings the nostalgia factor with him.
DE Kamarion Franklin to Ole Miss
Franklin, a 6-6, 270-pound defensive end, is the No. 27 prospect overall. He chose Ole Miss over Auburn, Florida State, Miami and Tennessee. He had 17 sacks last season, racking up 150 total tackles prior to the 2023 season.
WR Mike Matthews to Tennessee
Josh Heupel wants a high-scoring offense at Tennessee, and receivers will always be a priority. Matthews is a five-star receiver, ranked No. 5 overall, and a massive win for the Vols, who beat Clemson, Georgia and USC.
LB Sammy Brown to Clemson
Clemson beat Georgia for Brown, the No. 10 overall recruit. Brown, who is a 6-2, 230-pound five-star player, gives Clemson a talented linebacker for the future. The Tigers have had their fair share of elite defensive players in the past, and Brown is now the highest-ranked recruit in the class for Clemson.
DE Elijah Rushing to Arizona
The Wildcats had not signed a top-20 prospect since the ESPN 300 started in 2013, so Rushing gives Arizona a unique opportunity to raise its recruiting profile. Rushing, a 6-6, 235-pound defensive end who committed in June, is the No. 20 prospect overall. Coach Jedd Fisch has been trying to attract higher-level recruits to Arizona, and Rushing is just that. He is from Tucson, Arizona, and he chose to stay home over Oregon, Notre Dame and Tennessee among others.
QB Michael Van Buren to Oregon
Since transferring from Auburn, Bo Nix has provided stability at quarterback for the Ducks. What happens after he leaves? Oregon will need a successor, and the staff added ESPN 300 quarterback Austin Novosad in the 2023 class. Van Buren, the No. 23 prospect in the 2024 class and the No. 2 pocket passer, will provide more competition at the position but also raises the level of talent in the Ducks’ class.
QB Air Noland to Ohio State
Ohio State signed three-star quarterback Lincoln Kienholz in the 2023 class and went through a quarterback competition this offseason with Kyle McCord and Devin Brown. The Buckeyes lost a commitment from Dylan Raiola, the No. 2 prospect overall and the top quarterback in the 2024 class, so it was imperative to add another talented quarterback. Noland was offered on April 1, and he committed on April 8. He’s the No. 28 recruit overall and one of the best quarterbacks in this cycle. With his talent and ability, he’s a huge addition for the future of the offense.
TE Brady Prieskorn to Michigan
Michigan has had success with tight ends under Jim Harbaugh, most recently with Colston Loveland flashing his ability as a freshman this past season. Prieskorn, who is 6-6, 220 pounds and ranked No. 83 overall, has a chance to have a similar path and is currently the highest-ranked commit in Michigan’s class. The tight end out of Rochester Hills, Michigan, had plenty of other offers to choose from.
DE Kameryn Fountain to USC
It’s no secret that USC needs help on defense, even after adding some significant players in the transfer portal this offseason. Fountain is the highest-ranked commit in the class for the Trojans at No. 82 and is a 6-6, 240-pound defensive end who should provide some help in the future. The fact that the top commit in the class is a defensive player should show how serious Lincoln Riley and his staff are about trying to fix the defense going forward.
5 impact flips
QB Dylan Raiola: Ohio State to Georgia
Raiolo is the top QB in the 2024 class. When he committed to Ohio State, it looked like the Buckeyes had snagged another star quarterback. His flip to Georgia is significant. Georgia just named Carson Beck the starter and has Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton on the roster, but the coaches didn’t land a quarterback in the 2023 class. Adding Raiola is a huge boost to the future for not just depth but talent. Raiolo is potentially the starter of the future.
S Peyton Woodyard: Georgia to Alabama
Woodyard is the No. 6 safety in the class out of Bellflower, California, and had been committed to Georgia since January. He flipped to Alabama on Aug. 8, and added to a rising Crimson Tide recruiting class. Georgia and Alabama have battled for recruits, and Nick Saban was able to win out with Woodyard, a 6-2 safety.
WR Perry Thompson: Alabama to Auburn
Speaking of rivalries, recruiting battles haven’t happened as often as they used to between these two schools of late, but Hugh Freeze reignited that when he flipped Thompson from Saban. Thompson is the No. 40 recruit overall and the No. 8 receiver overall. He’s now the highest-ranked recruit in the class for Auburn and a loss for Alabama.
