After three seasons playing baseball with the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, outfielder Michael Rodriguez entered the transfer portal. Rodriguez talked about why he chose to enter the transfer portal after spending the majority of his collegiate career in Daytona Beach. He also went into what he was looking for in a new school.
“We had 18 seniors and a lot of guys leave this year,” Rodriguez said. “Going into my last year, I wanted to play in a bigger conference and see if that could set me up better for professional baseball.”
After World Baseball Network’s interview with Rodriguez, he committed to Missouri State on June 19. He announced this decision via his social media account on X.
First and foremost, I want to thanks god, my family, friends, Teammates, and all of the coaches who have helped me get to this point. I also want to thanks all the school that showed interest in me throughout the transfer portal process. I’m excited to announce that I have… pic.twitter.com/rv7eB5bhtB
— Michael Rodriguez (@brizzymichael4) June 20, 2026
Historic 2026 season with the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
Rodriguez hit a huge stride during the 2026 college baseball season with Bethune-Cookman. He had a .422 batting average with a .579 on-base percentage.
The Pembroke Pines, Fla.-native also had 18 stolen bases, 11 doubles, and 40 RBIs. Rodriguez leaves Bethune-Cookman with some record-breaking numbers. This past season, he set the program record for single-season batting average and on-base percentage. He also holds the on-base streak record in Bethune-Cookman baseball history at 36 games. That record was also set this season.
The outfielder talked about how he made his crazy good season happen with the Wildcats in 2026.
“I definitely switched my approach up,” said Rodriguez. “I also worked a lot with Coach [Derek] Cartaya on my swing.”
Rodriguez was named first-team All-SWAC. He will play in the 2026 HBCU Swingman Classic alongside four other players from Bethune-Cookman. That game features 50 of the best players from HBCUs playing during Major League Baseball’s All-Star week at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
Rodriguez, along with other HBCU stars from 2026, will play in Philadelphia on Friday, July 10, at 7 p.m. ET.
Rodriguez part of a championship culture with the ‘Cats
While at Bethune-Cookman, Rodriguez was a part of back-to-back SWAC regular season championships in 2025 and 2026. He was also a part of a SWAC Tournament title in 2025, which sent the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament that year. It was Bethune-Cookman’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017.
Despite heading to Missouri State to play baseball for the Bears, Rodriguez is forever grateful for his time at Bethune-Cookman.
“I have nothing negative to say about Bethune-Cookman,” Rodriguez said. “They gave me the platform to play at the level I played at. The coaching staff did an amazing job with the program and with development.”
WBN NCAA: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
PHOTO: Courtesy of Michael Rodriguez
