FORT MYERS, Fla.- Florida SouthWestern lefthander Isaac Upole will join Bucs teammate Victor Figueroa in the Steel City next season after the sophomore pitcher signed his National Letter of Intent to play at the University of Pittsburgh next season on National Signing Day.
Upole pitched in 16 games and drew 11 starts on the mound for the Bucs last season as a freshman, finishing fourth on the team with 44 2/3 innings pitched. He went 4-1 with a 5.04 ERA, earning wins in each of his first two collegiate outings. His first victory came against the eventual National runners-up, Wabash Valley, where he went three innings and allowed just one run before shutting out Inspiration Academy over six innings his next time out for a win.
The Panthers were 24-31 a season ago, going 10-18 in ACC play. They advanced to the conference tournament where they earned a win over Notre Dame before falling to College World Series participant Wake Forest in the second round.
Upole is the third FSW pitcher to sign with Pitt, following 2019 and 2020 Bucs Mitch Myers and Marc Davis who both signed with the Panthers. Myers is currently pitching in the Oakland Athletics minor league system while Davis is with the Washington Nationals organization.
Upole and Figueroa are two of six Power 5 and 11 overall early signees for the Bucs this season joining Justin Thomas (Arkansas), Landon O'Donnell (Florida State), Jared Davis (Virginia Tech), Alex Walsh (Oklahoma State), Reyn Watson (Appalachian State), Nate Earley (Appalachian State), Logan O'Leary (UNC-Charlotte), Luca Danos (Loyola Marymount), and Jahir Perez (Southeastern).
The Bucs begin their 2024 season on Friday, January 26th in Bradenton when they take on Region VIII rival Northwest Florida State.