Purdue first baseman Luke Gaffney commits to transfer to Clemson

Purdue Boilermakers first baseman Luke Gaffney has committed to Transfer to the Clemson Tigers.

A redshirt freshman in 2024, Gaffney was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. On top of that, he was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection, Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection, and a five-time  Big Ten Freshman of the Week selection.

Luke Gaffney made the announcement on Instagram with a post wearing a Clemson uniform. He captioned it, “Never understood where I could really take it.”

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A post shared by Luke Gaffney (@luke_g2022)

In the one season he played at Purdue, Gaffney hit .349 with a .437 OBP and a .628 slugging percentage. He had 13 home runs, 15 doubles, and 65 RBIs on the season. Primarily a first baseman, though he is also listed as a catcher, Gaffney finished the season with a .998 fielding percentage by committing only one error and having 431 putouts and 26 assists.

In the process of having an excellent freshman campaign, Gaffney broke six Purdue freshmen records, including hits, home runs, RBI, total bases, slugging percentage, and runs scored. He also tied the team record for runs scored in a single season with 62.

A Kentucky native, Gaffney was the No. 3-ranked catcher in the state of Kentucky for the class of 2022 by Perfect Game. He was also First-team all-state as a senior.

Purdue, as a team, is coming off a season where the Boilermakers went 33-24 for the season. The Boilermakers also went 13-11 in conference play this season. However, two quick losses in the Big Ten Tournament ended the team’s season. That was Greg Goff‘s fifth season as the head coach at Purdue and was the best in terms of wins and losses.

Gaffney is joining a Clemson team that is coming off a 44-16 season where the Tigers went 20-10 in ACC play. They made it as deep in the postseason as the Super Regional before losing to a very talented Florida Gators team. Now, with the help of players like Gaffney, Clemson is hoping to take a leap forward.

The Transfer Portal for College Baseball

College baseball is currently in the larger of two Transfer Portal windows, which are when players are allowed to enter the portal. This one opened in May and runs for 45 days. The other window is in December and stays open for 15 days.

Scholarship distribution in college baseball is unique because NCAA Division I baseball teams get between 11 and 12 scholarships to use. That’s less than half of the number of players on a team, leaving most players on a partial scholarship. So, amid player turnover in the portal, coaches must manage those partial scholarships and take full advantage of them.