Notre Dame pitcher Will Mercer announces transfer to Texas Longhorns
One of Will Mercer‘s best outings in four seasons at Notre Dame came against Texas A&M. The former Fighting Irish pitcher will fit right in at his new school if he keeps that up.
This week, Mercer announced his commitment to Texas.
A Houston native, the left-handed Mercer is on his way home. He’s bringing one of Notre Dame’s best earned run averages in 2023 with him. Mercer appeared in 17 games, all in relief, for the Irish this past season. He turned in a record of 3-1 with an ERA of 2.43, which was the second-best mark on the team for anyone who pitched more than one inning. Mercer was on the hill for 33 1/3 innings, by far the most of any Notre Dame hurler who did not start a game.
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Opponents only hit .185 against Mercer last season. That was the best opponent batting average on the Notre Dame pitching staff. Despite the Irish missing the postseason, Mercer was better in 2023 than he was in 2022 when the program made it to the College World Series for just the third time ever. Mercer went 2-1 with a 4.18 ERA in 13 games, three of which were starts. Against the Aggies, Mercer pitched the final 3 2/3 innings of a 5-1 loss. He only allowed one hit in a scoreless outing. He struck out four and only walked one while giving Notre Dame a chance to mount a comeback that never came.
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Mercer missed the entire 2019 season because of an injury before starting four times in the abbreviated 2020 season. He was 1-0 with a 5.93 ERA in 13 2/3 innings of work that year. In 2021, a season in which Notre Dame was one win away from the CWS, Mercer appeared in a career-high 18 games with 11 starts. He compiled a 4-3 record with a 4.92 ERA.
In all, Mercer had a 10-5 record with a 4.24 ERA in 52 games (18 starts) at Notre Dame. He struck out 117 batters and walked 45 in 127 1/3 innings. Mercer will be missed in South Bend, and he’ll be a fine addition for a Texas team that was one win away from the College World Series this season. The Longhorns went 42-22. They won the Coral Gables Regional by beating Louisiana once and Miami twice, and they took a 1-0 lead in the Stanford Super Regional before the Cardinal came back and won the final two games of the series.
