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Spokane native Elijah Hainline, a starting infielder for Washington State, enters NCAA transfer portal

Washington State infielder Elijah Hainline hits a double during a nonconference game against Gonzaga on April 18 at Patterson Baseball Complex in Spokane. Hainline, a two-year starter for the Cougars, has reportedly entered the NCAA transfer portal. (Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review)
By Colton Clark coltonc@spokesman.com

PULLMAN – Elijah Hainline, a Spokane native who started in Washington State’s infield over the past two seasons, has entered the NCAA transfer portal, according to a report Tuesday evening from D1Baseball.com.

A graduate of Mead High, Hainline started for WSU as a true freshman in 2022 and mostly played third base. He hit .228 with seven doubles and 21 RBIs during his freshman season.

Hainline hit a team-high 12 home runs in 2023 – the most in a season by a WSU player since 2012. He batted .337 with 12 doubles, 39 RBIs, and finished second on the team in slugging percentage (.615) and OPS (1.045). Hainline, who primarily played second base this year, was named All-Pac-12 honorable mention .

Hainline can still elect to return. If not, he’ll wrap up his WSU career with 96 starts, 99 hits, 13 home runs, 60 RBIs, 19 doubles and 74 runs scored.

WSU’s baseball program is bringing in a new head coach, so some roster turnover should be expected. Head coach Brian Green left the team earlier this month to take the same job at Wichita State. Nathan Choate, who coached Loyola Marymount the past four seasons, is expected to be hired as WSU’s next coach, per D1Baseball.

Hainline is the seventh Cougars player to enter the portal over the past month, and he’s the most significant of the team’s potential departures.

Also in the portal: outfielders Bryce Matthews and Nate Swarts; relievers Connor Wilford and Ryan Orr; infielder Ty Kennedy and catcher Andrew McKenna.

Matthews made 73 starts at WSU over the past two seasons after transferring from Eastern Oklahoma State College. He hit .305 with six home runs and 32 RBIs in 2022, but hit .250 with 13 RBIs and one homer in 2023.

Swarts made 42 starts for WSU over the past four seasons. The New Mexico product started 11 games this year, hitting .184 with three homers and two triples.

Wilford, who joined WSU in 2023 after playing in junior college in Southern California, was one of the Cougars’ top relievers. He led all WSU relievers this year with 45⅔ innings pitched. Wilford finished 2-2 with an ERA of 5.32 after allowing 27 runs on 48 hits and 13 walks while striking out 47 batters in 26 appearances.

Orr, a true freshman out of Tumwater, Washington, made 11 appearances this season and worked 14⅓ innings. He finished 1-2 with a 3.77 ERA. Orr allowed six runs on 14 hits, walked seven batters and struck out eight.

McKenna, a junior college recruit in WSU’s 2023 class, appeared in three games this season. Kennedy, a true freshman from Colorado, did not record any statistics.