The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Baseball’s Leffew signs with Tampa Bay Rays
07.21.2026 | Baseball
Left-hander posted 4-1 mark and 4.05 ERA in lone campaign at Texas
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Longhorns junior Haiden Leffew signed a professional contract with the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.
Leffew is the second Longhorn to ink a free agent deal following the 2026 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, joining fellow relief pitcher Cal Higgins (Philadelphia Phillies).
Texas also had six players selected in the draft, as Carson Tinney (second round), Aiden Robbins (third round), Ruger Riojas (third round), Thomas Burns (eighth round), Luke Harrison (eighth round) and Cody Howard (13th round) all heard their names called.
In his lone season on The Forty Acres, Leffew logged a 4-1 record and a 4.05 ERA over 17 contests.
The 6-foot-1, 235-pound left-hander mounted 31 strikeouts in 20 innings. Leffew held opposing hitters to a .176 average.
Across his three-year collegiate career, he totaled an 11-2 ledger with a 5.02 ERA and four saves. The Kannapolis, N.C., native spent his first two seasons at Wake Forest.
