Florida transfer pitcher Cade Fisher commits to Auburn

AUBURN — Florida transfer pitcher Cade Fisher has committed to Auburn baseball, sources told Auburn Live on Saturday morning. We reported Auburn was in great shape and later confirmed the news after Fisher notified schools of his decision.

Fisher later announced his commitment via Instagram after this story was published.

It’s a significant get for the Tigers and Butch Thompson.

Fisher entered the portal June 28 after an up-and-down sophomore season in Gainesville. In 26 appearances, including nine starts, he had a 7.14 ERA to go with a 4-3 record. However, he still recorded 76 strikeouts – nearly 30 more than he totaled as a freshman in 2023.

Fisher was a Perfect Game All-American as he finished with 6-0 record and a 3.10 ERA, along with 48 strikeouts, in 49.1 innings of work. He also only gave up 13 walks.

Fisher started off the season as one of the weekend starters for the Gators before moving to a role in the bullpen. He has elite “stuff” though and pitched in plenty of big spots for the Gators the last two years. Fisher gave Florida four solid innings in a College World Series game against NC State, while also pitching a solid 3.1 innings in a win-or-go-home regional contest against Oklahoma State.

Cade Fisher is one of the biggest names remaining in the portal. He’s the No. 1 player left on the open market as of Friday afternoon, according to D1Baseball.

More on Auburn’s developing transfer class

Fisher is the eighth transfer commitment for Auburn since the season ended. He joins Texas A&M infielder Jett Johnston, Creighton pitcher Mason Koch, East Carolina outfielder Bristol Carter, LSU pitcher Sam Dutton, Samford catcher Lucas Steele, South Florida infielder Eric Snow and the California Baptist pitcher Ryan Hetzler. Both Steele and Snow are former freshman All-Americans.

Primarily a reserve infielder last season, Johnston appeared in 13 games with 16 at-bats. He finished the year with three hits, two RBIs, five walks and five scored runs. In the field, Johnston logged a pair of putouts. He was a Top-200 player coming out of high school in Knoxville, Tenn.

Koch spent the last two seasons at Creighton, where he recently completed a successful sophomore season. He threw 38.1 innings and struck out 60 batters, with a 3.29 ERA. He walked only 17 batters last season and did not allow a run in any of his last four appearances.

Carter hit .346 with seven doubles and 31 RBI during his first college season. He played in 56 games and started 46 for the Pirates. He was named All-AAC Freshman Team and Second-Team Freshman All-American by Perfect Game.

Dutton was named a First-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball his senior year before heading to LSU. He started fifteen games for LSU over the last three seasons. He posted a 6.02 ERA during that time. His strikeout-to-walk ratio was 3:1 over three seasons. Dutton struck out 29 batters and walked just six last season in 27.2 innings pitched.

As a freshman, Steele hit 16 home runs and plated 51 RBI while hitting .315 at the plate for the Bulldogs. He was SoCon Freshman of the Year and Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-America. Last season, Steele hit just .245, but still hit 13 home runs and 61 RBI. He will play catcher or first base for the Tigers.

Snow was AAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 and a First Team All-AAC selection. He was also Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-America. Snow was also Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American. He hit .327 in 2023. Last season, Snow hit just .248. Snow played shortstop for USF.

Both Steele and Snow battled injuries last season, contributing to some of the production drop off. Sources tell Auburn Live that Steele has the highest ceiling, while Snow is more of an integral piece of the puzzle.

Hetzler just finished his freshman season at Cal Baptist, where he made 25 appearances in 2024 all out of the bullpen and pitched a total of 41.1 innings. He had a 5-1 record with a 2.59 ERA. He had four saves. Opponents hit .284 against him.

Departing the Tigers’ program and having entered the portal thus far are pitcher Zach Crotchfelt, outfielder Kaleb Freeman, outfielder Chris Stanfield, pitcher Trevor Horne, third baseman Gavin Miller, pitcher Cameron Keshock, outfielder Kaleb Freeman, outfielder Alex Wade and second baseman Ty Mauldin.

Auburn finished last season 27-26 overall and 8-22 in SEC play.