CB Dakoda Fields: USC to Oregon
Oregon has been dipping into the state of California for years, and it was able to flip Fields, a 6-2, 185-pound corner ranked No. 75 overall, from the Trojans. USC needs defensive help, so this is a big loss for Riley & Co. Conversely, it’s an important addition for the Ducks to help the future secondary.
TE Landen Thomas: Georgia to Florida State
It’s typically difficult to beat Georgia for in-state recruits, especially if they have already committed to the Dawgs. But Mike Norvell and his coaches were able to get Thomas, a 6-4, 225-pound tight end, to change his commitment to the Seminoles. Thomas is the No. 47 recruit overall and gives Norvell another offensive prospect for the future.
Schools that crushed summer recruiting
Tennessee Volunteers: The Vols landed eight of the 11 ESPN 300 commits in their class between June and the beginning of August. The highest-rated recruit to jump on board during that time was five-star receiver Mike Matthews, ranked No. 5 overall, followed by defensive end Jordan Ross, the No. 24 prospect overall, and athlete Jonathan Echols, ranked No. 54 in the class. The staff added 10 total commitments over the summer and the class moved up from No. 10 to No. 6 in the rankings.
Alabama Crimson Tide: Prior to June, Alabama had five total commitments. The Crimson Tide now have 19 and, after previously being ranked No. 13, have shot up to No. 5 in the class rankings. The Crimson Tide have added seven ESPN 300 commitments since June, including five-star cornerback Jaylen Mbakwe, a 6-foot, 175-pound recruit from Pinson, Alabama, ranked No. 4 overall. Alabama isn’t done yet, but it has already done quite a bit to get the class on track.
Auburn Tigers: The Tigers changed coaches after last season, and it typically takes a staff some time to get some momentum on the recruiting trail. Hugh Freeze and his coaches have seemingly found that momentum over the past few months, though, landing six of their eight ESPN 300 recruits since June. They flipped Perry Thompson from Alabama and were able to land linebacker Demarcus Riddick, the No. 41 recruit overall, as well as athlete Jalewis Solomon, the No. 158 recruit out of Georgia. In total, Auburn has added 13 commitments to the class since June and is looking to close strong.
Oregon Ducks: For Oregon, the time between June and August brought in six ESPN 300 commitments and has seen the team rise to No. 4 in the class rankings. The Ducks added 6-foot-9, 365-pound offensive lineman Jac’Qawn McRoy, the No. 55 overall prospect. The coaches also got commitments from Fields, linebacker Kamar Mothudi, safety Kingston Lopa, linebacker Dylan Williams and receiver Jack Ressler the past few months. With 13 ESPN 300 commits on board, coach Dan Lanning and his coaches have added nearly half of those prospects this summer.
Miami Hurricanes: Prior to the summer starting, the Canes had just one top-300 recruit committed. Since then, the Canes have been able to get seven ESPN 300 recruits. Miami was ranked outside the top 30 in the class rankings but has now moved up to No. 15 due to the efforts over the past few months. Mario Cristobal & Co. have added five-star wide receiver Joshisa Trader, the No. 11 recruit overall, as well as ESPN 300 running back Kevin Riley and safety Zaquan Patterson. The staff also bulked up the defensive line, with commitments from defensive tackle Artavius Jones and defensive ends Marquise Lightfoot and Elias Rudolph, who flipped from Michigan.
Oklahoma Sooners: The Sooners went from unranked to No. 16 in the class rankings. Brent Venables has added five ESPN 300 recruits since June, and that includes five-star defensive lineman David Stone, who had Miami and a few other big programs after him. Stone is the No. 1 defensive tackle in the class and was a big addition as Venables looks to turn the Sooners’ defense around. He was also able to get Taylor Tatum, the No. 2 running back, tight ends Davon Mitchell and Ivan Carreon, and receiver Zion Ragins since June. When looking at the whole class, Oklahoma added 16 recruits and has built the class up to 22 total commitments in the past few months.
