Glory days. Haiden Leffew in his South Rowan days. Photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post

By Mike London

Salisbury Post

AUSTIN, Texas — In 2024, temperatures in Austin, Texas, ranged from 16 degrees in January to 109 in August.

Something for everyone.

Former South Rowan High and Wake Forest University left-hander Haiden Leffew was greeted by 90-something temperatures as he and his father (Michael) toured the city and its iconic university earlier this week, but he’s certain it’s about the coolest spot he’s ever visited.

Austin will be his home next baseball season.

Leffew didn’t get the chance to try on an orange, 10-gallon hat, but he did get to say howdy to a lot of people who were thrilled to see him. University of Texas coaches were pleased to meet him because the 20-year-old has a fastball that can roar up to 97 mph and a killer changeup that makes MLB scouts stand up and yell “Yippee-ki-yay” on a regular basis.

Leffew was in the transfer portal very briefly. His phone was close to exploding just a few hours after he announced his intention to leave Wake Forest after two seasons with the Demon Deacons that displayed his vast potential, but also left him feeling not completely satisfied.

After the baseball season, Wake Forest pitching coach Corey Muscara left Wake to take the head job at Duke, so there was a bit of speculation that Leffew might stay in the ACC and become a Blue Devil, but the University of Alaska had a better chance of getting Leffew than Duke did.

“As soon as I hit the portal, a lot of SEC schools contacted me and were showing a lot of interest,” Leffew said. “So it was going to be the SEC as the next step for me. There was never any chance of me going to Duke. I was raised as a UNC fan and, at heart, I still am a Tar Heel fan. There’s no way I could ever pitch for Duke.”

Leffew’s former South Rowan teammate Kane Kepley (South won the 3A state title in 2022) was a standout center fielder for the Tar Heels this season and a likely draft pick, and the former Raiders had a chance to talk about old times and bright futures when the teams played in Chapel Hill.

Leffew was a starting pitcher at South and early in his career at Wake Forest, but shifted to the bullpen during his freshman season and spent his sophomore year exclusively in a relief role.

He did fine, saving four games, closing others and posting impressive strikeout rates — 15.5 per nine innings — but he would prefer to start, and the Longhorns are going to give him an opportunity to earn a spot in the rotation.

“The ultimate goal is the 2026 MBL draft,” Leffew said. “That’s what I’m working for and preparing for. I think Texas, the SEC competition, are really going to help me. I’ve changed a lot in the last year. I used to have a low arm slot but I’m straight over the top now, so my repertoire has changed. My changeup moves almost like a splitter and has been very good to me, and I average 93-94 on the fastball. I’m only throwing one fastball now instead of two different types, and I’ve got got confidence in my curveball. I think I’ve got the mix of pitches to be an effective starter.”

Leffew (6-1, 225) has been spending the last few weeks adding to his reputation by dominating  hitters in the Cape Cod Baseball League, the top summer league for college players.

He’s pitched five times in relief for the Brewster (Mass.) Whitecaps in the Cape and is 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA. He’s struck out 16, while walking two.

“While the competition in the Cape is at a very high level, we play on high school fields and it’s all got a really nice high school vibe to it,” Leffew said. “By that, I mean there’s a real sense of strong community support. The people in Brewster are very proud of their baseball team. You wear a Brewster Whitecaps cap around town and people go out of their way to be nice to you.”

Leffew works out frequently and tries to eat healthy, but he admits he’s become a big fan of Brewster’s numerous sandwich shops.

“There’s been a lot of chicken parm and ham and cheese in my diet,” Leffew said.

Leffew’s stay in the Cape will be relatively short, as he’ll be heading home on July 14. Texas doesn’t want him to use up too many bullets this summer. The Longhorns have big plans for him. He was rated as the No. 14 player available in the portal.

Leffew and one of his Wake Forest buddies (there are four Deacons or former Deacons on the Brewster roster) reside quietly with a host family. He’s had no trouble finding his way around the small town.

Leffew took a break from the Cape scene to fly to Texas for his visit. It was about a 90-minute ride to the Boston airport to board a flight.

“It was a really great trip,” Leffew said. “We had really good Texas barbecue for lunch and great ‘Tex-Mex’ for dinner. We toured the football stadium, and it’s just unbelievably massive. We got to meet with the Texas head coach and the pitching coach.  The baseball facilities are top-notch. They drew 8,000 fans for big baseball games (like the ones against rival Texas A&M). College baseball is huge in Texas and the sport is getting bigger every day. The College World Series was one one of the most-watched sporting events on TV.”

Leffew has a chance to be a bigger part of that show in 2026.