ELON – Elon baseball head coach Mike Kennedy announced his program's 2026 transfer class Friday, featuring nine collegiate players who will debut for the Phoenix in the upcoming 2027 season.
 
The transfer class features six batters, two right-handed pitchers and a two-way player. The group brings experience from the power conference, mid-major, Division II and junior college ranks.
 
"We're super excited about this group with a good mix of guys who have all had success at the levels they've played at," Kennedy said. "Offensively, we want to be able to win games, and score runs in a number of different ways. We wanted to add power, we definitely went after guys who avoided swing and miss, but we also wanted guys that can run. Pitching wise, ultimately, we wanted someone on the back end, and we felt that was important."
 
Trevor Booton
Right-Handed Pitcher | 6'5 / 213 | LaGrange, Ga. | Auburn
·       Spent three seasons at Auburn after joining the Tigers out of LaGrange High School.
·       Did not make a collegiate appearance during his three seasons at Auburn.
·       Pitched in the Valley Baseball League during the summers of 2024 and 2025, finishing a combined 6-1 over 19 appearances and 42.2 innings.
·       Posted a 1.88 ERA over 11 appearances during the summer of 2025, allowing 11 hits and three earned runs over 14.1 innings.
 
Coach Kennedy on Booton: "Booton was a late addition. A grad school kid that was at Auburn and never really got an opportunity. Where I think he will play a huge role is that he's mature. We have a bunch of young guys on the pitching staff and he's going to be a great leader for them."
 
Justin Cherrington
First Base | 6'6 / 240 | Scottsdale, Ariz. | Houston
·       Appeared in 17 games during the 2026 season at Houston, recording four hits, a home run and five RBI.
·       Put together a JUCO All-America freshman campaign at Yavapai College (Arizona) in 2025 before transferring to Houston.
·       Batted .424 with 75 hits, 15 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs and 71 RBI in 55 games at Yavapai.
·       Earned NJCAA Division I and ABCA/Rawlings NJCAA Division I First Team All-America honors following the 2025 season.
 
Coach Kennedy on Cherrington: "Cherrington was a big target. A First Team All-American JUCO player coming out of Yavapai and a big target at first base. He's going to help our infielders out tremendously and the bat is going to play at this level."
 
Calvin Douglas
Right-Handed Pitcher | 6'4 / 195 | Waxhaw, N.C. | Catawba
·       Made 23 appearances with one start for Catawba during the 2026 season, finishing with a 4-0 record, one save and a 3.41 ERA.
·       Struck out 42 batters over 31.2 innings in 2026, averaging 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings.
·       Limited opposing hitters to 18 hits in 31.2 innings and surrendered just one home run during his sophomore campaign.
·       Has made 27 collegiate appearances through his first two seasons, recording 44 strikeouts over 33.2 innings.
 
Coach Kennedy on Douglas: "We're super excited about Calvin. He's one of the arms we saw over the summer and the breaking ball is elite. He's super focused on getting better, growing and I think he fits nicely here. With Coach Conroy and how he handles our staff, I think Calvin is just going to take off."
 
Alex Duffey
First Base / Designated Hitter | 6'1 / 210 | Bernardsville, N.J. | Kentucky
·       Returns to Elon after spending the 2026 season at Kentucky, where he appeared in six games and hit .308 with two triples, four RBI and three stolen bases.
·       Earned second-team All-CAA honors with Elon in 2025 after batting .349 with 67 hits, 13 doubles, four home runs and a team-high 54 RBI.
·       Posted a .463 on-base percentage during the 2025 season while drawing 41 walks and scoring 40 runs.
·       Has appeared in 137 games during his collegiate career, compiling 130 hits, 24 doubles, 10 home runs, 92 RBI and 82 runs scored.
 
Coach Kennedy on Duffey: "Alex Duffey is a no-brainer. He's a kid who had a great career here who went about it the right way. Redshirted his second year here knowing that he wasn't quite ready. He was committed to doing what it took to get ready and had an unbelievable year prior to heading to Kentucky. The bat speaks for itself, the leadership is tremendous and is a once-in-a-blue-moon transfer portal guy that comes back. You don't see it often and we couldn't be happier."
 
