Notre Dame Baseball Welcomes Impressive Grad Transfer Class
Notre Dame baseball signed an impressive 2023 recruiting class that arrived in June, but Shawn Stiffler and his staff weren’t done.
The Fighting Irish welcomed eight graduate transfers to campus this week as Notre Dame needed to bring some experience to the roster.
Outfielder David Glancy and INF/UTL/P Joshua Hahn were the first to commit to the Irish and you can read features on them here:
UCLA Grad Transfer Joshua Hahn Details Notre Dame Commitment
Grad Transfer David Glancy In-Depth on Notre Dame Commitment
Tulane graduate transfer Simon Baumgardt was another key addition as he can play multiple spots in the infield and has played in 149 collegiate games. The Colorado native seems to have his best baseball ahead of him as he hit .277 with 13 home runs and 38 RBI last spring.
Career Stats
Avg: .269
Games Played/Started: 149 (124)
Runs: 90
Hits: 121
2B: 29
3B: 1
HR: 13
RBI: 83
SLG%: .530
BB: 66
SO: 114
OB%: .380
Fielding %: .951
Perhaps one of the more interesting wins for Notre Dame this summer was landing Michigan graduate transfer Tito Flores. Flores played in 166 games (160 starts) at Michigan and is fresh off being named to the Big 10 All-Tournament team the last two years.
Notre Dame needed to add some power from the plate and Flores has hit 17 home runs and brought in 74 runs over the last two seasons.
Career Stats
Avg: .292
Games Played/Started: 166 (160)
Runs: 117
Hits: 172
2B: 44
3B: 3
HR: 24
RBI: 111
SLG%: .498
BB: 61
SO: 103
OB%: .390
Fielding %: .987
Outfielder Nathan Manning comes to Notre Dame after having a breakout season at Cal in 2023 as he hit .330 from the left side of the plate. Manning suited up in 126 games with 95 starts for Cal, so once again, another experienced and proven player at the Power Five level.
Career Stats
Avg: .282
Games Played/Started: 126 (95)
Runs: 62
Hits: 103
2B: 15
3B: 2
HR: 5
RBI: 54
SLG%: .457
BB: 39
SO: 63
OB%: .362
Fielding %: .987
A year ago, Notre Dame brought in Davidson RHP Blake Hely. who was named the 2022 Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year. This year, the Irish will bring in another RHP from Davidson in Bennett Flynn, who was rated the 24th best reliever in the country by D1Baseball.
In 2023, Flynn held a record of 5-1 with four saves in 56.1 innings of work while striking out 82 and opponents batted just .197 against him.
Career Stats
ERA: 3.17
W/L: 8-4
Appearances: 68
Starts: 4
Saves: 14
IP: 122.0
Hits: 82
Runs: 49
ER: 43
BB: 71
SO: 181
Opp. Batting Avg.: .189
Notre Dame will also bring in another reliever as RHP Nathan Hardman will grad transfer from Evansville. He was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award Watch List ahead of the 2023 season and made a team-high 24 appearances out of the pen for the Purple Aces in 2022.
In 2023, Hardman went 2-1 with 10 saves in 37.0 innings while striking out 50.
Career Stats
ERA: 4.66
W/L: 4-4
Appearances: 53
Starts: 0
Saves: 11
IP: 65.2
Hits: 53
Runs: 41
ER: 34
BB: 39
SO: 76
Opp. Batting Avg.: .213
The Irish will also added RHP Toby McDonough from Brown. The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder made seven starts in 2023 and struck out 25 batters in 30.0 innings of work. It’s worth noting his last game action was on April 9th.
In 2022, McDonough held a record of 3-3 with an ERA of 3.17 to go along with 52 strikeouts in 65.1 innings of work.
Career Stats
ERA: 4.67
W/L: 4-8
Appearances: 20
Starts: 18
Saves: 0
IP: 96.1
Hits: 101
Runs: 68
ER: 50
BB: 27
SO: 80
Opp. Batting Avg.: .258
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