Three members of Kentucky's 2026 class will play in the Perfect Game All-American Classic, plus a rankings update from Perfect Game and news of a new commitment.
Righthanded pitcher Ira Austin, a University of New Orleans transfer, has committed to Kentucky. Austin, who is a native of New Orleans, pitched at Nunez Community College for two years before spending the 2025 season with the Privateers. He announced his decision on Instagram on Monday night.
Austin had a 4-3 record and a 3.90 earned run average this year in 30 innings pitched with 34 strikeouts as he held opposing batters to a .205 average. All 23 of his appearances were out of the bullpen.
He throws with a lower arm slot and has some funk in his delivery, providing a different look than the Wildcats currently have on the roster.
Austin’s best outing was against Tulane. He threw a season-high 3.2 innings out of the pen and struck out five batters while allowing no runs. He had two other outings — against Nicholls and Houston Christian — that went three innings. He gave up one earned run against Nicholls while striking out five batters and had a scoreless outing against Houston Christian. Austin had a 2.08 ERA following his May 10 appearance against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, but in his final four games pitched, he gave up two earned runs three times and three runs in the other outing, finishing the year at 3.90.
He’ll need to cut down on his walk rate — he finished the year with 23 walks, placing him at a 16% BB% and 6.90 BB/9 — but he’s generated swing-and-miss stuff and produced a groundball rate of 55.1%. According to his box scores, Austin gave up just four extra-base hits this season — all home runs — and all came near the end of the season.
Austin is the seventh righthanded pitcher to commit to the Wildcats this portal cycle.
Derek Terry is the founder of Bat Cats Central, a leading source for University of Kentucky baseball coverage. Before leaving full-time sportswriting, Derek worked for The Cats' Pause (2017-22) and Cats Illustrated (2015-17).