UCF Knights: The Knights aren’t a team that typically shows up in the class rankings, but Gus Malzahn has been on a hot streak this summer. The Knights are now ranked No. 22 in the class rankings. Malzahn and his coaching staff landed three ESPN 300 recruits in safety Jaylen Heyward, offensive lineman Waltclaire Flynn Jr. and tight end Kylan Fox. Malzahn was able to sign three top-300 recruits in the 2023 class, which was the most ESPN 300 recruits UCF has ever had in one class. He now has the opportunity to break his own record in 2024.
Teams with major work to do
Northwestern Wildcats: Amidst hazing allegations and the firing of coach Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern is in a tough spot. The Wildcats have just nine total commitments. There are only three Power 5 schools with fewer commitments; Kansas State (7), Colorado and Houston (8). While Northwestern isn’t typically a recruiting powerhouse, the coaches are still going to have to fill this class as we inch closer to the early signing period in December. Combine the small number of commitments in the class with the fact that the Wildcats had five scholarship players enter the transfer portal in July, and there are a lot of holes to fill with this class.
Washington Huskies: The Huskies finished the 2023 class with five ESPN 300 recruits in a class of 20 players. They currently have one top-300 recruit and 12 total commitments in the 2024 class. With Washington joining the Big Ten, it’s only going to get more difficult to win. This class is an important one for timing and building a roster that can be competitive in the new conference. One of the focal points will have to be building along the trenches, and Washington currently has just one offensive line commit and four defensive line commitments. There is still plenty of time to add more in the class, but it needs to start happening quickly.
Michigan State Spartans: The Spartans have lost 16 scholarship players to the transfer portal since December, including quarterback Peyton Thorne and receiver Keon Coleman. The staff was able to utilize the portal to bring in some important transfers, particularly with defensive end Tunmise Adeleye. The coaches will likely try to use the portal again this offseason, but they currently have 12 total commitments and just one ranked inside the top 300. That puts Michigan State outside the top 40 in the class rankings, behind Big Ten teams Maryland, Rutgers, Purdue, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Penn State, Michigan and Ohio State. That is a lengthy list of schools to be trailing when the coaches are trying to turn the program in the right direction.
Uncommitted top-50 recruits and who’s after them
WR Micah Hudson
Temple, Texas
ESPN 300 rank: 13
Hudson is a five-star recruit and the No. 4 receiver, which shows how deep the 2024 receiver class is. Alabama and Texas A&M were in the mix, but it seems as though this could be a battle with Texas and Texas Tech. Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire has done an excellent job raising the recruiting profile at Texas Tech and could be in position to land Hudson.
CB Kobe Black
Waco, Texas
ESPN 300 rank: 19
Black recently released a top five of LSU, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas and Texas A&M. He has visited all of those schools but does have other official visits scheduled, as well, and likely won’t make a decision before the end of the season.
ATH Terry Bussey
Timpson, Texas
ESPN 300 rank: 25
Bussey put out a top list of Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M and has a commitment scheduled for Sept. 28. He still has visits scheduled to Alabama and LSU prior to that announcement, so this one could come down to the wire.
WR Ryan Wingo
St. Louis
ESPN 300 rank: 26
Wingo has taken visits to a ton of schools, including Tennessee, Michigan, Miami, Texas, Georgia and Texas A&M, among others. Wingo could decide to stay home and play for Missouri, but Texas is very much in the picture as well, and will make it difficult to keep him home.
Santa Ana, California
ESPN 300 rank: 39
Baker is a 6-5, 290-pound offensive lineman and is the No. 2 tackle in the class. He has had almost every major program after him, and Baker was able to take many visits over the spring and summer. He has seen Tennessee, Ohio State, Florida State, Texas, Georgia and a handful of others. As of now, it seems as though Florida State, Georgia, Oregon, Texas, Nebraska and Ohio State are in the mix for his commitment.
Santa Ana, California
ESPN 300 rank: 45
He’s a 6-5, 310-pound defensive tackle and has already taken visits to Oregon, Georgia, Miami and Texas A&M. Those schools seem to be the main contenders, but there is still plenty of time in his recruitment.
Towson, Maryland
ESPN 300 rank: 50
Willor is a 6-4, 250-pound defensive end and has plans to visit Maryland in the near future. The Terps are hoping to keep him home, but his recruitment is far from over. He is still planning visits this season and could see Virginia Tech, Auburn and a handful of others.
