Transfer Spotlight: Ethan Walker

As a new era Kentucky Baseball emerges, it’s time to take a look at some new faces making their way to Lexington from the Transfer Portal this offseason.

Left-handed pitcher Ethan Walker, who will be a junior next season, announced that he would be transferring to Kentucky from Longwood on June 13.

Walker is the second player to transfer from Longwood to Kentucky in the last three seasons, following in the footsteps of 2023 SEC All-Defensive selection 1B Hunter Gilliam. In his one and only season in Lexington, Gilliam led the Cats in home runs (12), RBI (71), and SLG% (.551) en route to Kentucky’s first Regional victory in six seasons.

Gilliam, who was born just over two hours away from Walker in Virginia, spoke highly of the incoming junior.

“I think he’s gonna be a really good fit man,” Gilliam said. “Similar to me where he was at a place where he didn’t get to win very much. Now he gets to be around a place where winning is all that matters. Excited to see him get the experience to win and the BBN experience.”

There was about a month overlap before Gilliam transferred to Kentucky where he got to know Walker a bit. However, it wasn’t until this last Fall until they really got to know each other.

“Hunter’s a great guy and an amazing resource for me when trying to learn more about Kentucky and the team,” Walker said. “He played a big part in my move to Kentucky. He made me feel like Kentucky was home as well as the coaches.”

The left-hander was named to the Big South All-Freshman Team in 2023, marking the first time in Longwood program history a player was selected. Walker started nine games for the Lancers this past season, where he pitched to a 4.50 ERA in 42 innings. Opposing hitters however hit just .191 off the Salem, VA native.

He entered the Portal on June 3, and Kentucky contacted him just two days later on June 5.

“The staff reached out to me on June 5th when I was first contacted after entering the portal,” Walker said. “The staff acknowledged my stats for the year showing they had serious interest. They also showed me the family aspect of the team by letting me speak with everyone on the staff.”

Assistant coach Nick Ammirati was the first member of the Kentucky staff to reach out to Walker. However, Ammirati’s departure from Lexington to the Georgia staff has no bearing on the Longwood transfer’s decision to play at Kentucky.

“[Ammirati] was the one that reached out to me about Kentucky,” he said. “We had the opening phone call and then I started talking to the rest of the staff. I’m still 100% on Kentucky.”

Landing Ethan Walker could be chalked up as another major recruiting victory for the Cats, as he was down to Kentucky and LSU as his final two options. Kentucky’s success in the SEC and college baseball as a whole over the last two seasons have opened many eyes around the country, as it has cemented itself as sort of a transfer portal paradise.

“I committed to Kentucky because I believed in Coach Minge and saw it as a place that I could get better and get a better college baseball experience and it was the only SEC school to email me back,” said Hunter Gilliam. “Now when you commit to Kentucky, it’s because Coach Mingione’s vision is proven and because you can play in Omaha. If you look at the past two years… portal kids come here and impact the program right away. They aren’t going to bring you here if they don’t think you can play a big role.”

The left-handers best stretch of the 2024 season ran from April 16-May 5, where he allowed just one earned run with 20 strikeouts over 12 innings (Richmond, Gardner-Webb, UNC Asheville, Duke).

“I’m looking forward to winning and developing a close relationship with the coaches and the team,” Walker said. “My goals for this season is to help the team win in any way I can and get back to Omaha.”

Walker is one of 12 incoming transfers (so far) for Nick Mingione’s Wildcats. Stay tuned to KSR’s 2025 Kentucky Baseball Roster Tracker for all updates on the offseason and next season’s squad.