Grand Canyon Transfer Pitcher Hunter Watkins Commits to Oklahoma State

The Cowboys have now added a quartet of pitchers via the transfer portal after bringing in another big righty.

Grand Canyon transfer Hunter Watkins announced this week that he is headed to Stillwater. Listed at 6-foot-8, 235 pounds, Watkins had a 3.83 ERA as a freshman with the Lopes in 2024. He threw 47 innings in 18 appearances (four starts), striking out 47 while walking only 13 to go with his .279 batting average against.

 

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Watkins is the fifth player the Pokes have picked out of the portal this offseason. Adding to the pitching staff via the portal seems to be a priority for OSU this offseason, as pitching coach Rob Walton has now added four hurlers. Watkins joins pitchers Tommy Allman (Jacksonville), Harrison Bodendorf (Hawaii) and Mario Pesca (St. John’s) as well as outfielder Jayson Jones (Arkansas). Watkins and Pesca were both listed at 6-foot-8 last season.

Out of Grace Brethren High School in Simi Valley, California, Watkins had a 0.96 ERA as a high school senior, earning Tri-County League Pitcher of the Year honors for the second time. In 80 2/3 innings over his junior and senior seasons, Watkins recorded 143 strikeouts with an ERA below 1.00.

Watkins earned WAC Pitcher of the Week honors in May when he threw four shutout innings in an extra-innings win against Utah Valley, striking out eight of the 14 batters he faced.

He was a part of a GCU team that won the WAC with a 23-7 conference record. The Lopes made it to the Tucson Regional final but fell to West Virginia.

Watkins will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.