Transfers you might have forgotten about
C Drake Nugent: Stanford to Michigan
Michigan went to the transfer portal to fill a need at center prior to the 2022 season and got Olu Oluwatimi from Virginia, who ended up winning the Rimington Award for the best center in the nation. The Wolverines are hoping to strike again with Nugent, who started at center in the season opener against East Carolina. Nugent doesn’t have to win the Rimington Award to make an impact, but he could end up being a big cog to another conference championship run for Michigan.
DT Braden Fiske: Western Michigan to Florida State
Defensive tackles don’t always get a ton of attention, but Fiske was a huge get for the Seminoles this past offseason. He had 148 tackles, 27.5 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks in five seasons at Western Michigan. He is a disruptive force up front and can provide some versatility to help the Florida State defense this season.
DT Bear Alexander: Georgia to USC
The Trojans needed a lot of help on defense and were able to get Alexander in the spring transfer period. He was an ESPN 300 prospect in the 2022 class, ranked No. 56 overall, and saw action in his freshman season. In two games for USC this season, he has 5 total tackles, 1 tackle for loss and 0.5 sacks.
WR Jimmy Horn Jr.: USF to Colorado
Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders are getting a ton of attention after Colorado’s 45-42 win over TCU, and for good reason. But don’t forget about Horn, who had 11 receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown in the season opener against TCU. He should be a big target for Sanders all season and fills out a talented receiver room.
WR Jamari Thrash: Georgia State to Louisville
With Jeff Brohm at the helm for Louisville, the receivers are sure to stand out, and Thrash should be part of that conversation. He transferred in from Georgia State, where he was a first team All-Sun Belt player in 2022 with 1,122 yards and seven touchdowns. Thrash had seven receptions, 88 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener against Georgia Tech and showed why Brohm wanted Thrash playing in his offense this season.
Transfer situations to watch for in the future
Notre Dame quarterbacks
The Irish got one of the biggest transfer wins in Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman. He has already thrown for 445 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions in two wins this season. Hartman is a rental, though, and will run out of eligibility after this season, meaning Notre Dame will be looking for a new quarterback again. That doesn’t mean the coaches will have to go to the portal again, especially with ESPN 300 quarterback C.J. Carr, one of the more talented prospects in this cycle, committed in the 2024 class. The coaches signed ESPN 300 signal-caller Kenny Minchey in 2023 and Steve Angeli in 2022. The best-case scenario is that Angeli is ready to take over once Hartman leaves and has had enough time to get comfortable and learn how to run an offense. The Irish are seemingly in a good position at quarterback and have balanced taking a transfer with recruiting high school prospects. Coach Marcus Freeman will be able to assess the depth and talent after this season and decide if the team needs to use a transfer again or if one of the three quarterbacks it currently has can lead Notre Dame back to the College Football Playoff.
Alabama quarterbacks
It’s highly unusual to see Alabama in the situation it was in this offseason with Nick Saban naming a starter the week of the first game. The staff brought in transfer Tyler Buchner from Notre Dame this offseason to compete with Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson. Milroe was named the starter and threw for three touchdowns while also rushing for two more against Middle Tennessee State in the opener. Milroe is a redshirt sophomore, so if the job is his, what does that mean for the other quarterbacks on the roster? It’s important to note that there are no indications that any of them wants to transfer, but in today’s environment, it is very difficult to keep a stocked quarterback room. Simpson was an ESPN 300 quarterback and is a redshirt freshman. The coaches also signed two ESPN 300 quarterbacks, Eli Holstein and Dylan Lonergan, in 2023. While the depth looks great for the future right now, it could take some recruiting to keep it that way. Saban has a good history of keeping players on the roster, especially at quarterback, but this is a different time in college football, and we saw 17 scholarship players transfer out of Alabama since November.
