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Hoops Report: Arkansas to play Miami in ACC/SEC Challenge
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HawgBeat - Arkansas to play Miami in ACC/SEC Challenge
Arkansas will play Miami in the ACC/SEC Challenge in 2024-25.
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Head coach John Calipari and the Arkansas basketball team will travel to play at the Miami Hurricanes in the second year of the ACC/SEC Challenge during the 2024-25 season, per a report from Jon Rothstein.
The game is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec 3, and the tipoff time has yet to be released. All ACC/SEC Challenge games will be broadcast on the ESPN platforms.
Arkansas has played Miami just one time in program history on March 17, 2000, in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. The Hurricanes eliminated the Razorbacks from the postseason with a 75-71 win in Nashville.
The matchup will mark the first time the Razorbacks have played the Hurricanes at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida.
Prior to the 2022-23 season, ACC teams participated in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge for 23 years and teams from the SEC played in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge beginning in 2013.
The ACC/SEC Challenge will feature 30 games across men's and women's basketball following the addition of Texas and Oklahoma to the league. All of the 30 games this fall are set to be televised on ESPN.
Arkansas' last regular season game against an ACC team was on Nov. 29 of last year against Duke in the first year of the ACC/SEC Challenge. Arkansas secured a monumental 80-75 win over the No. 7 Blue Devils and returning forward Trevon Brazile shined with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Arkansas last played a road game against an ACC team on Nov. 25, 2019, when it faced Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Mason Jones sank a go-ahead three just before the buzzer in overtime to give the Hogs a 62-61 win over the Yellow Jackets in Eric Musselman's first season as head coach.
The Razorbacks have a 22-28 all-time record against current members of the ACC. This is the fourth conference challenge Arkansas has participated in since joining the SEC, as the Hogs also played in the SEC/Big East Invitational and beat Seton Hall in the 2010-11 season.
Miami is the third known non-conference opponent for the Hogs' upcoming season. Arkansas will also host Oakland (no date set) and it will travel to Madison Square Garden in New York City to face Michigan on Dec. 10.
The Hoop Hogs also learned their conference opponents for the 2024-25 season recently. Click here to check out who they will play home-and-home games with, who will come to Fayetteville and where the Hogs will travel.
Arkansas currently has nine scholarship players for the 2024-25 roster with the recent addition of Trevon Brazile returning. Click here for HawgBeat's Arkansas basketball roster tracker.
Hoops Arkansas' Kenny Payne: 'Our goal is to build a championship culture'
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HawgBeat - Arkansas' Kenny Payne: 'Our goal is to build a championship culture'
Arkansas basketball associate head coach Kenny Payne talks culture, goals for Razorbacks' program.
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From his time as a player under Louisville head coach Denny Crum to working for John Calipari at Kentucky, becoming an assistant for the New York Knicks and then failing to lead his alma mater Cardinals to the promised land, Arkansas associate head coach Kenny Payne has learned a thing or two about culture.
Now reunited with Calipari in Fayetteville, Payne hopes to learn from the highs and lows of his time in the world of basketball to engrain a championship-winning mindset in his Razorback players.
"When I look back over my career of just being in basketball…just being in the game, I think the foundation of what we do as basketball people is important," Payne said during his Hogs+ interview on Wednesday. "It’s important that you learn to be around great people, championship people, a culture that transcends time.
"Sort of like the Sidney Moncriefs, the Eddie Suttons, when you grow up in that time and you learn that foundation, it lasts forever. The basketball nuances of the game change, but the core of how you win, how you win championships, how you play together, how you teach togetherness, how you teach character, that stays the same."
RELATED: Arkansas Basketball 2024-25 Roster Tracker
Members of the fifth-ranked high school and highly-regarded transfer portal recruiting class have already begun reporting to campus for the Hoop Hogs, but that's only the first step in what will be a program-defining next few months for Payne and Arkansas.
"Over the last couple of days, a couple of guys have straggled in a little bit getting ready to start summer school," Payne said. "We're hoping by the end of this week, the beginning of next week, we have everybody here and we can start getting the guys acclimated medically, workouts, A to Z, so we can start the path of bringing a championship culture. That's the goal."
Headlined by transfers Johnell Davis and Jonas Aidoo and high school prospects Boogie Fland and Karter Knox (among others), Arkansas has an undeniable level of talent on its roster. The question, according to Payne, is if the group can become a cohesive unit aligned for 'one common goal.'