Jace Dunn
First Base / Corner Outfield | 6'3 / 225 | Eden, N.C. | Louisburg College
·       Put together a breakout sophomore season at Louisburg in 2026, batting .377 with 66 hits, 18 doubles, 19 home runs and 63 RBI over 48 games.
·       Scored 49 runs and stole 13 bases while posting a .462 on-base percentage, .806 slugging percentage and 1.268 OPS in 2026.
·       Hit seven home runs and drove in 42 runs as a freshman in 2025 before increasing his home run total to 19 during his sophomore campaign.
·       Finished his two seasons at Louisburg with a .341 batting average, 99 hits, 27 doubles, 26 home runs, 105 RBI and 77 runs scored in 89 games.
 
Coach Kennedy on Dunn: "Jace is interesting, he's a big kid but he's athletic and moves well. He has good speed and we are trying to figure out where to play him. He'll play some first base, he'll play some left field, and he had a lot of success at the junior college level. The power and speed is a component that will give him the opportunity to be on the field."
 
Hunter Huneycutt
Utility | 5'10 / 185 | Laurinburg, N.C. | Queens
·       Appeared in 46 games at Queens during the 2026 season, batting .293 with 46 hits, six doubles, one home run and 13 RBI.
·       Scored 26 runs and stole 15 bases while posting a .369 on-base percentage for the Royals in 2026.
·       Starred at Pfeiffer in 2025, batting .377 with 55 hits, seven doubles, five home runs, 24 RBI and 18 stolen bases.
·       Has produced a .333 career batting average with 101 hits, 59 runs, 13 doubles, six home runs, 37 RBI and 33 stolen bases over 82 collegiate games.
 
Coach Kennedy on Huneycutt: "Hunter Huneycutt is another kid that we are super excited about. We talk about ways to score runs and I think what he brings to the table is some speed with stealing 15 bases last season and hitting right around .300. He's shown that he can compete at this level, he's done it well and he's a super utility guy."
 
Michael Iannazzo
Infielder | 6'0 / 185 | Southport, Conn. | Maryland
·       Appeared in 23 games with six starts for Maryland in 2026, batting .355 with a .475 on-base percentage and an .862 OPS.
·       Collected 11 hits, scored five runs and drove in three while drawing seven walks and striking out just three times during the 2026 campaign.
·       Hit .308 with three doubles and five RBI in 11 games during an injury-shortened 2025 season.
·       Owns a .312 career batting average and .432 on-base percentage with 39 hits, eight doubles, one triple and 19 RBI in 62 collegiate games.
 
Coach Kennedy on Iannazzo: "We spotted him early in the process and just loved the way he handled the bat. I think he's a classic two-hole guy. He can move the ball, he can bunt and he can run. He just puts together quality at-bats and he's going to put pressure on teams by just moving the ball."
 
Pablo Santos
Infielder / Right-Handed Pitcher | 6'0 / 210 | Jersey City, N.J. | Rutgers
·       Spent four seasons at Rutgers, appearing in 77 games from 2023-25 before redshirting during the 2026 season.
·       Put together his best offensive season in 2025, appearing in 57 games and batting .263 with 55 hits, 13 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 33 RBI.
·       Finished his Rutgers career with 63 hits, 14 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 42 RBI while scoring 44 runs.
·       Recorded a .251 career batting average and .323 on-base percentage over his three seasons of game action with the Scarlet Knights.
 
Coach Kennedy on Santos: "Pablo Santos is a kid we really like. Our focus was on guys that don't swing and miss and watching his at-bats, particularly against better arms, he was super competitive. He used the whole field and that fits in nicely with what we are trying to do here."
 
Brennan Staubley
Catcher | 6'3 / 210 | Plainville, Conn. | Southern Connecticut State
·       Earned D2CCA First Team All-East Region honors following a standout 2026 season at Southern Connecticut State.
·       Batted .429 in 2026, collecting 69 hits in 161 at-bats with nine doubles and 11 home runs.
·       Finished second in the Northeast-10 Conference in batting average while ranking third with a 1.163 OPS and fifth with a .694 slugging percentage.
·       Earned All-Northeast-10 First Team and NCBWA First Team All-Region recognition in 2026 after receiving third-team All-NE10 honors in 2025.
 
Coach Kennedy on Staubley: "What attracted us to him is the fact that he didn't swing and miss a lot. He's going to bring some stability to the lineup in terms of he doesn't swing and miss, so you're going to have to earn your outs with him. Defensively, he has a good arm and has a history of being able to handle good pitchers. I think he'll come in and provide a good battle."
 
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