Notre Dame Catcher Carson Tinney Enters Transfer Portal After Breakout 2025 Season

Notre Dame sophomore catcher Carson Tinney has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal following a breakout 2025 season, immediately becoming one of the most sought-after players in college baseball.

Tinney, a Colorado native, led the Irish with a .348 batting average, 17 home runs, and 53 RBI. He posted a team-best .753 slugging percentage, collecting 55 hits, 13 doubles, and committing just three errors in 49 games.

Over the final month of the season, Tinney was nearly unstoppable at the plate, hitting .448 leading up to the ACC Tournament. 

A semifinalist for the Buster Posey Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound backstop is expected to draw strong interest from top programs across the ACC and SEC. Despite entering the portal, we believe a return to Notre Dame is still very much in play. 

Notre Dame head coach Shawn Stiffler and his staff have played a pivotal role in Tinney’s development, especially after he returned from a torn ACL that ended his freshman season in 2024 after just 28 games.

If Tinney decides to move on, the Irish will return juniors Davis Johnson and Troy Reader, along with sophomore Trent Hartman. Johnson hit .281 with seven home runs and 28 RBI in 41 games this season. Reader appeared in just one game and was hit by a pitch in his only plate appearance.

Notre Dame will also have incoming freshman Shane Miranda, a top-500 national prospect out of St. Augustine (Calif.), arriving this summer. 

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