“I think we’ve got a good group of guys," Payne said. "Very talented. The goal with this group is not for them to think individually, but to think collectively. The best offensive teams are going to be the best passing teams, and they have to pass the ball to each other. The best defensive teams have to guard their man and one other, and they’ve all got to be on the same page and the chemistry has to be unbelievable to be a great defensive team.
"In order to do that, it’s not about the individual, it has to be about the group. It has to be one common goal: to possession by possession get stops, possession by possession run good offense, share the ball, take good shots. You do that, you give yourself a chance to win...our goal is to build a championship culture”
RELATED: Report - Arkansas to host Oakland for 2024-25 non-conference matchup
The transfer portal era of college athletics has introduced a "me-first" mentality around the country, a hurdle not so easily made by inexperienced coaches.
But Payne has been there, he's done that. No, not always in a successful fashion, but enough to earn the respect of his players. Enough to understand how to bring talented athletes with goals of their own together for one purpose: to win the final game of the season.
"Everybody in this society wants microwavable success," Payne said. "We need to nip that in the bud early. We need to say, ‘We’re building something, we’re not just trying to put it in the microwave and have it ready today.'"
"Every day Coach Cal was talking about that, and in order to build that culture, character matters. Truth-telling matters. It can’t just be about today, it’s about working today to master today so that in April, we’re playing in that last game."
Baseball Diamond Hawgs Podcast - Arkansas Baseball Offseason Update No. 1
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The latest on DL Xavier Ukponu…
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Rivals.com - Vision becoming clearer for Texas DL Xavier Ukponu following Arkansas visit
After a strong visit, the Razorbacks have increased their status among the top programs in the race for Xavier Ukponu
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Baseball Arkansas freshman pitcher Colin Fisher to have season-ending surgery
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HawgBeat - Arkansas freshman pitcher Colin Fisher to have season-ending surgery
Arkansas freshman left-handed pitcher Colin Fisher will have season-ending surgery Monday.
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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas freshman left-handed pitcher Colin Fisher will have season-ending surgery Monday, head coach Dave Van Horn revealed at his final Swatter's Club luncheon of the season.
After the initial MRI, the hope is that Fisher will not need Tommy John to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), but they won't know for sure until Fisher goes into surgery at 3 p.m. CT Monday.
"He'll be done for the year," Van Horn said. "We don't know if he's going to get what's called an internal brace, which means it's not Tommy John. It just means that there's a little bit of an issue there and it's a lot lets recovery time. We're hoping that's the case.
"That's what all the doctors think — our doctors, doctors that are with big league teams that have looked at his MRIs — That's what they're seeing. When they get in there and if it's torn, they'll do Tommy John surgery and he won't be back for a year."
The news comes after Fisher hasn't pitched since April 17 against Texas Tech. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound freshman from Noble, Oklahoma, had a promising first season with a 6-1 record and 1.96 ERA in 23.0 innings pitched. Fisher struck out 24 batters and walked seven while allowing just five earned runs on 18 hits.
Van Horn mentioned that a doctor he spoke to said the injury shows sign of being an old injury, potentially from before Fisher's time with the Hogs.
"It’s been bothering him, I guess, a little bit," Van Horn said. "We didn’t really know. Kind of had some soreness and then we gave him some time off. And then we’d pitch him and he was sore again and you’re kind of like okay, we’ve got to see if there is something going on in there."
If they do get good news that Fisher won't require Tommy John surgery, Van Horn said the big left-hander could be ready to go by Christmas this year. If Tommy John surgery is required, the recovery will be much longer.
As for now, Fisher is keeping his spirits high and supporting the Razorbacks, who are ranked fifth nationally by D1Baseball after a series loss at Kentucky over the weekend.
"Been taking him on all the trips, he’s been great," Van Horn said. "Bouncing around, I think he’s just ready to get it healthy and be ready for next year."
Arkansas will host No. 14 Mississippi State at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville this weekend from a series from Friday-Sunday. First pitch Friday is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed live on SEC Network+.
Hoops Kenny Payne dives deep into player relationships, buy-in at Arkansas
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HawgBeat - Kenny Payne dives deep into player relationships, buy-in at Arkansas
Arkansas basketball associate head coach Kenny Payne talks player relationships and the process of buy-in.
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Arkansas associate head coach Kenny Payne — also known as the "Big Man Whisperer" — has instructed his fair share of talented players in 20 years of coaching. Names like Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns didn't reach the NBA on skill alone, but because they bought into what Payne was selling: honesty and buy-in.
