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Fayetteville Super Regional preview: Tennessee Volunteers
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The Arkansas Razorbacks (46-13) are set to host the Fayetteville Super Regional as the No. 3 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament against the 14-seed and defending national champion Tennessee Volunteers (46-17) in a best-of-three series.
Arkansas rebounded from a 10-7 loss in the opening game of the regular season series finale against the Vols to take Game Two 8-6 and Game Three 8-4.
Since dropping that series, Tennessee took down Alabama and Texas in the SEC Tournament before eventual SEC champion Vanderbilt mercifully eliminated the Vols in the semifinal round 10-0 in seven innings.
In the Knoxville Regional, the Vols advanced to the final round against Wake Forrest by defeating Miami (Ohio) and Cincinnati. The Demon Deacons walked a runner home with the bases loaded in the ninth to survive 7-6 on Sunday and force the winner-take-all Monday showdown.
The Vols overcame an early two-run deficit, putting a seven-spot on the board in the fourth inning to roll on to an 11-5 triumph and their fifth consecutive Super Regional.
Tennessee ace and SEC Pitcher of the Year Liam Doyle had his worst outing of the season against Arkansas on May 16, as the Hogs tagged the likely top-10 pick in next month's MLB Draft for a season-high 11 hits and six earned runs.
After another tough showing against Texas (3.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER) in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament, Doyle came back into form during regional play.
Against Miami (Ohio) in the opening game, Doyle struck out 11 batters while only surrendering one run and four hits in 6.2 innings, then shut the door on Wake Forrest Monday in 2.1 innings of relief.
Doyle headlines a deep pitching arsenal the Vols have at their disposal and first baseman Andrew Fischer, arguably the hardest out in the country, leads a powerful batting order.
Fischer and middle infielder Gavin Kilen, who each were selected first-team all SEC, have been red hot at the top of the lineup. Senior outfielder Hunter Ensley was named to the All-SEC second team as well as the All-Defensive squad.
Tennessee eighth-year head coach, and former Razorback assistant from 2014-2017, Tony Vitello has never won a series against Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn and has a 2-11 overall record against his former boss.
Arkansas and Tennessee will play the first game of the Fayetteville Super Regional on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville and it will be aired on ESPN. Game Two is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. CT on ESPN and Monday's 'if necessary' game is TBD.
Below is a comparison of Arkansas and Tennessee's stats, as well as a look at the projected starting lineup and noteworthy pitchers for the Volunteers.
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Arkansas vs. Ole Miss (Fayetteville Super Regional Game 2)
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Going ahead and posting game thread for tonight's 8:00 start, I'm calling my last state championship at 6 so I'll hop on here when I get home.
I imagine @jegreenwood can hold the fort again
I imagine @jegreenwood can hold the fort again
FB Recruiting 2026 four-star linebacker commits to Arkansas
- By DanielFair
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Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman made a splash on the recruiting trail on Monday as four-star linebacker Daylen Green announced his commitment to the Razorbacks.
Green, a native of Quincy, Florida, made his decision public with a post on his X account.
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Arkansas got in on Green’s recruitment in January and extended the offer to him on Jan. 30. He also reported offers from Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Florida State and others.
Green is fresh off an official visit to Fayetteville and was in town last week. The close-up look at Arkansas was enough to convince him to commit.
With Green’s commitment, Arkansas now sits at 18 pledges in the class of 2026, which ranks No. 14 in the nation and fourth in the SEC.
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FB Recruiting 2026 in-state receiver commits to Arkansas
- By DanielFair
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The second commitment of the day has come in for the Arkansas Razorbacks, as wide receiver Blair Irvin III out of Bentonville announced his pledge to the Hogs.
Irvin is fresh off an official visit to Fayetteville, and made his announcement public on his X account on Monday.
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Irvin has nine offers from Division I programs according to his Rivals profile, and he chose the Hogs over offers from Kansas State, South Florida, Minnesota, Purdue and others.
With Irvin’s commitment, Arkansas has grabbed two wide receivers out of Bentonville in the last three cycles. Irvin joins C.J. Brown (class of 2024) as Arkansas commits from roughly 20 minutes up the road from Fayetteville.
