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Jaxon Jelkin (Brian Westerholt/Four Seam Images)
Kentucky picked up a reasonably significant win in the transfer portal Friday afternoon when college journeyman Jaxon Jelkin announced his pledge to the program.
A 6-foot-4, 180-pound righty from Omaha, Nebraska, Jelkin most recently played for the University of Houston, where he pitched to a 3.41 ERA in 34.1 innings with 46 strikeouts to just 10 walks. He saw his 2024 campaign end prematurely after suffering an elbow injury, which is expected to hold him out of the 2025 season entirely, according to a source.
Working from a low three-quarter slot, Jelkin impressed pro teams throughout the 2024 season with a three-pitch mix comprised of a four-seam fastball, slider and changeup. He sat in the 93-94 mph range with his fastball and touched 97 at peak velocity while offering an intriguing two-seam variant at times. His sweeping slider and hard-biting changeup earned 55 and 50 grades, respectively, from Baseball America.
Jelkin, tabbed as BA’s No. 126 draft prospect in 2024, was ultimately selected in the ninth round by the Mets despite garnering top-three-round reviews when healthy. You can read his complete pre-draft scouting report here.
It ultimately led him back to the college ranks.
“The hard work, dedication, and trust you’ve shown in my abilities mean the world, and I can’t wait to contribute to the Wildcats’ tradition of excellence,” Jelkin wrote about Kentucky’s coaching staff after announcing his commitment.
Kentucky will mark Jelkin’s fourth different college in as many years after he enrolled at Nebraska in 2022, transferred to South Mountain (Ariz.) CC in 2023 and transferred to Houston in 2024.
He was also drafted by the Dodgers in 2023.
“I’m looking forward to representing the University of Kentucky both on and off the field,” Jelkin wrote. “Let’s go Cats!”
Kentucky has realized a great deal of success from relying heavily on the transfer portal. Their transfer-heavy 2024 roster won the Southeastern Conference regular-season title and advanced to the College World Series for the first time in program history.
The Wildcats’ 2025 roster will feature 29 newcomers.
“Our attention has been to try to create this environment where everyone understands our system and what we’re trying to do,” Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione told Baseball America. “We’re very excited for the future with this group and we feel as though we’ve started to find the ingredients to win at a high level at Kentucky.”
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