Bechtel, Bentley, Dienes, Gilliam, and Pillsbury will look for opportunities elsewhere in 2026
The NCAA transfer portal window opened for baseball following the announcement of the NCAA Tournament field on May 26th. With that field now whittled down to 16 teams, more players are entering on a daily basis.
This is the case for NC State which saw it’s season come to an end on Sunday evening. Yesterday saw five players officially enter the portal, although a few announced earlier. Those players are (the indicated class is for the 2025 season):
- SO OF Jake Bechtel
- FR OF Trey Bentley
- rJR LHP Jacob Dienes
- SO OF Jet Gilliam
- JR LHP Eli Pillsbury
Bechtel, who entered the portal on May 28th, has big power tools from his 6’5, 225 lbs frame. He arrived on campus from Palm Harbor, FL, as a two-way player, but settled in as an outfielder as he struggled with control on the mound. He should be able to drop down a conference at the D1 level and find success if he can cut down on the strikeouts.
Bentley, another Florida native, is a switch-hitting corner outfielder who didn’t field any playing time this spring with the Pack. It’ll be interesting to see how his transfer market shapes up, but he could be a candidate for a year stayover in the JUCO ranks to up his stock and then re-enter the D1 ranks with three years of eligibility remaining.
Dienes entered the portal on May 26th. He was a developmental arm from Wilson who struggled to find playing time. Control was an issue (6 BB in 3.0 IP) but he does have promising stuff.
A native of Nevada, Gilliam is a former JUCO transfer who probably should have played more this year than he did. He hit .276/.389/.483, 3 2B, 1 HR, 17.1 BB%, 17.1 K%, 0-1 SB over 35 plate appearances while mostly serving as a late game defensive replacement for Josh Hogue in left field. He’ll stick at the D1 level, but fit will be important.
Pillsbury is a former JUCO transfer relief pitcher from Indiana who didn’t log any time on the mound this spring for the Pack. He announced his transfer intentions on May 24th. He’s an upper-80’s arm with a four pitch mix. Control was a bit of an issue at the JUCO level, but he should be able to stick at the D1 level at a lower conference.