Arizona baseball stars Jacob Berry, Branden Boissiere enter transfer portal

Jay Johnson left Arizona to be LSU’s new head coach, and his best player may follow him to the Bayou.

D1Baseball’s Kendall Rogers is reporting that All-American infielder Jacob Berry has entered the transfer portal and there’s a “strong likelihood he joins Jay Johnson at LSU.”

Rogers is also reporting that star first baseman Branden Boissiere and outfielder Tyler Casagrande have entered the portal as well.

Berry, a third baseman/designated hitter, hit .352 with a team-high 17 home runs and 70 RBI in helping the the Wildcats reach the College World Series for the second time in six years. Named a Freshman All-American, Berry set UA freshman records in hits RBI, hits (87), extra-base hits (41) and total bases (167).

Boissiere, a sophomore, was an All-Pac-12 player in 2021 after hitting .369 with five homers and 63 RBI. (However, he is draft-eligible anyway, so there’s a decent chance he goes pro instead of transferring to another school.)

Casagrande was a key reserve, batting .244 with one homer and seven RBI.

The Wildcats have also seen infielder Kyson Donahue enter the portal and 2022 recruits Mikey Romero and Justin Crawford, the son of Carl Crawford, decommit since Johnson’s departure.

Players entering the portal does not necessarily mean they are leaving but it’s looking more and more likely than Arizona baseball will be looking at a major overhaul next season no matter who is coaching the team.

The deadline to enter the transfer portal and still be eligible next season is July 1, and Rogers is reporting that 12 UA players are on the market.