The UCLA Bruins saw the first member of their 2026 team enter the transfer portal on Wednesday with right-handed pitcher Jack O’Connor hitting the portal following ucla-watch-two-big-ten-194536863.html">UCLA’s season coming to an end this past weekend.
O’Connor has spent four seasons in Westwood with the Bruins but he only pitched in the past two seasons. O’Connor didn’t appear in games in either the 2023 or 2024 seasons but entered the fold last year for UCLA’s College World Series appearing squad.
The right-hander had a terrific 1.67 earned run average over 27 innings pitched. Despite the miniscule ERA, O’Connor didn’t rack up too many strikeouts, fanning just 18 batters over the 27 frames.
O’Connor’s ERA grew to 3.52 this season but pitched just 15.1 innings over 20 appearances. O’Connor’s walk to strikeout worsened in 2026 as well, with eight strikeouts to seven walks. The 6’3″ pitcher is a native of Palos Verdes, and will now potentially depart from Southern California.
UCLA and head coach John Savage relied heavily on relievers Easton Hawk, Cal Randall and Zach Strickland, leaving O’Connor out of use. O’Connor last appeared in a game for the Bruins on May 10th against Oregon in Big Ten Conference play.
The Bruins’ activity in the transfer portal will be something to monitor this offseason, with UCLA expected to lose a lot of their regulars to the MLB Draft, creating holes both in the lineup and within their pitching staff.
While O’Connor is the first Bruin to enter the transfer portal, we’ll see how many of his UCLA teammates follow suit and join him in the portal.
