Willie Bloomquist, Sun Devils add three new transfers

Arizona State head coach Willie Bloomquist posted a devil emoji on his X (formerly known as Twitter) account on Monday night, indicating something was cooking. What Arizona State baseball fans did not know was exactly what recipe he was making.

In terms of the transfer portal, Bloomquist cooked up a three-course meal, getting three great players that appear to slide into the Sun Devil starting lineup come springtime. The Sun Devils needed to bring in some serious offensive production as ten of their top eleven batters appear to be departing.

The first is graduate transfer utility Dean Toigo, the reigning Mountain West Co-Player of the Year from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Toigo has played multiple levels of baseball from juco to now Power Five.

Toigo started his career at Cypress College with a slash line of .310/.423/.516 in two years with the Chargers. He progressed from junior college to the NAIA school, Hope International. In his junior season, Toigo’s slash line was .337 /.416/.568 for the Royals. 

Toigo then transferred to the Rebels and had his best season against the highest level of competition. He had his best season as he hit .337/.445/.682 in his senior season, as he went on to be named to the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-Region First Team as an outfielder.

In his collegiate career Toigo has shown power with 184 RBIs and 42 home runs, with 37 coming in the past two seasons. He has swiped 36 bags with 23 coming in the past two seasons. He scored 148 times as well. The left handed batter will likely continue to find offensive success at Phoenix Municipal Stadium which favors high offense.

Sun Devil fans might be familiar with Toigo’s name as UNLV faced Arizona State twice last season. In the games, he reached base five times with four singles. He drove in three as well.

Toigo played outfield in his first three seasons, committing a total of two errors, but at UNLV, he split time in the corner outfield positions and first base, showing his versatility. He could play a corner outfield position like another transfer or first base, depending on where rising sophomore Landon Hairston slides in. Toigo will likely slide in as a three or four-hole hitter for the Sun Devils.

Another graduate transfer that the Sun Devils are going to enjoy is outfielder Matthew Polk. Unlike Toigo, Polk spent three years at one college, Vanderbilt. He spent three seasons at Vanderbilt from 2022 to 2024, as he was left off the 2025 roster as he dealt with a knee injury. 

Polk, a solid hitter for the Commodores, hit .295/.364/.453 in his three years there. He had his best season in 2024 with a .316 batting average and an .884 OPS. He has a high rate of getting hit by pitches, as he has been hit 29 times throughout the course of his career.

Polk is playing for the State College Spikes in the MLB Draft League this summer. In four games, he is having a productive summer with a .333 average and a .967 OPS, and was hit by a pitch twice in 15 at-bats. 

Polk’s numbers are not the most eye-popping, but he should expect to be a frequent starter for the Sun Devils. He could slide into any position in the lineup, as it is unclear how everything will shake out. Defensively, Polk has played all three outfield positions, with most of his time coming in left. Polk, Togio and Hairston will likely play left field, right field and first base, but it is unclear who will be at what position.

Rising Junior infielder Dominic Longo has a story similar to Toigo's. Longo spent his freshman season at Spokane Community College. He had a slash line of .275/.370/.362 with the Sasquatch. He ranked fifth in the Northwest Athletic Conference with 26 stolen bases.

Longo then transferred to Utah Valley for his sophomore season. He improved his slash line to .305/.397/.535. Longo has solid speed with a career total of 48 stolen bases. The Washington native posted 60 RBIs and 55 runs scored with the Wolverines.

Longo spent time patrolling third base and shortstop for the Wolverines. Longo will likely find most of his playing time at the hot corner as Nu’u Contrades is expected to be selected in the MLB draft. Like Polk, Longo could slide anywhere in the lineup, as it is unclear where everyone will be.

The Sun Devils have two transfers who have yet to officially sign. They are rising senior outfielder George Bilecki from Lewis University and redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Colby Guy from UNC Asheville. It is unclear when they will sign.

Bloomquist will probably continue to select his ingredients for his 2026 recipe, as he wants to build a recipe for success. Bloomquist might want to get a few pitchers as his Friday and Saturday starters, Ben Jacobs and Jack Martinez are expected to depart, and the bullpen was a struggle point last season.