Stanford ace Quinn Mathews to enter the transfer portal

The Stanford pitcher is expected to go early in the upcoming MLB Draft

On Friday it was revealed that Stanford's start pitcher Quinn Mathews is expected to enter his name into the transfer portal.

While this comes as an unexpected move, Mathews graduated from Stanford earlier in June when the Cardinal were in Omaha. As reported by Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball, this is likely far more of a contingency plan for Mathews who is expected to go in the early rounds of the upcoming MLB Draft. 

We saw their ace last season Alex Williams do the same, but was drafted and went the professional route rather than transferring. For Mathews, Cardinal fans are still marveling at his dominate season that saw him win Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year and also throw a 156-pitch complete game victory that saw him strike out 16 batters to help keep Stanford's season alive in their Super Regional. 

While he and the Cardinal came up short in Omaha, this past season from Mathews was an absolute masterclass.

Mathews was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 19th round this past season, but opted to remain at Stanford. Mathews is ranked as the No. 86 prospect according to MLB.com.