Monday marked the opening day of college baseball’s 30-day period to enter into the transfer portal. Auburn plans to use the transfer portal to re-tool its pitching staff which was among the biggest culprits in a vastly disappointing 2024 season, but head coach Butch Thompson’s team has already taken a significant potential loss to its lineup.
According to D1 Baseball’s transfer tracker, Auburn starting center fielder Chris Stanfield has entered the portal. Having just completed his sophomore year, Stanfield has started 91 games for Auburn in his first two seasons.
His statistics in 2024 were very similar to his strong 2023 freshman campaign. Stanfield’s 2024 batting average was four points worse than 2023 (from .280 to .276). With 21 more at bats in 2024 than 2023, Stanfield recorded five more hits, one more home run and three more RBIs than his first season. He equaled the same nine stolen bases he had in 2023.
Though not a step forward from his freshman year or a true breakout campaign, Stanfield at the top of Auburn’s batting order was one of the more reliable things for Thompson in a season without much to rely on.
Irish, who was in the same freshman class as Stanfield, has been Auburn’s star over the last two seasons. Irish was a freshman All-American last year and a first team All-SEC player this year.
