UK Baseball adds America East POY John Thrasher through transfer portal

(Hartford Athletics)

The best player from the America East Conference is now a Bat ‘Cat.

On Sunday night, John Thrasher, the reigning Player of the Year from the America East Conference, announced that he will be leaving the University of Hartford in order to transfer to Kentucky. Thrasher, who will have one more year of eligibility left, is an outfielder who performed incredibly well in a surprise season for Hartford.

The 6-foot-2 native of Ridgefield, Connecticut, ranked first in the America East in batting average (.369), slugging percentage (.680), on-base percentage (.470), and stolen bases (37) in 2021. Thrasher’s 37 stolen bases ranked second in the nation and it only took him 40 attempts to record that many steals. He was also named to the All-Academic Team.

I’m excited to announce that I will be pursuing my education and baseball career next year at the University of Kentucky! Thank you to all the teammates and coaches who have got me to this point in my career. I’m excited for this opportunity that lays ahead! #rollcats #SEC pic.twitter.com/ODDC7otLYY

— John Thrasher (@john_thrasher22) July 5, 2021

This news comes on the heels of Kentucky Baseball and head coach Nick Mingione adding a prospect from the transfer portal just the other day. Former South Carolina pitcher Magdiel Cotto made the decision to transfer to Kentucky on Friday. After losing double-digits players from last season’s roster to the transfer portal early in the offseason, it’s nice to finally see Kentucky adding some pieces for next season.

As a side note, it doesn’t appear that Hartford and Thrasher left on the best of terms…

I tried my best to be the best representation of Hartford. Student first, athlete second. I did alright at both 😎. What a joke of an administration. You should be praising athletes who succeed both on and off the field. Shame on you

— John Thrasher (@john_thrasher22) July 5, 2021