According to a tweet on his old account, X, Chris Stanfield, the centerfielder for Auburn, announced on Tuesday that he will be attending LSU.
Stanfield was an important and consistent player in Auburn’s lineup throughout both of his seasons at Plainsman Park, and his numbers were very similar.
Season average: 2023.280 40 46 3 22 18 45.364 2024.276 51 51 4 25 25 48.365; GS, HR, RBI, BB, SO, and OBP
Auburn signed reliever Samuel Dutton as a transfer from LSU. Additionally included was East Carolina’s star freshman outfielder Bristol Carter, who will likely take Stanfield’s place.
Stanfield stepped into the transfer window as soon as it opened earlier in June, according to D1 Basbeall’s transfer tracker. As of right now, he is the most significant Auburn departure from their disappointing 2024 team.
Stanfield is still taking part in the MLB Draft, though. He is one of 319 individuals registered for the 2024 MLB Draft Combine. Participating in the Combine does not keep a player from returning to school, similar to the NBA Draft process.
The Combine is scheduled for June 18–23. The MLB Draft will take place from July 14–16.
There are three pitchers from Auburn listed as participants as well.
Chase Allsup is the only pitcher from Auburn slated to attend the Combine. Head coach Butch Thompson made hints during the 2024 season that Allsup, despite his mostly inconsistent performance, was likely to target the MLB Draft after this season because of his mid-to-upper 90s fastball and SEC experience.
The native of Dothan pitched 62.1 innings this season and has a record of 4-3 with 74 strikeouts. In his final four appearances of 2024, Allsup struck out 31 batters in 21.1 innings while allowing only five earned runs to cross the plate.
But the signing of both pitchers, Auburn’s two highest-rated incoming freshman signees, would surely cause further concern there.
Connor Gatwood from Mobile and Christian Chatterton from Killen are on the list. Both players rank in the top 50 in the 2024 high school class, and according to MLB.com, Gatwood is ranked 101st overall in the current MLB Draft.
Thompson has emphasized the significance of Auburn’s signing class ranking in the top five for the team’s pitching staff transformation. Most of the new batch, led by Gatwood and Chatterton, are pitchers.
It is not a certain that they will be selected if they enter the MLB Draft. One of the more chaotic professional league selection processes is the MLB Draft, which include high school players and heavily relies on slot value signing incentives.
Auburn’s new transfer class now includes three pitchers: Dutton, Mason Koch (a transfer from Creighton), and Ryan Hetzler (a transfer from Cal Baptist). They are all three frequently used out of the bullpen.
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