College baseball transfer portal closes with silence for Oregon State Beavers; roster remains mostly intact

The college baseball transfer portal window closed at midnight and it was accompanied by a welcome sound for the Oregon State baseball team.

Silence.

As coaches expected — and players promised — the Beavers did not suffer any debilitating departures, leaving alone a mass exodus mirroring those that gutted the women’s basketball and football programs during the 2023-24 sports season.

Seven players elected to leave the program: catchers Tanner Smith and Evan Gustafson; pitchers Aiden Jimenez, Tyler Mejia and Tephen Montgomery; and infielders Brandon Forrester and Reeve Boyd. Only four of them — Smith, Mejia, Montgomery and Forrester — played in a game last season.

The players departed for a variety of reasons, OSU coach Mitch Canham said, but he did not have anything to do with the demise of the Pac-12 Conference and the Beavers’ independent future.

“For anyone that leaves, I still love them,” Canham told The Oregonian/OregonLive last month. “They’re our kids. They’ve been there with us. They’ve been a part of the program. Sometimes things just don’t work out. Sometimes it’s about playing time and sometimes it’s about fit — on either end. But everyone who is here is excited about the future of the program, about our schedule and about the camaraderie around them.”

Smith’s departure will be felt the most. He started each of the last two seasons behind the plate, splitting time with Wilson Weber, and emerged as a defensive stalwart and well-liked part of the team. He collected some memorable hits along the way, including a game-winning grand slam against Cal, a go-ahead homer against Nevada and a 13th-inning walk-off single against USC. But Smith hit just .230 in 107 career games and, after the Beavers’ championship chase died in Lexington, Kentucky, he decided he wanted a change of scenery and a chance to be an everyday starter.

That chance will come to Miami.

Jimenez, who was in position to be a part of the weekend rotation before he was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery, also left for a prominent program (Arkansas). But the sting of his exodus likely won’t be felt until 2026 as he’s in the early stages of a right arm rehabilitation that should last between 12 and 18 months.

Mejia and Montgomery, who pitched a combined 15 1/3 innings last season, were not expected to be major contributors next season. Boyd and Gustafson never played in a game at Oregon State and Forrester saw limited action in seven games last season.

As for arrivals, well, the Beavers have added one player via the transfer portal so far: Jack Hostetler, a 6-foot-3 right-hander from Encinitas, California. Hostetler played three seasons at Whitman and earned first-team all-Northwest Conference honors in 2024, when he went 6-2 with a 4.54 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 120 2/3 innings.

Canham said Hostetler “made huge jumps” at Whitman and the Beavers are excited to add a veteran presence to their pitching staff.

Canham and his staff are exploring the portal for more additions, but they are doing so judiciously. Oregon State returns multiple key contributors — including Gavin Turley, Dallas Macias, Trent Caraway, Nelson Keljo and Eric Segura — the staff believes numerous other players are ready to take the next step in their development and the 2024 recruiting class includes potential Day One contributors.

“You’ve always got to take a peek and see if prospects are out there,” Canham said of the transfer portal. “But, just like with any recruiting we do, we want to find the right guy — not just a guy.”

But the biggest development of the offseason is not who the Beavers added, but rather who they lost. Or, more specifically, who they didn’t lose.

The transfer portal window closed silently, as expected, and Canham and the Beavers can now look ahead to the next season.

“We have an exciting young group,” Canham said. “Talking with Turley and Macias in the interview room (in Lexington), they’re hungry, they’re determined and they love the group. So we’re going to continue to pour into these guys, improve the program and make the culture better and better.”

— Joe Freeman | [email protected] | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories