Cal Baseball: 1B Dominic Smaldino Enters the Transfer Portal

Cal's Sophomore slugger enters the transfer portal after putting up a career slash line of .273/.353/.502 (AVG/OBP/SLUG%) in two seasons in Berkeley with 14 HR and 52 RBI in that span.

Three of Cal’s core infielders have officially entered the NCAA College Baseball Transfer Portal, with 1B Dominic Smaldino joining Jarren Advincula and PJ Moutzouridis as the former Golden Bears exit Berkeley.

Smaldino towered in at 6'6" and 230 lbs from Ladera Ranch, CA, where he attended Junipero Serra High School in San Juan Capistrano, where he led the Lions to back-to-back CIF Southern Section Division I Championships before coming to Cal.

Report by Kendall Rogers via X

In his sophomore season, Smaldino broke out and led the California offense in RBIs (46), tied for the team lead in runs scored (48), and was second in home runs (11), walks (24), and doubles (12).

In the Bears’ surprising run during the ACC Championship tournament, he hit .417 (5-12, 3 R, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 BB, HBP) and reached base in 9-of-16 plate appearances. He also had two hitting streaks during the regular season, one of five games and the other of seven, during which he hit an RBI in 6 out of those 7 games.

Smaldino stopping at 2B after a double against Louisville (via @CalBaseball on X)

Smaldino is the 15th Golden Bear baseball player to enter the transfer portal since the conclusion of the 2025 season, and leaves Mike Neu with only two remaining starters in the infield from 2025 (Cade Campbell & Alex Birge).

Smaldino enters the portal, coming into his junior season (first reported by Kendall Rogers via X/D1Baseball). At the same time, Cal will look to backfill ANOTHER huge hole left by a core infielder’s departure from the program. The Golden Bears currently have no backup first baseman on the roster, but will have four incoming freshmen from the graduating class of 2025 who list 1B as a backup position in their recruitment profiles (via Perfect Game).