Purdue 1B, Big Ten Freshman of the Year Luke Gaffney enters NCAA transfer portal

The Purdue Boilermakers just lost a huge part of their baseball roster. On Wednesday, On3 learned that Purdue infielder Luke Gaffney had entered the NCAA Transfer Portal.

The departure of Gaffney is a significant one for the present and the future of Boilermaker baseball. The catcher and first baseman is coming off of a momentous redshirt freshman season. Gaffney racked up several awards in 2024 — Big Ten Freshman of the Year,  NCBWA Second Team Freshman All-American (First Baseman), Second Team All-Big Ten (First Baseman), and Big Ten All-Freshman Team (First Baseman). Gaffney was also a five-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week recipient in 2024 — Feb. 19, Feb. 26, March 11, April 15, and April 22.

It wasn’t just awards that the red-shirt freshman was racking up. Gaffney also broke multiple Purdue baseball freshman records this year. Gaffney started in 53 games, earning 209 at-bats. In those 209 at-bats, he would have 75 hits with 62 runs and 64 RBIs. Gaffney would also finish the season with 15 doubles and thirteen RBIs to his name. The red-shirt freshman was walked an impressive 29 times this year.

Gaffney’s 62 runs scored tied the Boilermakers’ single-season record. His hits, home runs, runs scored, RBIs, total bases, and slugging percentage in 2024 all set new Purdue freshman records.

Purdue improves from it’s 2023 mark but struggles to close 2024

This season, Purdue had an improved record from 2023. Last season, the Boilermakers finished with a sub .500 record in every category: overall, conference, and non-conference. Purdue finished 2023 with a 24-29 overall record while going 11-13 in the Big Ten and 13-16 in non-conference play. This season, the Boilermakers pulled a complete 180 and were above .500 in all three, going 32-24 overall, 13-11 in the conference, and 20-13 outside of the Big Ten.

Unfortunately, Purdue just missed the mark of qualifying for the regional round of the NCAA baseball championship tournament. Their RPI and strength a schedule ranks of 90 and 92, respectively, did not do them any justice. The Boilermakers were also hurt by their seven-game losing streak to end the season. Purdue lost the last two games of their three-game series against Michigan followed by getting swept in their season finale series against Illinois at home.

In the Big Ten Tournament, Purdue lost its opening game to Indiana, followed by a loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers, which ended its hopes of finishing 2024 as conference tournament champions.