Kentucky adds two commitments from portal
Indiana infielder Tyler Cerny and Grand Canyon pitcher Connor Mattison committed to the Wildcats on Friday.
Kentucky added two commitments from the transfer portal on Friday afternoon. Indiana infielder Tyler Cerny and Grand Canyon University righthanded pitcher Connor Mattison announced their commitments to the Wildcats via social media, though a source told Bat Cats Central that Mattison committed during a visit on Thursday.
Cerny is an experienced infielder, playing in 173 games and collecting 783 plate appearances over three seasons with the Hoosiers. He slashed .292/.371/.511 with 47 doubles, six triples, 30 home runs and 135 RBIs over three seasons. His best season was as a sophomore in 2024 when he led the Big Ten with 24 doubles and hit .315 while earning Third Team All-Big Ten honors.
As a junior, Cerny hit .281 with 14 doubles, two triples and 10 homers. He’s played second base and shortstop during his time with Indiana. Kentucky entered the offseason in need of another infielder following the departure of sophomore Kyuss Gargett. Kentucky is returning its starting infield duo of Tyler Bell at shortstop and Luke Lawrence at second, so it’s likely that Cerny will compete at third base with junior Ethan Hindle.
Mattison, who tossed a no-hitter against Sacramento State as a freshman in 2024, was second in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in strikeouts with 80 as a freshman. He moved to the bullpen and also dealt with an injury in 2025, but he struck out 27.2% of the batters he faced in 33.1 innings. 64Analytics ranks Mattison as one of the top players available in the portal, coming in at No. 11 overall.
Peter Flaherty of Baseball America shared the following when Mattison entered the portal:
He’s the sixth righthanded pitcher addition for the Wildcats during portal season, but he is not draft-eligible this summer.
Bat Cats Central is expecting another transfer portal commitment for Kentucky on Saturday morning.
Incoming transfer portal commitments (7)
RHP Kaden Echeman* (Northern Kentucky)
RHP Burkley Bounds (Eastern Kentucky)
RHP Jack Bennett* (Western Kentucky)
RHP Bryson Treichel (North Florida)
RHP Ryan Mullan (Loyola Marymount)
INF Tyler Cerny* (Indiana)
RHP Connor Mattison (Grand Canyon)
* indicates that player is eligible for the 2025 MLB Draft.
You think Mattison is a starter or high leverage reliever?