In a college basketball world where even the best teams are littered with new faces and personalities every season due to the transfer portal, ensuring cohesiveness amongst teammates is as important as teaching technique.
This holds especially true for the Razorbacks, whose scholarship roster is entirely comprised of players who have never donned an Arkansas uniform. Though chemistry is a concern, Payne and head coach John Calipari have a proven reputation for bringing athletes together with love.
RELATED: Arkansas' Kenny Payne: 'Our goal is to build a championship culture'
“When you coach with love, it’s different," Payne said during a Hogs+ interview on Wednesday. "It transcends coaching basketball. When you’re coaching someone with love, it’s timeless. Meaning, when you know that you love them, why you’re in their life and you’re not just there for today or tomorrow, you’re there for the rest of their lives. The indicator of that is when a Coach Cal leaves Kentucky and comes here, the support from his former players. It says a lot about what he’s doing."
Fans of the Razorbacks have seen what happens when a team built from the transfer portal fails to gel together. The 2023-24 campaign was one with high expectations under former head coach Eric Musselman, but even he — the portal "guru" — could never stabilize the roster en route to a 16-17 overall season.
That's why Payne and the rest of the new Arkansas coaching staff find it so important to mold a team together with players who understand their roles and know what's expected of them.
“If these are transactional relationships, they’re not going to work," Payne said. "They’re not. These have to be genuine, honest, forthcoming, truth-telling relationships built on love. If it’s one-sided, just for Arkansas to win and the kid not to reach his dreams, then it’s one-sided.
"If it’s just for the kids to reach his dreams and Arkansas not to win, then it’s one-sided. It has to be a mutual respect and combination of both people getting what they want and a commitment from both sides.”
But how does that process actually work? How does Payne — or any coach for that matter — successfully convince young adults to buy in to the process so they exceed when the lights are brightest?
“In order to get young people to buy into being prepared for those moments, you have to fall in love with the process," Payne said. "If it’s just about the game, you’ll get overwhelmed. If it’s about the process… I’m training today knowing that when we play Alabama, it’s going to be full. They’re going to be yelling and screaming.
"You have to be locked into your job and doing your job. So the process of how we train, the process of how we think, the process of doing it together in hostile environments, and especially here’s the last piece to it — when there is adversity, when they go on a run and there’s four minutes to go in the game, are we going to panic? Or are we going to come together and be close?"
RELATED: Arkansas Basketball 2024-25 Roster Tracker
The next few months are vital for the Arkansas basketball program. Getting off to a hot start under Calipari's new regime in Fayetteville will go a long way in legitimizing the Razorbacks as a powerhouse contender year in and year out, and it all starts with Payne's process of honesty, bonding and buy-in.
"Those things we teach early, and you have to teach them early because in some cases with new teams and with new players, they’ve never seen it before," Payne said. "A lot of this game is built on your mental approach. Not just about your skill and your talent, but how you mentally digest hard things at hard times.”
FB Recruiting Newly-offered OL has high praise for Arkansas staff
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HawgBeat - Newly-offered OL has high praise for Arkansas staff
2026 Lakeside offensive lineman Tucker Young had plenty of praise for Arkansas coaches after receiving an offer.
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After watching 2026 offensive lineman Tucker Young at Wednesday's high school camp in Fayetteville, the Arkansas coaching staff made the in-state prospect's dreams come true with a scholarship offer to play for the Razorbacks.
It's been an exciting 24 hours for the Lakeside High School product, as Young also added an offer from the Memphis Tigers on Wednesday. The chance to play for his home-state Hogs might mean a little more, though.
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Standing at around 6 feet 4.5 inches tall and weighing in at 300 pounds, Young told HawgBeat his ability to move well at his size is what continues to stand out in his game.
"They like that I'm 300 pounds and I can move good," Young said. "I know how to rotate my hips and I'm just athletic for how big I am."
Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman and offensive line coach Eric Mateos were familiar with Young, who camped in Fayetteville last June and also visited this spring on April 12 for a practice and April 13 for the Red-White Spring Game.
Memphis offered Young after Wednesday's camp, and Arkansas special teams coordinator Scott Fountain told Young after the camp that the Hogs would be in touch.
"They contacted me after camp and told me that I did great and they were going to contact me today, and then they gave me the offer," Young said.