USC’s defense
The Trojans brought in some big defensive transfers this past offseason with Georgia defensive lineman Bear Alexander, Oklahoma State linebacker Mason Cobb, Texas A&M defensive lineman Anthony Lucas, Alabama corner Tre’Quon Fegans and Arizona corner Christian Roland-Wallace, among others. Despite those additions, the defense was still the topic of discussion after USC gave up 28 points to San Jose State in the Trojans’ season-opening win. Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said after the game he is bullish on the defense and encouraged by its play but recognizes there are some areas to fix. If the unit continues to improve and becomes a strength, then USC doesn’t need to focus on the portal. But if cracks continue to show throughout the season, the Trojans could be looking to the portal again for help.
Georgia quarterbacks
Again, this is not suggesting that any quarterback has expressed interest in transferring, but given the landscape, Georgia’s quarterback room lends itself to the question of what happens in the future. Kirby Smart named Carson Beck the starter for this season, which leaves Brock Vandagriff, who is a redshirt sophomore, and Gunner Stockton, who signed in the 2022 class, on the bench. Beck is a redshirt junior, so he would hypothetically have another season as the starter. Add in that Georgia has the No. 2 overall prospect, quarterback Dylan Raiola, committed in the 2024 class, and there is a logjam that could see someone leave. Right now, Georgia has a good problem — several good quarterbacks. However, it eventually could create a scenario where the depth is depleted for the future. Smart went through this before when Justin Fields transferred while Jake Fromm was the starter, but it’ll be a tricky situation to navigate with multiple quarterbacks on the roster who could play and contribute to a team.
The opening weekend of the 2025 MLB season was taken over by a surprise star — torpedo bats.
The bowling pin-shaped bats became the talk of the sport after the Yankees’ home run onslaught on the first Saturday of the season put it in the spotlight and the buzz hasn’t slowed since.
What exactly is a torpedo bat? How does it help hitters? And how is it legal? Let’s dig in.
Read: An MIT-educated professor, the Yankees and the bat that could be changing baseball
What is a torpedo bat and why is it different from a traditional MLB bat?
The idea of the torpedo bat is to take a size format — say, 34 inches and 32 ounces — and distribute the wood in a different geometric shape than the traditional form to ensure the fattest part of the bat is located where the player makes the most contact. Standard bats taper toward an end cap that is as thick diametrically as the sweet spot of the barrel. The torpedo bat moves some of the mass on the end of the bat about 6 to 7 inches lower, giving it a bowling-pin shape, with a much thinner end.
How does it help hitters?
The benefits for those who like swinging with it — and not everyone who has swung it likes it — are two-fold. Both are rooted in logic and physics. The first is that distributing more mass to the area of most frequent contact aligns with players’ swing patterns and provides greater impact when bat strikes ball. Players are perpetually seeking ways to barrel more balls, and while swings that connect on the end of the bat and toward the handle probably will have worse performance than with a traditional bat, that’s a tradeoff they’re willing to make for the additional slug. And as hitters know, slug is what pays.
The second benefit, in theory, is increased bat speed. Imagine a sledgehammer and a broomstick that both weigh 32 ounces. The sledgehammer’s weight is almost all at the end, whereas the broomstick’s is distributed evenly. Which is easier to swing fast? The broomstick, of course, because shape of the sledgehammer takes more strength and effort to move. By shedding some of the weight off the end of the torpedo bat and moving it toward the middle, hitters have found it swings very similarly to a traditional model but with slightly faster bat velocity.
Why did it become such a big story so early in the 2025 MLB season?
Because the New York Yankees hit nine home runs in a game Saturday and Michael Kay, their play-by-play announcer, pointed out that some of them came from hitters using a new bat shape. The fascination was immediate. While baseball, as an industry, has implemented forward-thinking rules in recent seasons, the modification to something so fundamental and known as the shape of a bat registered as bizarre. The initial response from many who saw it: How is this legal?
OK. How is this legal?
Major League Baseball’s bat regulations are relatively permissive. Currently, the rules allow for a maximum barrel diameter of 2.61 inches, a maximum length of 42 inches and a smooth and round shape. The lack of restrictions allows MLB’s authorized bat manufacturers to toy with bat geometry and for the results to still fall within the regulations.
Who came up with the idea of using them?
The notion of a bowling-pin-style bat has kicked around baseball for years. Some bat manufacturers made smaller versions as training tools. But the version that’s now infiltrating baseball goes back two years when a then-Yankees coach named Aaron Leanhardt started asking hitters how they should counteract the giant leaps in recent years made by pitchers.
