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The Arkansas baseball team brought in one of the nation's best transfer portal classes, especially on the mound, plus they added a handful of highly-touted freshmen that they managed to get to campus.
All of those new additions, paired with returning talent, will make it hard for some dark horse contributors to break through, but one freshmen did about as much as he could during the fall.
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Freshman outfielder Brenton Clark put together enough strong performances at the plate that he was often part of the scrimmage squad that head coach Dave Van Horn stacked with potential starters.
The 6-foot-0, 185-pounder out of Pleasant Grove High School in Texarkana, Texas, put his name squarely in the conversation for competition in the outfield. Clark was rated by Perfect Game as the No. 32 prospect and No. 6 outfielder in Texas for the 2024 recruiting class.
According to stats compiled by local media, Clark logged 34 at bats in the fall and he had a team-high 16 hits with two doubles, three home runs, 12 RBIs and five stolen bases.
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"He finished up summer ball out in a tournament in New Mexico and he was, like, I’m going to guess, but like, 13 for 19 in that tournament out there," Van Horn said Oct. 4. "Pretty impressive. He came in here and he just kept getting hits. I think he started off here 8 for 10 or 8 for 12. So I’ve seen a lot. He plays pretty good defense, he can steal a base, he can bunt. Still young. We’ll see what happens."
Clark's first two at bats Sept. 6, which are
believed to be his first live at bats of the fall, resulted in a pair of home runs. One week later, he was a
triple shy of the cycle in a Sept. 13 scrimmage at Baum-Walker Stadium.
During the Oct. 4 annual Fall Classic intrasquad scrimmage, Clark was with the squad that featured players expected to be starters. He was held hitless with two strikeouts in the contest.
ALSO READ: Arkansas returns intriguing group of second-year pitchers
"I always tell the guys, I don’t care how old you are or what year you are, if you’re earned a spot to start, either a walk-on or a scholarship kid or whatever, it doesn’t matter to us," head coach Dave Van Horn said Oct. 4. "I’ve got to stand behind that, and he’s .450 or .500 going into tonight. So I thought he deserved a chance to play on that team tonight.
"He’s had a good fall. He’s been a tough out, gotten a lot of two-strike hits. He’s hit some home runs. I think he had a game this year where he had four or five hits and got on a little roll there."
The Razorbacks added three outfielders — Rocci Peppi, Logan Maxwell and Charles Davalan — via the transfer portal, plus JUCO transfer Justin Thomas Jr. is right in the mix to start, as well. Throw in veteran Kendall Diggs, and Clark has a lot to prove before play begins Friday, Feb. 14, against Washington State at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.
"Yeah, really the guys that were really impressive in the fall in the outfield was Charles Davalan," Van Horn said Wednesday. "He had an incredible fall, and then he got big and strong in the weight room. Lot of personality, great attitude, and then Logan Maxwell. Put on about, I don’t know, 12, 15 pounds since he’s been here. Getting strong. Hitting for a lot more power, but he still is just a really good hitter.
"You watch our batting practice, he squares up almost everything that comes his way. So there’s two right there. We’ll see how it goes with the other spot. Peppi was injured. We’ve got him working a little bit at first base. You know, he was an infielder coming out of high school. DH, first base, you know, and then Kendall (Diggs)."
