Summer baseball leagues are winding down now that it's August. A few leagues are wrapping up their regular season and will finish with the playoffs over the next 10 days or so. But enough baseball has passed to know how Kentucky's returning players, transfers and incoming commitments performed this summer.
The stats listed for each player are courtesy of each summer team’s website and are through Aug. 1.
Returning players
- Senior outfielder Jayce Tharnish — Tharnish began playing in the Cape Cod League in late July once the MLB draft passed and he decided to return to Kentucky for his final season. Just as he did last summer, Tharnish is playing with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. In eight games, Tharnish has slashed .300/.371/.300 with nine singles and four RBIs. He's split time between right field and center field.
- Sophomore outfielder Braxton Van Cleave — Van Cleave only played in six games this summer for the Johnson City Doughboys of the Appalachian League. He slashed .346/.433/.654 with two doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs. Defensively, Van Cleave was listed as having started three games in right field, one game in left field, one game at first base and one game as the designated hitter.
- Sophomore infielder Caeden Cloud – Cloud has had a busy summer in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, logging 31 games so far with the Newport Gulls. He's slashed .265/.368/.504 with 10 doubles, one triple, five home runs and 24 RBIs. Cloud, a third baseman for Kentucky his freshman year, has primarily been a middle infielder for the Gulls.
- Sophomore outfielder Ryan Foscolo – Foscolo would've been categorized as a redshirt freshman prior to the NCAA eligibility change, but I'll list him as a sophomore now. He has four years of eligibility remaining. It's been an important summer of game reps for the Florida native since he did not see live action this past year. In 28 games with Bethesda Big Train of the Cal Ripken Sr. League, Foscolo slashed .299/.372/.411 with 32 hits, nine doubles, one home run and 23 RBIs.
- Junior two-way Cameron Owens – Owens, a Harrodsburg native, has been a pitcher to date with the Wildcats. However, he's mainly been an outfielder for the Lima Locos of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League as he returns to being a position player this upcoming season for Kentucky. Owens collected 33 hits this summer while slashing .300/.423/.364 with four doubles and a homer. He drew 20 walks compared to 18 strikeouts, and was named an all-star of the league. Owens made just two appearances on the mound for the Locos.
- Sophomore RHP Jack Sams – Sams, a teammate of Foscolo's on Bethesda, made six starts and logged 25 innings, posting a 3-1 record and 3.60 ERA. Sams punched out 20 hitters and held opponents to a .213 batting average.
- Sophomore LHP Will Coleman – Coleman, one of two Kentucky players on the Newport Gulls, is still pitching this summer. He made an appearance on Aug. 1 and allowed an earned run in one inning of work. For the summer, Coleman has a 9.00 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 15 innings pitched. Coleman has started three games and pitched out of the bullpen in six outings. It's been a shaky summer on paper as teams are hitting .361 against Coleman and he's walked 12 batters (7.2 BB/9 rate) while allowing 15 earned runs.
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Incoming freshmen
- Most of Kentucky's freshman class ended up being pitchers who are not throwing this summer, so the only two position players I found information on came from the South Florida Collegiate Baseball League. Kaden Powell and Rob Czarniecki both played for the Boca Raton Blazers. Powell had a fantastic summer, slashing .320/.489/.583 with five doubles, two triples, six homers and 33 RBIs. The six home runs were the second most in the league. He drew 29 walks and was hit five times compared to just 21 strikeouts. Powell had a 15.3% strikeout rate and a 21.1% walk rate and earned all-star status.
- Czarniecki, an outfielder, logged 87 plate appearances and slashed .286/.460/.492 with five doubles, one triple and two home runs. He posted an impressive 25% walk rate.
Transfer portal commitments
- Of Kentucky's six transfers who are active this summer, four played in the Cape Cod League. Only Owen Lee (Appalachian) and Alex Kelsey (New England Collegiate Baseball League) are not in the Cape. Lee, a Tennessee Tech transfer, has slashed .333/.457/.606 with three doubles, two homers and 12 RBIs. He's primarily been a third baseman for the Burlington Sock Puppets, playing six games at the hot corner, one game at shortstop and three games as the DH. Kelsey played in 30 games with the Upper Valley Nighthawks and slashed .314/.408/.419 with five doubles and three triples.
- In the Cape Cod League, catcher transfer Riley Jackson and utility player JP Peltier were named all-stars. Jackson is slashing .230/.368/.262 with two doubles and seven RBIs. He's played 14 games at first base compared to three at catcher. Peltier, playing with Harwich, has played in 34 games. Twenty-one of his starts have come at third base, but he's also started games in left field, center field, first base and second base. Peltier is slashing .200/.313/.278 with one double, triple, two homers and 16 RBIs. He's also collected 17 stolen bases.
- Maryland RHP transfer Logan Hastings only threw in two games for Wareham. Both outings were starts, and he allowed six earned runs over 5.1 innings. Hastings struck out eight batters and walked four while allowing nine hits and one homer.
- Ohio State infielder Lee Ellis was the final player to commit from the transfer portal. Ellis did not return to the CCBL following his commitment to the Wildcats. Before he left, Ellis hit .290 with two doubles, a triple and five RBIs. He made six starts at shortstop, four at second base and two at third base.
