Alabama Baseball Transfer Breakdown: Evan Steckmesser

Left-handed relief pitching, high strikeouts and low walks are categories with premiums placed on them by coaches at all levels of baseball. In incoming Samford transfer Evan Steckmesser, the 2026 Alabama Crimson Tide team is getting all three at once.

The southpaw, who originally hails from Huntsville, Ala., fanned 65 and issued eight walks (for a 1.1 in a productive 27-appearance 2025 season. That was an improvement on his debut season with the Bulldogs in 2024, where he struck out 27 in 35.1 frames.

His 2025 earned run average of 3.18 was also more than two points down from the previous season (5.86). Steckmesser tossed 56.2 innings this year and earned a spot on the SoCon All-Tournament Team.

The Crimson Tide staff has gone after bullpen help hard in the transfer portal so far. Three of the five players who have committed to transfer to Tuscaloosa next season are relief pitchers with the addition of Steckmesser. The other two are infielders, but one of those two has pitched in college.

As a graduate transfer, he will have a limited one-season window to make an impact. Due to turnover within the unit relative to its 2025 roster makeup, opportunities are there for the taking. Steckmesser is a veteran whose numbers show that he can control counts and attack opposing batters.

Getting out in front of hitters is the biggest intangible for efficiently recording outs, unless one counts double plays, which a strikeout pitcher might log fewer of than a ground-ball hurler like weekend starter Tyler Fay. A high punchout tally (and low walks) indicates favorable counts for the pitcher.

In addition to the fundamental implications, Alabama head coach Rob Vaughn has spoken about emphasizing limits on free passes, whether they come in the form of bases on balls or hit batsmen. Steckmesser only hit three batters during the 2025 campaign.

His experience level alone is enough to make him an asset, since the Crimson Tide loses multiple long-tenured college relievers from this season (such as star closer Carson Ozmer). Steckmesser has thrown against Alabama before, working a third of an inning on April 22.

Steckmesser's longest outing of this past season was a 5.1-inning performance against Kennesaw State on March 2. In that game, he allowed a solo home run and posted three strikeouts. He had six outings of three innings or more, being called on for five innings even against The Citadel March 2.

Teams are always on the hunt for high-leverage and multi-inning help. Steckmesser can figure into that mix next spring. He committed on Sunday night, solidifying the fact that his entire college career will take place playing on squads from the state of Alabama; before Samford, he was at Snead State Community College.