UCLA Baseball Freshman Pitcher Thatcher Hurd Enters Transfer Portal

Two months removed from a season-ending spinal injury, the top-ranked freshman is leaving the Bruins.

With the Bruins still just a few days removed from the end of their postseason run, their pitching staff has taken a major hit heading into the offseason.

UCLA baseball freshman right-hander Thatcher Hurd entered the NCAA transfer portal Thursday morning, according to multiple reports. Hurd has at least three years of eligibility remaining, but could possibly pick up a medical redshirt for his shortened 2022 campaign.

Hurd made nine appearances for the Bruins before getting shut down for the season with a pars defect – or a stress fracture of the bones of the lower spine – in early April.

.@UCLABaseball RHP Thatcher Hurd also has entered the transfer portal. Hurd had a pretty rough back injury during the season, so his status is TBD. https://t.co/dKYcufGArB https://t.co/jS49CNqkWq

— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) June 9, 2022

Recovery time for a pars defect depends on the progress made over the first few weeks post-diagnosis. In some cases, a full recovery could be made in 2-3 months, but if issues continue to arise after rehab, healing time could extend further and even result in surgery, according to Regenexx.

Before suffering the injury, Hurd was a young staple in coach John Savage’s new-look rotation.

Hurd tossed 34.0 innings – second-most on the team at the time of his injury – with a 2-0 record and 1.06 ERA. The righty struck out 48 batters, walked 10 and boasted a .138 batting average against.

The freshman never allowed more than one earned run in any of his outings, and he picked up National Pitcher of the Week honors from Rawlings, Perfect Game and the NCBWA in early March after allowing just two hits and striking out 15 batters in 6.2 combined scoreless innings against Long Beach State and Oklahoma.

Hurd’s departure from the rotation wasn’t the first or last for the Bruins, who were ultimately without four of their top six starters by year’s end. Gage Jump, Jared Karros and Jake Brooks also missed most or all of the 2022 season.

Getting a full rotation back for 2023 would have been key for Savage, but he apparently won’t be getting Hurd back.

As a recruit, Perfect Game had Hurd ranked as the No. 36 overall prospect and No. 11 pitcher in the 2021 class. Narrowing it down to California recruits, Hurd was the No. 2 overall prospect and No. 1 right-handed pitcher in the state.

Hurd is one of several Bruins to enter the transfer portal since they lost to Auburn in the Regional Finals on Monday, including outfielder Emmanuel Dean and upperclassmen Jack Filby and Jake Moberg. UCLA historically isn’t a program that takes in many transfers – especially on the mound – but it added Sunday starter Kelly Austin from Orange Coast College last offseason and Savage could continue to build through that path in an ever-changing college baseball landscape.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIC HURD/UCLA ATHLETICS