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Arkansas baseball adds talented interconference arm out of the transfer portal

Two days, two transfer pitcher commits.
ByJackson McAfee|
Vanderbilt pitcher Ethan McElvain (89) pitches against Evansville during the first inning at Hawkins Field in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024.
Vanderbilt pitcher Ethan McElvain (89) pitches against Evansville during the first inning at Hawkins Field in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Arkansas Razorbacks picked up their second pitcher out of the transfer portal Friday evening. Vanderbilt LHP Ethan McElvain will step on campus for the baseball team for the 2026 season.

Arkansas baseball lands Ethan EcElvain

McElvain put up a solid freshman campaign in 2024 for the Commodores with a 1-2 record in 11 games (four starts) while posting an ERA of 3.24 across 25 innings with 29 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.400. The Columbia, Tenn., native went on to have an excellent summer in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Bourne Braves, where he made three starts and registered an ERA of 0.77 through 11.2 frames with 15 strikeouts.

McElvain struggled during his sophomore year in 2025 but improved drastically and did not allow a run in five of his last seven outings of the season. He posted a record of 2-3 in 16 appearances (five starts) with an ERA of 7.24 in 27.1 innings of work while carving up a career-high 45 batters. McElvain has a slider and a fastball that maxes out at 98 MPH.

McElvain helped Vanderbilt finish the year with a regular season record of 39-16 (19-11 SEC) while winning the Southeastern Conference Tournament. The Commodores obtained the No. 1 national seed, but their season came to an end early in their own regional in Nashville, Tenn., with losses to Louisville and Wright State.

McElvain joins UALR RHP Jackson Wells as the only two incoming transfers for the Hogs. Arkansas has four players entering the transfer portal. All of them are freshmen, with LHP Jackson Farrell, LHP Luke Williams, RHP Ross Felder and RHP Tag Andrews. None of them appeared in a game during the 2025 season.

The Razorbacks set their sights on the 2025 Men’s College World Series with an opening round matchup against the LSU Tigers on Saturday at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

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