Washington pitchers Grant Cunningham, Max Fraser enter NCAA Transfer Portal

The Washington Huskies recently lost their head baseball coach, Jason Kelly, to be an assistant coach for the Texas A&M Aggies. And not surprisingly, a number of the players on the Huskies roster have decided to hit the transfer portal after their head coach left. Washington’s Grant Cunningham and Max Fraser officially entered the portal on Wednesday evening, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

Cunningham had a 3-4 overall record this year, finishing with a 2.86 ERA. He also fired 56 strikeouts, good enough for the most on the team. Fraser had a record of 1-1 overall this year, finishing with an 8.80 ERA. He also tossed in 14 strikeouts.

In 2023 as a freshman, Cunningham made 21 appearances, finishing with a 4.56 ERA in 53.1 innings. He also had four saves. The Seattle native struck out 39 batters, tossing in 13 walks. He matched his season-high of four strikeouts in back-to-back appearances against Oregon State (4/1) and Arizona (4/7).

Coming out of high school, Cunningham was one of the highest ranked prospects in the country. He was rated by Perfect Game as the No. 29 overall prospect in Washington, earning second team All-America West Region honors. As a junior and senior at Seattle Prep, Cunningham earned All-Metro honors.

Max Fraser was ranked as the No. 8 overall player in the state of Washington by Perfect Game coming out of high school. He earned Honorable Mention All-West Region honors from Perfect Game in 2022, playing for Camas High School (Camas, Washington). Fraser was also named the Columbian Region Baseball Player of the Year.

Washington’s 2024 campaign ended in the final Pac-12 baseball tournament, when they lost 6-5 to the Arizona Wildcats. The Huskies finished with a 19-31-1 overall record.

Former Washington head coach Jason Kelly will oversee the pitching staff with Texas A&M. In his two seasons with the Huskies, the team had a 54-51-1 overall record and he helped guide the team to their 12th NCAA Regional Appearance in 2023. The 35 wins for the Huskies in 2023 were the most by a first year head coach in program history. Kelly also had six players drafted from his inaugural squad at Washington, with four of them bringing in All-Pac-12 honors.

Before becoming the head coach of the Huskies, Kelly spent 11 seasons as a pitching coach at UW, Arizona State, and LSU. In 2018, he earned d1baseball.com National Assistant Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Huskies to their first ever College World Series.