When Yankees players responded that bigger barrels would help, Leanhardt — an MIT-educated former Michigan physics professor who left academia to work in the sports industry — recognized that as long as bats stayed within MLB parameters, he could change their geometry to make them a reality. Leanhardt, who left the Yankees to serve as major league field coordinator for the Miami Marlins over the winter, worked with bat manufacturers throughout the 2023 and 2024 seasons to make that a reality.
When did it first appear in MLB games?
It’s unclear specifically when. But Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton used a torpedo bat last year and went on a home run-hitting rampage in October that helped send the Yankees to the World Series. New York Mets star Francisco Lindor also used a torpedo-style bat last year and went on to finish second in National League MVP voting.
Who are some of the other notable early users of torpedo bats?
In addition to Stanton and Lindor, Yankees hitters Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt have used torpedoes to great success. Others who have used them in games include Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero, Minnesota’s Ryan Jeffers and Toronto’s Davis Schneider. And that’s just the beginning. Hundreds more players are expected to test out torpedoes — and perhaps use them in games — in the coming weeks.
How is this different from a corked bat?
Corking bats involves drilling a hole at the end of the bat, filling it in and capping it. The use of altered bats allows players to swing faster because the material with which they replace the wood — whether it’s cork, superballs or another material — is lighter. Any sort of bat adulteration is illegal and, if found, results in suspension.
Could a rule be changed to ban them?
Could it happen? Sure. Leagues and governing bodies have put restrictions on equipment they believe fundamentally altered fairness. Stick curvature is limited in hockey. Full-body swimsuits made of polyurethane and neoprene are banned by World Aquatics. But officials at MLB have acknowledged that the game’s pendulum has swung significantly toward pitching in recent years, and if an offensive revolution comes about because of torpedo bats — and that is far from a guarantee — it could bring about more balance to the game. If that pendulum swings too far, MLB could alter its bat regulations, something it has done multiple times already this century.
So the torpedo bat is here to stay?
Absolutely. Bat manufacturers are cranking them out and shipping them to interested players with great urgency. Just how widely the torpedo bat is adopted is the question that will play out over the rest of the season. But it has piqued the curiosity of nearly every hitter in the big leagues, and just as pitchers toy with new pitches to see if they can marginally improve themselves, hitters will do the same with bats.
Comfort is paramount with a bat, so hitters will test them during batting practice and in cage sessions before unleashing them during the game. As time goes on, players will find specific shapes that are most comfortable to them and best suit their swing during bat-fitting sessions — similar to how golfers seek custom clubs. But make no mistake: This is an almost-overnight alteration of the game, and “traditional or torpedo” is a question every big leaguer going forward will ask himself.
Sports
‘It’s taken on a life of its own’: Inside the 48 hours torpedo bats launched into baseball lore
At 1:54 ET on Saturday afternoon, New York Yankees play-by-play man Michael Kay lit the fuse on what will be remembered as either one of the most metamorphic conversations in baseball history or one of its strangest.
During spring training, someone in the organization had mentioned to Kay that the team’s analytics department had counseled players on where pitches tended to strike their bats, and with subsequent buy-in from some of the players, bats had been designed around that information. In the hours before the Yankees’ home game against the Brewers that day, Kay told the YES Network production staff about this, alerting them so they could look for an opportunity to highlight the equipment.
After the Yankees clubbed four homers in the first inning, a camera zoomed in on Jazz Chisholm Jr.‘s bat in the second inning. “You see the shape of Chisholm’s bat…” Kay said on air. “It’s got a big barrel on it,” Paul O’Neill responded, before Kay went on to describe the analysis behind the bat shaped like a torpedo.
Chisholm singled to left field, and after Anthony Volpe worked the count against former teammate Nestor Cortes to a full count, Volpe belted a home run to right field using the same kind of bat. A reporter watching the game texted Kay: Didn’t he hit the meat part of the bat you were talking about — just inside where the label normally is?
Yep, Kay responded. Within an hour of Kay’s commentary, the video of Chisholm’s bat and Kay’s exchange with O’Neill was posted on multiple platforms of social media, amplified over and over. What happened over the next 48 hours was what you get when you mix the power of social media and the desperation of a generation of beleaguered hitters. Batting averages are at a historic low, strikeout rates at a historic high, and on a sunny spring day in the Bronx, here were the Yankees blasting baseballs into the seats with what seemed to be a strangely shaped magic bat.
