With the MLB Draft wrapping up early Sunday evening, news broke that Texas Longhorns left-hander Haiden Leffew will return to the Forty Acres for the 2027 season after going unselected through the first 19 rounds, according to a report from Horns247.
Orangebloods quickly confirmed Leffew’s return.
The 6’1, 235-pounder has exhausted
three seasons of eligibility. Perfect Game ranked Leffew as the No. 367 prospect in this year’s draft.
As a high school recruit, Leffew was slotted just outside the top-150 prospects nationally by Perfect Game when he signed with Wake Forest out of Kannapolis, N.C. as a member of the 2023 recruiting class.
As a freshman, Leffew was difficult to hit, striking out 38 batters over 35.1 innings and limiting opponents to a .221 batting average, but he also had some command issues, ultimately posting a 6.11 ERA because he walked 27 batters, hit six batters, and threw eight wild pitches. Of the 20 appearances by Leffew in 2024, he started five games.
Working exclusively out of the bullpen in 2025, Leffew cut his hit by pitches and wild pitches in half, so although the batting average against him increased to .263, he was able to go 4-1 with a 4.46 ERA while increasing his strikeout rate with improved command, striking out 59 batters in 34.1 innings over 27 appearances, which led the team. Leffew also recorded four of the team’s 13 saves.
After entering the NCAA transfer portal, Leffew committed to Texas last June as the No. 14 overall player in the portal by 64Analytics thanks to a fastball that reached into the mid-90s and a plus-plus changeup that induced a 72.1-percent whiff rate.
For the Longhorns, Leffew served in a high-leverage role out of the bullpen, appearing in 17 games while notching a 4-1 record with a 4.05 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 20 innings. Opponents only hit .176 against Leffew, who also dealt with some command issues, walking 15 batters, throwing three wild pitches, and hitting two other batters.
Due to an undisclosed late-season injury, Leffew only made one appearance in the postseason, failing to record an out against UC Santa Barbara in the Austin Regional, ultimately giving up two runs, one earned, while walking two batters.
Leffew’s command issues remain concerning, but his combination of experience and pure stuff will ensure that he once again occupies a high-leverage role in Max Weiner’s bullpen in 2027 with remaining upside to unlock if he can work more consistently in the strike zone — when he was on, he was essentially unhittable this season.