Arkansas now has 19 total commitments in the class of 2026, which ranks No. 14 in the nation and fourth in the SEC.
Hoops SEC Basketball offseason power rankings, version 1
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SEC basketball offseason power rankings (Volume 1)
HawgBeat analyst Jackson Collier lists a power ranking for SEC basketball programs in the offseason
The deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft has passed, players have moved to their new campuses, teams have started offseason workouts, and it seems, for the most part, rosters are set, barring any last minute additions from the European ranks.
After some surprise retention with players withdrawing from the NBA Draft, continuous elite recruiting in the conference, and some late splash additions, the SEC is poised yet again to be the top conference in college basketball.
With those expectations, though, it is difficult to judge which teams will be near the top of the league, which will be towards the bottom, and exactly how the middle fills out.
Coaches make general assumptions easier.
Alabama head coach Nate Oats will most likely have a team in the top-half of the league, along with Rick Barnes (Tennessee), John Calipari (Arkansas), Bruce Pearl (Auburn), and Chris Beard (Ole Miss). Outside of that group of coaches, assumptions and confidence are few and far between, and preseason rankings and season expectations are due in large part to retention and recruiting.
So, who is the favorite in the SEC at this point of the offseason? Who will be fighting for an NCAA Tournament bid? Who might be looking for a new coach after next season?
HawgBeat has you covered with the first version of the offseason power rankings. This is NOT a predicted order of finish for the SEC next season.
Since everyone has a different idea of what power rankings are, the criteria for this list is as follows, weighted equally: (1) Roster retention, (2) Recruiting rankings, (3) portal additions, (4) recent coaching prowess/experience/success, and (5) starting lineups.
Let's jump into it.
1) Florida
Projected Starters:G - Xavian Lee
G - Boogie Fland
F - Thomas Haugh
F - Alex Condon
C - Reuben Chinyelu
Key Rotation:
Micah Handlogten, Isaiah Brown, Alex Lloyd, Urban Klavzar
Brief summary:
The defending national champions return their frontcourt, but replace most of the backcourt contributors. How that affects the frontcourt remains to be seen, but common concern about this Gators team will be that the backcourt took a step back from last year's. The frontcourt is one of the best, if not the best in the country, though, and because of that, plus retention and coming off winning it all, it makes sense to have them No. 1 for now.
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Football Arkansas football lands in Top 25 of ESPN FPI
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The ESPN Football Power Index rankings were released on Tuesday morning, and Arkansas found itself in the Top 25.
Arkansas is ranked No. 22 nationally with an FPI of 10.8. Despite the ranking, the Razorbacks are No. 12 in the Southeastern Conference in FPI. The top three spots are claimed by SEC teams with Texas at No. 1, Georgia at No. 2 and Alabama at No. 3.
The Football Power Index is a computer-based ranking system that, according to the ESPN website, is "meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season."
Along with the power index, ESPN has Arkansas at a 63.5% chance to win at least six games and get bowl-eligible. There's a 0.5% chance the Hogs win the SEC, an 8.2% chance they make the College Football Playoff and a 0.3% chance they win the National Championship.
Arkansas finished the season with an even 6-6 record before it beat Texas Tech 39-26 in the Liberty Bowl to finish with a 7-6 record.
The Hogs will return both defensive coordinator Travis Williams and offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino next season. In Petrino's first season, he had the Razorbacks' offense at sixth in the SEC in scoring at 30.92 points per game. Williams had his hands full, however, as the Hogs finished second-to-last in the SEC in scoring defense, with teams scoring an average of 25 points per game.
Next year's schedule will prove to be much tougher than last, though. The Hogs will hit the road for matchups with Texas, Tennessee and Ole Miss, and will also host the National Championship runner-up with Notre Dame coming to town.
Arkansas will begin fall camp around the beginning of August in preparation for the start of the season, which is against Alabama A&M on Aug. 30. Kickoff is set for 3:15 p.m. CT and the game will air on the SEC Network.