An oasis of offense had formed on the horizon, and hitters — from big leaguers to Little Leaguers, including at least one member of Congress — paddled toward it furiously. Acres of trees will be felled and shaped to feed the thirst for this new style of bats. Last weekend, one bat salesman asked his boss, “What the heck have we done?”
Jared Smith, CEO of bat-maker Victus, said, “I’ve been making bats for 15, 16 years. … This is the most talked-about thing in the industry since I started. And I hope we can make better-performing bats that work for players.”
According to Bobby Hillerich, the vice president of production at Hillerich & Bradsby, his company — which is based in Louisville, Kentucky, and makes Louisville Slugger bats — had produced 20 versions of the torpedo bat as of this past Saturday, and in less than a week, that number has tripled as players and teams continually call in their orders.
Even though Saturday marked its launch into the mainstream, this shape of bat has actually been around for a while. Hillerich & Bradsby had its first contact with a team about the style in 2021 and had nondisclosure agreements with four teams as the bat evolved; back then, it was referred to as the “bowling pin” bat. The Cubs’ Nico Hoerner was the first major leaguer to try it — and apparently wasn’t comfortable with it. Cody Bellinger tried it when he was with the Cubs before joining the Yankees during the offseason.
Before Atlanta took the field Sunday night, Braves catcher Drake Baldwin recalled trying one in the Arizona Fall League last year (noting that his first impression was that it “looked weird”). Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor used it in 2024, in a year in which he would finish second in the NL MVP voting; Lindor’s was a little different from Volpe’s version, with a cup hollowed out at the end of the bat. Giancarlo Stanton swung one throughout his playoff surge last fall, but no one in the media noticed, perhaps because of how the pitch-black color of Stanton’s bat camouflaged the shape.
Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli saw one in the Twins’ dugout during spring training and picked it up, his attention drawn to the unusual shape. “What the hell is this thing?” he asked, wondering aloud whether the design was legal. When he was assured it was, he put it back down.
Baldelli’s experience reflected the way hitters have used and assessed bats since the advent of baseball: They’ll pick up bats and see how they feel, their interest fueled by the specter of success. Tony Gwynn won eight batting titles, and many teammates and opposing hitters — Barry Bonds among them — asked whether they could inspect his bats. The torpedo bat’s arrival was simply the latest version of that long-held search for the optimal tool.
On Opening Day, eight teams had some version of the torpedo bat within their stock, according to one major league source. But with video of the Yankees’ home runs being hit off unusual bats saturating social media Saturday afternoon, the phone of Kevin Uhrhan, pro bat sales rep for Louisville Slugger, blew up with requests for torpedo bats. James Rowson, the hitting coach of the Yankees, began to get text inquiries — about 100, he later estimated. Everyone wanted to know about the bat; everyone wanted to get their own.
In San Diego, Braves players asked about the bats, and by Sunday morning, equipment manager Calvin Minasian called in the team’s order. By the middle of the week, all 30 teams had asked for the bats. “Every team started trying to get orders in,” Hillerich said. “We’re trying to scramble to get wood. And then it was: How fast can we get this to retail?”
Victus produces the bats Chisholm and Volpe are using and has made them available for retail. Three senior players, all in their 70s, stopped by the Victus store to ask about the torpedoes. A member of Congress who plays baseball reached out to Louisville Slugger.
The Cincinnati Reds contacted Hillerich & Bradsby, saying, “We need you in Cincinnati on Monday ASAP,” and soon after, Uhrhan and pro bat production manager Brian Hillerich, Bobby’s brother, made the 90-minute drive from the company’s factory in Louisville with test bats.
Reds star Elly De La Cruz tried a few, decided on a favorite and used it for a career performance that night.
“You can think in New York, maybe there was wind,” Bobby Hillerich said. “Elly hits two home runs and gets seven RBIs. That just took it to a whole new level.”
A few days after the Yankees’ explosion, Aaron Leanhardt, who had led New York’s effort to customize its bats as a minor league hitting coordinator before being hired by the Marlins as their field coordinator, was in the middle of a horseshoe of reporters, explaining the background. “There are a lot more cameras here today than I’m used to,” he said, laughing.
