Texas Longhorns Keep Cooking, Land Elite ACC Portal Recruit

Another day means yet another addition from the transfer portal for Jim Schlossnagle and his staff. They've been aggressive on that front following a disappointing end to the 2025 season, aiming to retool a roster that is both filled with plenty of returning talent but also set to lose multiple key players in 2026.

Continuing to combat those coming departures, the Texas Longhorns landed yet another elite name out of the portal on Thursday evening. The latest addition to a stacked cast of transfer commits comes in the form of Wake Forest's Haiden Leffew, a dominant left-handed pitcher with a ton of potential to be tapped into.

Fortunately for Leffew, he will be joining an already deep bullpen filled with a plethora of talented arms. Not just that, but the southpaw makes his way to The Forty Acres and will have the good fortune of working with pitching coach Max Weiner. In his first season in Austin, Weiner transformed the pitching staff into one of the nation's best as the team ERA dropped from 4.91 in 2024 to 3.71 in 2025.

Haiden Leffew adds his name to the Longhorns' loaded cast of transfer portal recruits

As for Leffew, the former Demon Deacon was one of the top arms still available in the portal. He spent his first two seasons at Wake Forest and showcased elite potential. His freshman year saw him sport a 6.11 ERA, a 3-0 record with 38 strikeouts and 27 walks across 35.1 innings of work.

Taking a big step forward during his sophomore season is a key reason why the Longhorns will be happy to bring him to Austin. Making a team-high 27 appearances in 2025, the southpaw worked 34.1 innings and dropped his ERA to 4.46 while improving his strikeout to walk ratio with 59 punchouts and just 18 walks.

Sporting an electric fastball that tops out at 96 mph and a lethal changeup, Leffew has the stuff that a coach of Weiner's caliber will have a blast working with. More importantly, he is another phenomenal arm in a bullpen that looks to take yet another step forward in 2026.

Leffew is yet another win for Schlossnagle and his staff out of the portal. Landing him adds to a loaded class of transfer portal recruits that includes Notre Dame's Carson Tinney and Stanford's Temo Becerra. Aiming to retool and be even better in his second season in Austin, look for Schlossnagle to continue reeling in big-time fish that make the Longhorns an absolute force in 2026.