Mizzou 2025 Baseball Preview: Transfer Additions
![Mizzou Tigers starting pitcher Daniel Wissler delivers a pitch to the plate as the Tigers took on the Missouri State Bears at Hammons Field on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Mizzou Tigers starting pitcher Daniel Wissler delivers a pitch to the plate as the Tigers took on the Missouri State Bears at Hammons Field on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3735,h_2100,x_0,y_175/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/mizzou_central/01jjqw22attd3gnm3bmn.jpg)
The Missouri Tigers had to say goodbye to multiple of their starting infielders and a few of their key rotation pieces this past offseason.
The Tigers had to find a way to replace the four players that signed with Major League clubs following the 2024 MLB Draft. They knew that they had a solid freshman class coming in, but needed to pick up a couple more players with experience.
Adding four infielders, two outfielders and five pitchers, the Tigers got quite the haul from the transfer portal. Unlike some of the other teams in the Southeastern Conference, much of their talent didn't come from other big name programs. Instead, they found a majority of their talent from junior colleges.
Take a look at the new faces on the 2025 Missouri Tigers baseball roster:
Peyton Basler - INF, junior
His journey to Missouri meant crossing just one state line, but one filled with a bit of tension. Basler hails from Lansing, Kansas and spent his sophomore season with the Kansas City Kansas Community College Blue Devils. As a Blue Devil, Basler was a standout second baseman with a .328 batting average, 68 runs and was aggressive on the base path, picking up 26 steals. With Missouri losing both of its starting middle infielders during the offseason, Basler will have a chance to fight for a spot.
Gehrig Goldbeck - INF, junior
A teammate of Basler's from KCK CC has also made the trek to Missouri. There, Goldbeck made a name for himself as a standout shortstop and was rated as one of the best JUCO gloves in the country, earning a Rawlings Gold Glove. At the plate, he is no slacker either. Goldbeck hit .354 and got on base at a rate of .498. The duo of Basler and Goldbeck could fill the holes in the infield for the Tigers, especially since they already know how to work well together.
Keegan Knutson - INF, junior
Knutson did his JUCO stint at San Jacinto CC before signing with Mizzou. He will have to battle it out with Goldbeck, amongst others, for the shortstop job. At San Jacinto, he hit .351 and got on base 41 percent of the time. Knutson provides a good support bat, he knocked in 32 runs and crossed the plate himself 52 times.
Blake Simpson - INF, junior
While many players are crossing state lines to play for the Tigers, few are crossing country lines. From Ontario, Canada, Simpson closes out the new infielders for the Tigers. He spent his first two seasons as a Cowboy at Connors State College in Oklahoma, where he batted .419 with a .607 slugging percentage. He put up 62 RBIs and six home runs in his sophomore campaign. Simpson is yet another shortstop that will have to fight for the starting spot or find a different home on the field.
Pierre Seals - OF, senior
While Seals took a similar path of Memphis to Missouri as head coach Kerrick Jackson, they never overlapped. Prior to his stint at Memphis, he spent 44 games at Dyersburg State CC. In his junior season, he hit .327 with 10 home runs and 21 multi-hit games. As an outfielder, he held a .959 fielding percentage. Jackson is known to rotate his outfield and also lost a few pieces in the outfield, this will give Seals an opportunity to earn playing time for the Tigers.
Cayden Nicoletto- OF, senior
This player is already used to playing in Columbia, Missouri — Nicoletto spent two seasons at Columbia College, where he racked up quite the stats and accomplishments. There, he set the single-season records for hits, home runs, RBI and total bases. In his 2024 campaign, Nicoletto batted .412 with 27 home runs and 81 RBIs. With the Tigers struggling with offensive droughts in the 2024 season, Nicoletto can be expected to have an immediate impact on the team.
Austin Henry - RHP, sophomore
The Tigers will have to see what they will get with Henry. His first collegiate season was spent at Witchita State and the second with now conference rivals, the Oklahoma Sooners. Henry does not have a collegiate outing under his belt. Out of high school, he was rated the No. 1 recruit from South Dakota. He has a four-pitch arsenal, topping out with a fastball that sits at 95 mph. Jackson has liked to experiment with his pitchers at times, so an opportunity to take the mound is not unlikely for Henry.
Jaylen Merchant- RHP, sophomore
After not pitching much for DII University of South Carolina - Aiken, Merchant decided to look for a new mound to pitch off of. He had 10.1 innings of relief in his 2024 campaign, striking out 11 and gaining one save. Merchant racked up an ERA of 10.45 in that time, with his longest outing being 1 1/3 innings. He seemed to struggle with efficiency in his outings, but Missouri could be his chance to turn things around.
Josh Kirchhoff - RHP, junior
With some of their long relief pitchers getting drafted, Missouri needed someone reliable. Kirchhoff may be able to serve that role for the Tigers. He appeared in 18 games and 31 innings in that span. He got five wins and two saves under his belt in that time. Kirchhoff earned a 3.77 ERA and a .212 batting average against during his 2024 season.
Aeneas Clark - RHP, junior
Missouri added another juco talent, this time from South Mountain Community College. Playing baseball runs in his blood, with his dad having played in Major League Baseball for 15 years. Clark only has five collegiate games under his belt from 2023. In that season, he pitched five innings and struck out eight.
James Vaughn - RHP, graduate
Headed down from the Ivy leagues, Vaughn was quite the pitcher for Columbia University. He pitched 29 1/3 innings for the Lions with 36 strikeouts in 2024. Vaughn tossed an immaculate inning and threw five scoreless appearances. Vaughn may be able to help hold down the fort late in games for the Tigers.