Transfer Spotlight: Oliver Boone

As the Transfer Portal dust has cleared a bit for Kentucky Baseball, it’s time to take a look at some new faces.

Right-handed pitcher Oliver Boone, who will be a sophomore next season, announced that he would be transferring to Kentucky from Cal on June 22.

In his freshman season, the North Hollywood, CA native made 12 appearances (one start) for the Golden Bears. In 30 1/3 innings pitched, Boone posted a 4.45 ERA with a 1.88 OBA and a 34:13 K/BB ratio.

Cal’s 2024 season came to an end with a 7-4 loss to USC in the Pac-12 Tournament on May 24. Boone entered the Transfer Portal on June 13, and it didn’t take long for Kentucky to reach out.

[Assistant Coach Nick Ammirati] reached out maybe the second day I was in the portal and he was just super personable and what they offer at school was everything I was looking for,” Boone said. “An opportunity to start, relationships with coaches, and high tier development were the main things. It’s also SEC which made the decision pretty easy after talking to all the different schools. I also liked how I talked to every coach before getting the offer so they got to make sure I was the right guy for the program.”

Kentucky’s 2024 NCAA Tournament run was a major factor in peaking Boone’s interest in the program. The Cats didn’t lose a single game in the Lexington Regional or Super Regional, which led to their first Men’s College World Series appearance in program history.

“Yeah so I actually didn’t know anything about the program or school until after we were eliminated and I started watching their postseason games,” Boone said.

It took just nine days for the coaching staff and Boone to come together to make his move to Lexington possible.

“I really like the way the guys are all in it together and how everyone is coached,” Boone said. “Also pitching in this conference and facing the best college hitters is going to be the best way for me to get drafted. Also playing with some of the best college players and hopefully making it to Omaha.”

Facing SEC competition is truly the best of the best, as seven teams from the conference were ranked in D1Baseball’s Final Top 25 Rankings. That number grows to eight if you include Oklahoma, whose transition to the conference became official on July 1.

Boone was the 500th ranked player in the nation in the Class of 2023, ranked as the 165th overall right-handed pitcher.

The sentiment seems clear between the California native and other incoming transfers. The goal and selling point from the staff has been to get back to Omaha. Once you get there, it becomes an expectation.

“I’ve talked to a couple other incoming transfers,” Boone said. “All super excited to get to work.”

Boone 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.