It is no secret that the San Diego State Aztecs’ baseball program saw major turnover between the end of the 2025 season and today.

SDSU opted to move on from head coach Shaun Cole after two seasons at the helm, bringing in Kevin Vance to lead the program.

The transfer portal saw a number of departures after the season, including right-handers Marko Sipila and Peyton Rodgers on the pitching side. Hard-throwing right-hander Xavier Cardenas, who ended the 2025 season as the team’s third best arm in strikeouts, was taken in the MLB draft by the Marlins as well. 

However, with new faces at the helm comes new opportunities for incoming transfers. The Aztecs program welcomed in 19 new players, including a pair of unproven arms from Arizona State University. With Coach Vance’s reputation for pitching development from his time at Arizona, pitchers looking to establish themselves jumped at the opportunity to join the Aztec program. One of these transfer arms has made a claim for himself so far early on. 

Traditionally, the role of a Friday night starter is a big deal. Coming off two seasons where he barely pitched in-game at Arizona State, Rohan Lettow made the jump from the Big 12 to the Mountain West Conference and has taken the chance and run with it. Across his first three starts in an Aztecs uniform, he has gone 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA. His rate-based numbers support this, as in 16.2 innings of work, he has struck out 27 and walked only six. Opposing hitters have hit .197 against the right-hander, the best mark in the rotation thus far. How does this compare to his past collegiate numbers?

• 2024-25 at Arizona State: 6 Games (2 Starts), 10.1 IP, 15 ER, 8 K, 7 BB
• 2026 at SDSU: 3 Games (All Starts), 16.2 IP, 5 ER, 27 K, 6 BB

Lettow did not have many starting opportunities with the Sun Devils, as he only made two starts across two seasons. He took his craft to the Summer Leagues over the last two seasons, and his 2025 Summer season with the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks definitely earned him some looks from other programs. While he did not make any starts for the Sharks, Lettow appeared in 11 games and pitched to a 1.72 ERA. Facing other collegiate players from all over the country, Lettow fanned 26 hitters in 15.2 innings. The Arizona-born right-hander only allowed five hits and three walks all summer. 

Rohan Lettow (@rohan_lettow) has been lights out this summer in @TheNECBL 🔥

📍 Martha’s Vineyard Sharks (@MV_Sharks)
📊 4-0 | 1.72 ERA | 27 K’s | 16.2 IP

New team. New energy. Can’t wait to see him get to work on The Mesa. 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/rJ5ODPqy0k

— San Diego State Baseball (@AztecBaseball) August 7, 2025

This potential that he showed has carried over to San Diego State, as Lettow is off an impressive start in his junior season. During the fall workouts, Lettow led the Aztecs in whiff percentage at 37%, and his individual pitch metrics were impressive, as seen below:

Lettow’s complete arsenal has definitely played a role in his early success as a starting pitcher.

The right-hander does not bring the overpowering velocity of the much-hyped high-profile arms, as he averaged 93.2 mph on the four-seam fastball, but has been able to sequence his stuff in a way that allows him to get chases. He has also lived in the zone comfortably, as the low walk rate shows. Despite allowing four runs (three earned) in his Aztecs debut, Lettow struck out 10 batters in a 12-11 win over Long Island University.

Here’s @rohan_lettow with his tenth strikeout of the game already to end the top of the fourth. #GoAztecs. pic.twitter.com/5DYCb4u4wU

— San Diego State Baseball (@AztecBaseball) February 14, 2026

His subsequent outing saw all his tools on full display; Against BYU on February 20, Lettow also struck out 10 batters in 6.2 innings. Lettow got whiffs on 42% of swings in that game, posting a called-strike+whiff rate of 34%. It was the longest and most effective start of Lettow’s collegiate career, and also earned him Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Week honors. Lettow, for at least another week, cemented his standing as the Friday night starter.

Shout out to Rohan Lettow, who earned #MW Pitcher of the Week honors after posting his first career victory in a combined shutout of BYU when he struck out a collegiate-best 10 hitters for the second straight start. Congrats, Rohan! #GoAztecs

📰 Story: https://t.co/kpItY8nyeX pic.twitter.com/8LELBxxWE3

— San Diego State Baseball (@AztecBaseball) February 23, 2026

He followed up this statement with a quality start against Washington on February 27. Lettow pitched six innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits. He fanned seven while walking only two batters against the Huskies. It appears as though his time in Summer League allowed him to refine his approach on the mound, and he has continued to seize every opportunity presented to him thus far. 

a ✨ quality ✨ night for Lettow in Seattle 💪🏼 #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/cSu81nu0Pq

— San Diego State Baseball (@AztecBaseball) February 28, 2026

It is still way too soon to be talking MLB Draft, but to be frank, if performances like his last two starts continue to become the norm, there will be a growing chance that the Chandler, Arizona native begins to rise on draft boards. Lettow brings a mature approach on the mound, and pairs it with a deep pitch mix. Add in his sharp command thus far, and he’s got all the makings of a future pro if that is indeed the route he chooses after the season. 

If you are an Aztecs fan, get to know the name Rohan Lettow, as this first impression could be the start of something special down at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

Diego Garcia

A born and raised San Diegan, Diego Garcia is a lifetime Padres fan and self-proclaimed baseball nerd. Diego wrote about baseball on his own site between 2021-22 before joining the East Village Times team in 2024. He also posts baseball content on his YouTube channel “Stat Nerd Baseball”, creating content around trades, hypotheticals, player analyses, the San Diego Padres, and MLB as a whole.

A 2024 graduate of San Diego State, Diego aims to grow as a writer and content creator in the baseball community.