Stanton spoke with reporters about the simple concept behind the bat: build a design for where a hitter is most likely to make contact. “You wonder why no one has thought of it before, for sure,” Stanton said. “I didn’t know if it was, like, a rule-based thing of why they were shaped like that.”
Over and over, MLB officials assured those asking: Yes, the bats are legal and meet the sport’s equipment specifications. Trevor Megill, the Brewers’ closer, complained about the bats, calling them like “something used in slow-pitch softball,” but privately, baseball officials were thrilled by the possibility of seeing offense goosed, something they had been attempting through rule change in recent years.
“It’s all the rage right now, given what transpired over the weekend,” said Jeremy Zoll, assistant general manager of the Twins. “I’m sure more and more guys are going to experiment with it as a result, just to see if it’s something they like.”
That personal preference is a factor for which some front office types believe the mass orders of the bats don’t account: The Yankees’ recommendations to each hitter were based on months of past data of how that player tended to strike the ball. This was not about a one-size-fits all bat; it was about precise bat measurements that reflected an individual player’s swing.
“I had never heard of it. I’ve used the same bat for nine years, so I think I’ll stick with that,” White Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi said. “It’s pretty interesting. It makes sense. If it works for a guy, good for him. If it doesn’t, stick with what you got.”
As longtime player Eric Hosmer explained on the “Baseball Tonight” podcast, the process is a lot like what players can do in golf: look for clubs customized for a player’s particular swing. And, he added, hitting coaches might begin to think more about which bat might be most effective against particular pitchers. If a pitcher tends to throw inside, a torpedo bat could be more effective; if a pitcher is more effective outside, maybe a larger barrel would be more appropriate.
That’s the key, according to an agent representing a player who ordered a bat: “You need years of hitting data in the big leagues to dial it in and hopefully get a better result. He’s still tinkering with it; he may not even use it in a game. … I think of it like switching your irons in golf to blades: It will feel a little different and take some adjusting, and it may even change your swing subtly.”
Two days after the home run explosion, Boone said, “You’re just trying to just get what you can on the margins, move the needle a little bit. And that’s really all you’re going to do. I don’t think this is some revelation to where we’re going to be — it’s not related to the weekend that we had, for example. I don’t think it’s that. Maybe in some cases, for some players it may help them incrementally. That’s how I view it.”
“I’m kind of starting to smile at it a little more … a lot of things that aren’t real.”
Said the player agent: “It’s not an aluminum bat with plutonium in it like everyone is making it out to be.”
Reliever Adam Ottavino watched this all play out, with his 15 years of experience. “It’s the Yankees and they scored a million runs in the first few games, and it’s cool to hate the Yankees and it’s cool to look for the bogeyman,” Ottavino said, “and that’s what some people are going to do, and [you] can’t really stop that. But there’s also a lot of misinformation and noneducation on it too.”
Major league baseball mostly evolves at a glacial pace. For example, the sport is well into the second century of complaints about the surface of the ball and the debate over financial disparity among teams. From time to time, however, baseball has its eclipses, moments that command full attention and inspire change. On a “Sunday Night Baseball” game on May 18, 2008, an umpire’s botched home run call at Yankee Stadium compelled MLB to implement the first instant replay. Buster Posey’s ankle was shattered in a home plate collision in May 2011, imperiling the career of the young star, and new rules about that type of play were rewritten.
The torpedo bat eruption could turn out to be transformative, a time when the industry became aware how a core piece of equipment has been taken for granted and aware that bats could be more precisely designed to augment the ability of each hitter. Or this could all turn out to be a wild overreaction to an outlier day of home runs against a pitching staff having a really bad day.
On Thursday, Cortes — who had been hammered for five homers over two innings in Yankee Stadium — shut out the Reds for six innings.
In Baltimore, Bregman, who had tried the torpedo bat earlier this week, reverted to his usual stock and had three hits against the Orioles, including a home run. Afterward, Bregman said, “It’s the hitter. Not the bat.”
This story was also reported by Jeff Passan, Jorge Castillo, Jesse Rogers and Kiley McDaniel.
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