Baylor Lands First Transfer Portal Addition in All-Big South RHP Brayden Gilley

Baylor baseball has secured a commitment from Winthrop’s ace and rising senior right-handed pitcher Brayden Gilley out of the transfer portal, marking the first addition of this year’s transfer portal cycle for head coach Mitch Thompson and the Bears.

Standing at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, the Deer Park, Texas, native earned First-Team All-Big South honors this spring and received the Big South Pitcher of the Week award twice this season for his efforts against Morehead State on Feb. 20 (6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 10 SO) and Charleston Southern (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 5 SO) on March 27.

In conference play, Gilley boasted a 3.04 ERA, 2.56 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a 1.40 WHIP; he finished the season with a 5.27 ERA, .288 batting average against and a 7-6 record across 15 starts, almost all of which came on Fridays.

Gilley had three games against NCAA Tournament teams this spring, including a matchup against Auburn on March 6 (3.2 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, SO) and two outings against South Carolina Upstate on April 17 (6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 3 SO) and May 21 (3.2 IP, 12 H, 9 ER, 6 SO).

He is considered a strike-thrower and his pitch repertoire includes a fastball in the upper 80s that can reach as high as 94 miles per hour, as well as a curveball, slider and changeup.

As a sophomore, Gilley appeared in 16 contests with nine starts and held a 6.95 ERA and 1.30 WHIP across 45.1 frames. He struck out 35 batters while issuing just 13 walks.

Gilley began his collegiate career at Houston Christian, where he tossed eight innings in his freshman campaign, before transferring to Winthrop.

At Deer Park High School, Gilley was the 2023 District MVP and played for the Twelve Baseball travel organization, which is where Baylor’s hitting coach, Zach Dillon, spent six years before joining Thompson’s staff.

So far, the Bears have lost seven players to the transfer portal: pitchers Cayden Baker (RFr.), Luke DeVasher (Jr.), Keegan Deihl (Fr.) and Cade Waibel (Jr.), as well as catcher Cash McDade (Fr.) and infielder Robert De La Garza (Jr.). Star shortstop Travis Sanders (RJr.) entered the transfer portal on Friday as a grad transfer, but he will likely remain in the MLB Draft.

Baylor’s set to return starting pitchers Zack Wallace (So.) and Mason Green (Jr.), who will be coming back from injury, while losing Ethan Calder (Sr.) to graduation and potentially Lucas Davenport (RJr.) to the MLB Draft.