UConn Baseball Weekly: The MLB Draft, transfers, and summer league
Updates on Huskies in pros, finding new homes and tearing up summer ball across the northeast.
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Charlie West drafted to Dodgers
UConn’s Friday starter and the Big East leader in strikeouts last year is heading…West. The Los Angeles Dodgers selected left-handed hurler Charlie West in the seventh round of the MLB draft on Sunday, using the No. 223 pick to make him the Huskies’ lone selection over the two-day event.
West is the 80th draft selection in Jim Penders’ illustrious career, marking the 21st consecutive year in which a UConn player heard their name called. Former Husky Ben Casparius, although currently injured, is rostered in L.A. and a 2024 World Series champion.
This past season, West earned All-Big East First Team honors behind 111 strikeouts over 87 1/3 innings, posting a 4.12 ERA. He fanned 10 hitters or more in three consecutive starts in April, including a 13-punchout game and a 14-punchout game.
Reliability has been West’s superpower the past two seasons, making 15 appearances in both 2025 and 2026. Of his 143 1/3 innings pitched for UConn, 139 2/3 have come in the last two seasons.
An incredible spring has given way to an even better summer, with West making hitters miss just as badly in the Cape Cod League. The lefty currently ranks second among all starting pitchers in strikeouts with 26, carrying a 2.16 ERA in four starts with Brewster.
Tyler Minick transfers to Texas A&M
Another former Husky has landed at the Power 4 level, with three-year starter Tyler Minick announcing he is heading to the Aggies of the SEC.
We knew of Minick’s intent to transfer over a month ago. If you missed our last edition, we speculated why Minick might be ready to leave Storrs. On paper, his fit with the 2027 roster was uncertain given that first base — a regular position of Minick’s — is now locked down by slugger Jackson Marshall.
UConn Baseball Weekly: Portal time and summer ball
UConn's flop of a 2026 spurred a mass exodus of players into the transfer portal. Our June newsletter broke down who turned to the portal and why.
Minick participated in the MLB draft combine but was not selected over the 20-round draft process. He’ll join an Aggies roster coming off a tremendous 2026 in which they finished 41-16 and 18-11 in the SEC. A shutout loss to Auburn ended their SEC tournament run, but the Aggies would later be selected to host an NCAA tournament regional. Wins over Lamar and Texas State put them in prime position to advance, but consecutive losses to USC ended the host's season.
Minick, a rising senior, exits UConn on the heels of his most tumultuous collegiate season. He played in just 30 games due to injury after appearing in over 40 in his freshman and sophomore seasons. When he was healthy, Penders used Minick in a super-utility role, spending time at the corners, DH, and even center field for a stint at the season’s start.
A .283/.346/.469 triple slash in 2026 was a steady drop-off from Minick’s stellar 2025 campaign in which he blasted a Big East-leading 22 home runs, coming one shy of the UConn single-season record. He received Second Team All-Big East honors in 2025, which he parlayed into a Preseason All-Big East Team selection ahead of 2026.
Professional baseball still looks to be Minick’s goal, who now has a chance to put his name on more 2027 draft boards playing for an SEC program that regularly sees more eyes from pro scouts. This time next year, we may see both him and Cayden Suchy drafted.
Many of UConn’s other outbound transfers — Gabriel Tirado, Maddix Dalena, Sean Finn, Peyton Jemison among them — have yet to announce where they will be playing in 2027. Anthony Belisario, a Second Team All-Big East selection, has committed to Gardner-Webb.
Tearing up summer leagues
UConn players are making waves in summer league competition across the northeast — not just Charlie West.
Rob Rispoli is an All-Star on Cape Cod, having balled out for the Chatham Anglers. Posting a .262 average at the plate, Rispoli has knocked four doubles, a triple, and 11 RBI, while also stealing six bases.
His Chatham teammate, Oliver Pudvar, is also a league All-Star. At the time of his naming, Pudvar carried a 3.05 ERA over a team-high 20.2 innings pitched.
Chris Polemeni is back to himself after a second-half swoon with UConn in 2026. He has mashed six homers with the Keene Swamp Bats of the NECBL, the most of anybody in the league.
Chris Cancel has swung the bat well with the Valley Blue Sox. He’s hitting .286 with 15 RBI, the latter a top-25 mark in the league.
In the Futures League, one current and one incoming Husky got All-Star recognition playing for the New Britain Bees. Garrett Garbinski has dominated hitters, carrying a 0.75 ERA over 36 innings pitched, a Futures League All-Star for the second consecutive season. After a troubled 2026 in which Garbinski posted an ERA north of seven for UConn, a bounce-back 2027 could be in store.
Incoming transfer George Slauson has been slugging for the Bees, posting 30 hits and 24 RBI, both top-10 marks in the league. His 27 walks rank first on the team. Slauson will put his power on display Tuesday, when he is slated to participate in the league’s Home Run Derby.
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