The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Dunn Announces Newcomers, Full Roster for 2027 Season
9/23/2026 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
BIRMINGHAM – UAB Head Baseball Coach Casey Dunn has announced the addition of 17 newcomers as well as the full roster for the 2027 season. The team features 21 players from the state of Alabama with 11 coming from the Birmingham metro area. Among the 11 from the Birmingham area, three will be suiting up for the Green and Gold for the first time.
"As a group, we like the way the roster is pieced together from the freshmen enrollees to the junior college signees and then three portal transfers on top of that," said Dunn. "Being able to have flexibility of bringing in guys from seniors to freshmen give us some authenticity to the roster to where it's not just heavy in one class."
The Blazers signed three players from the transfer portal in utilityman Steven Cavaco (Ohio State), infielder Jace Norton (Southern Miss), and right-handed pitcher Payton Armour (Lincoln Memorial University).
Cavaco played in 15 games and made 12 starts for the Buckeyes. As a true freshman, the Huntsville, Ala. native picked up six hits and scored nine runs with the majority of his action coming in non-conference play. Jace Norton hails from Auburn, Ala. and transferred from Southern Miss after playing for the Golden Eagles for two seasons. Prior to his time in Hattiesburg, Norton spent one year at Mississippi State. The most experienced player among the trio is Payton Armour, who is coming to Birmingham after three seasons at Division II Lincoln Memorial. Armour spent his final season in Harrogate as a conference weekend starter for the Railsplitters. Armour, a Decatur, Tenn. native, has appeared in 42 games and made 17 starts on the mound. He has struck out 102 batters in 115.0 innings and has three career saves.
In the junior college route, the Blazers went heavy on the arms as five of the six signees have spent time on the mound prior to their arrival in Birmingham.
"Overall, I feel like we have met our needs and we were heavy on the pitching piece which was needed because we have to improve in that area," Dunn continued. "We return a lot of position players from last year so we really went heavy on the pitching piece to try to improve in that area."
Headlining the class are Gunner Dodd (Shelton State CC) and Blaze Gerhart (Snead State CC). Dodd appeared in 27 games across two seasons for the Bucs and made 20 starts. In those 27 games, Dodd struck out 83 batters in 85.0 innings. In 2026, Dodd led the team with a 10.85 K/9 (min. 12 appearances). Gerhart was a two-way standout for the Parsons and slashed .353/.474/.665 across 48 games in 2026 on his way to a Second Team All-ACCC selection. The Attalla, Ala. native struck out 28 in 16.0 innings in his two seasons at SSCC.
Bryson Morman (Coastal Alabama CC - South), another right-handed pitcher, as well as a pair of southpaws in Noah Cribb (Florence-Darlington Tech) and Alex Davis (South Arkansas College) also join the program for the 2027 season.
Morman saw a good amount of time on the mound in Bay Minette as he logged 112.0 innings and struck out 106 batters in his two seasons at CACC. Morman appeared in 21 games and made nine starts for the Coyotes. Cribb played two seasons at highly coveted Flo-Dar Tech in South Carolina where he appeared in 25 games and struck out 39 in 30.0 innings in his FDTC career. Davis led his team in strikeouts (67), innings pitched (64.0), and wins (7) in 2026. Additionally, he had the 42nd-best ERA across NJCAA D2 baseball this past season with a 3.66 ERA. Davis tallied 105 strikeouts in 103.1 innings of work in his two seasons in El Dorado.
The lone bat taken from the junior college ranks is Kent Collier, an outfielder from Georgia Highlands College. Collier finished the 2026 season with a 1.139 OPS including 22 extra base hits. He recorded 11 multi-hit games and ended the season with a 15-game hit streak.
In addition to the five high school signees added last fall, the Blazers added three more prep players to round out this season's freshman class. Isaiah Ludlow (TN), Jake Brown (GA), and Caiden Caldera (TN) join the team to round out this year's recruiting class.
Ludlow was listed as the 95th best prospect and 14th overall LHP in the state of Tennessee for the class of 2026 according to Perfect Game. Ludlow was a member of the Houston HS that advanced to the TSSAA 4A State title game. Jake Brown was a three-time All-State selection at Druid Hills HS and made the All-Region team twice. Caldera was the no. 56 prospect and the 14th best RHP in Tennessee by Perfect Game.
Click HERE to view the full signing class from the fall of 2025.
Click HERE to read about the returners coming back for the 2027 season.
Click HERE to view the 2026 Fall Baseball roster.
Dunn announced the return of RHP Chase Ingram on August 26. Ingram, a fifth-year senior from Pleasant Hill, California, has thrown 155.0 innings for UAB in his career.
Full Roster Breakdown:
RHPs: 18
LHPs: 6
Catchers: 3
Infielders: 7
Outfielders: 4
Utilitymen: 2
Hometown Breakdown:
Alabama: 21
Florida, Georgia, Tennessee: 3
California, Louisiana, Mississippi: 2
Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, South Carolina: 1
GOLD CARD
The Gold Card is the most cost-effective way to watch the Blazers. For $65, fans are permitted to attend all home games at Young Memorial Field and Regions Field. Click HERE to purchase a Gold Card for the 2027 season.
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