re: *2024 ARKANSAS RAZORBACK SEC BASEBALL SEASON DONE* FIRE SOMEONE*

From D1 a few days ago. Not that anyone really needs anything else to be excited about baseball:

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2024 SEC Preseason Snapshot: Arkansas
SEC EXTRA D1Baseball Staff - February 11, 2024
Before we get too far, let’s get one thing out of the way. It’s understandable that the Arkansas faithful are itching for a national title. When you’re just steps away from the summit time after time, you get increasingly frustrated with not being able to actually reach the summit.

But setting that aside, the reality is that there’s no more sure thing in the SEC right now than Arkansas finishing at or near the top of the SEC West and going into June as a very real threat to reach the College World Series.

Since 2017, the Razorbacks have gone no worse than 18-12 in SEC play in any season. They’ve been to Omaha three times in those six seasons. They’ve hosted a regional at Baum-Walker Stadium five times in six seasons, and the one time they didn’t (2022) was one of the years they made it to the CWS.

You can credit that consistency to a lot of different things. Continuity is certainly one of them, and not just Dave Van Horn, who has been the head coach since the 2003 season. Hitting coach and recruiting coordinator Nate Thompson is going into his seventh season in that position and pitching coach Matt Hobbs is going into this sixth. Third assistant Bobby Wernes is only entering his fourth season on the staff, but he also played for Van Horn in 2014 and 2015.

Arkansas also has an uncanny knack for working around personnel deficiencies and injuries. It doesn’t seem to matter what’s thrown at them; they just make it work. Last season, the pitching injuries started before the season when Jaxon Wiggins was lost for the year due to Tommy John surgery and the injuries never really stopped, but there Arkansas was, hosting a regional in the end.

In the prior year, projected ace Peyton Pallette was also lost to Tommy John in January, but a bounce back season from Connor Noland mitigated that injury and helped the team to Omaha. And speaking of Noland, he missed most of the 2021 season due to a forearm injury, but that team was the best team in college baseball during the regular season thanks to catching lightning in a bottle with Kevin Kopps’ career year and Patrick Wicklander developing into an ace.

Then there’s the magic touch the Razorbacks seem to have in finding undervalued assets in the transfer portal who become cornerstones. Players like Trevor Ezell, Cullen Smith, Michael Turner, Chris Lanzilli, Tavian Josenberger, Jared Wegner and Jace Bohrofen weren’t among the sexiest names in the portal in those respective offseasons, but all of them were essential parts of the lineup when it was all said and done.

It’s easy to see how the 2024 team will follow a familiar pattern. It’s going to lean on a whole host of transfers like Hudson White, Jack Wagner, Wehiwa Aloy and Ty Wilmsmeyer in the lineup, and while it has already lost highly-regarded freshman pitcher Hunter Dietz to injury, it on paper has more than enough pitching depth to withstand the inevitable nicked up pitcher or two.

If the pattern truly holds, that will be enough to put the Razorbacks in position to end their season in Omaha once again.

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Storylines to Follow
Is this the year? – Arkansas tied for the SEC regular-season title with Florida last year, but instead of a College World Series showdown with the Gators, it was LSU that took the big stage. Short on pitching, Arkansas lost at home to TCU in a home regional. The Hogs have certainly had teams capable of bringing home the final trophy and came about as close as possible to the title in 2018. Can this be the year? With an accomplished coaching staff, a stacked group of pitchers, a solid mix of veterans and newcomers positionally, and one of the best home field advantages in the sport, Arkansas is poised for a title run. You have to think Dave Van Horn will win the big trophy at some point … is this the year?

Lots of arms – Last season, the Razorbacks had the front-line pitching but lacked depth. They should still have the top of the staff to match up with anyone, but there are more options to turn to this spring. It all starts with Hagen Smith, who was pitching at 100 mph this fall with a plus split and slider. He’s joined by righthanders Brady Tygart and Mason Molina, both of whom would be the ace on most staffs. Returnees Will McEntire, Ben Bybee, Parker Coil, and Gage Wood have improved from last season. Add in heralded freshman Gabe Gaeckle and you have a group that could storm its way out of a potential losers’ bracket if push comes to shove.

Freshmen influx – Arkansas brought in the nation’s top-ranked freshman class. We mentioned Gaeckle, but another newbie to watch is catcher Ryder Helfrick. Competing with Texas Tech transfer Hudson White for time behind the dish, Helfrick has the look of the next great homegrown Hog.

Transfer hitters – Arkansas filled some gaps from departures like Jace Bohrofen, Jared Wagner, and Tavian Josenberger with impact transfers like shortstop Wehiwa Aloy (Sacramento State), first baseman Jack Wagner (Tarleton State), outfielder Ty Wilmsmeyer (Missouri), and the aforementioned White. Add in infielder Jared Sprague-Lott (Richmond) and outfielder Will Edmunson (Hutchinson CC), and you have a deep squad with lineup flexibility.

Veteran bats – Those newcomers will join a group of returning players that will lead the Razorbacks into the SEC tussles. Second baseman Peyton Stovall could lead off. Outfielder Kendall Diggs could bat three-hole. Ben McLaughlin could open the season as the DH, and third baseman Peyton Holt, who batted .390 last season, is going to have a key role.

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Things could go right if: The combination of the pitching staff living up to lofty expectations and a lineup that once again fills in its holes seamlessly puts the Razorbacks in position to compete for a national title.

Things could go wrong if: Injuries or uneven performance create a situation where Arkansas’ pitching staff is not as deep as it looks now, putting added pressure on a lineup that can carry a heavy load often but not often enough for the club to be in the upper echelon of championship contenders.

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Anonymous Coach Scouting Report

“I think they are a well-oiled machine, including coaching and environment. I think they’ve got it going as well as anyone right now.”

“They are certainly talented. They have a number one in Hagen Smith who is going to be able to match up with anybody. They are heavy in the portal, with (Aloy) from the West Coast.”

“For me, I know their roster is really talented, but you can just mark it down every year that Dave’s team is going to be really good. They are going to be competitive on the mound. Offensively, they are going to be really good.”

“It’s just one of those trademarks in our league that Arkansas is going to be very competitive. It doesn’t matter if they are ultra-talented like they are this year or if their roster is not quite as good. It doesn’t matter.”

“I think the west is gonna be extremely tough, I think Arkansas or Texas A&M is the team to win it all.”

“They bring in Mason Molina to help the staff. They can hit, they can play defense, and they can pitch. I mean, this is the Dave, go get it (year). It’s their year.”

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