Offensive line coach Eric Mateos is the one who made the call to Young on Thursday to offer him a scholarship. The first-year position coach continues to prove that he can get the job done on the recruiting trail before he's even coached in an actual game with Arkansas.
"He's great," Young said. "He's the best lineman coach I've ever been around out of all the colleges I've ever been to camp to and talked to. He's a great coach."
As an in-state recruit, Young has grown up a fan of Arkansas football. He told HawgBeat that he's always been fond of the Razorbacks' linebackers, specifically former walk-on and fan-favorite Grant Morgan, who played for the Hogs from 2016-21.
Young is familiar with current players, also, including left tackle Fernando Carmona Jr., who transferred in from San Jose State over the offseason.
"I think he'll be great this year, too," Young said of Carmona. "He's a great dude."
The plan is for Young to stay at Lakeside in Hot Springs throughout his high school career, and he told HawgBeat that he doesn't have any current plans for camps and visits in the near future.
"I'm not sure yet," Young said. "I've still got to think about all that since I just got this offer. I'm just not sure about what I'm going to do after this."
Baseball Arkansas to host TCU transfer outfielder Logan Maxwell
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HawgBeat - Arkansas to host TCU transfer outfielder Logan Maxwell
Arkansas baseball is set to host TCU transfer outfielder Logan Maxwell for a visit.
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The Arkansas baseball team is well on its way to adding its first transfer portal splash, as HawgBeat can confirm that TCU outfielder Logan Maxwell will be visiting Fayetteville next Wednesday.
A 5-foot-10, 185-pound soon-to-be senior, Maxwell finished the 2024 season with TCU's second-highest batting average at .335. He added 12 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 25 RBIs across 170 at-bats.
What he lacks in sheer power he more than makes up for with his vision at the plate, as he had an outstanding 10.8 K% this season according to D1Baseball. That resulted in a 30-to-23 walk-to-strikeout ratio, something the Hogs could use desperately in their lineup. Maxwell was also 10-for-12 on stolen base attempts.
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Head coach Dave Van Horn and the Razorbacks are currently projected to lose outfielders Peyton Holt, Ty Wilmsmeyer and Kendall Diggs, so landing talented replacements is at the top of the priority list for Arkansas.
"We’ve lost our complete outfield again," Van Horn said on Sunday. "They’ll all be gone. Going to lose your second baseman. I don’t think the first baseman will be back. Starting catcher’s gone. Starting third baseman graduates."
Maxwell fits that need perfectly, as the Ohio native has only made one error in three seasons on the baseball diamond. He played primarily in left field for the Horned Frogs during the 2024 campaign.
According to 64analytics, Maxwell is ranked as the 13th best player in the transfer portal. His best series performance came against at Baylor, when he finished 8-for-14 (.571) at the plate with four RBIs. That series also included his season-high in hits for a single game (five).
Should he join the Diamond Hogs, it wouldn't be the first time he's played at Baum-Walker Stadium. During the Fayetteville Regional in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, Maxwell appeared in both games but didn't record a hit in two at-bats.
The Razorbacks will be busy in the transfer portal market across the coming weeks, so be sure to follow along at The Trough premium message board for updates on all the offseason action.
Baseball Gabe Gaeckle picks up second Freshman All-America honor
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HawgBeat - Gabe Gaeckle picks up second Freshman All-America honor
Arkansas freshman phenom Gabe Gaeckle has earned more postseason honors as an All-American.
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Following a stellar freshman season as Arkansas' closer, right-handed pitcher Gabe Gaeckle has picked up two Freshman All-America honors from multiple publications.
Perfect Game and the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCWBA) both named Gaeckle to their All-American teams, with Perfect Game making him a first-teamer and the NCBWA giving him second-team honors.
A product of Aptos, California, Gaeckle led the Razorbacks this spring with seven saves — six of which were multi-innings — and he posted a 2.32 ERA with 57 strikeouts compared to just 19 walks in 42.2 innings pitched.
"He comes into the game with a little bit of calmness to him and I think he’s probably calm because he knows how good his stuff is," Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said April 19. "He trusts it and he just attacks. They have to figure out how to hit a pitch that’s 96-97 and he dumps a slider in there. He’s got a really good changeup that lefties have a lot of trouble with. He’s confident. He’s good."
Van Horn had that to say about Gaeckle after he tossed 2.2 innings of scoreless relief with five strikeouts, one walk and one hit allowed on the road at South Carolina.
Gaeckle's final appearance of his freshman season came in a 17-9 win over Southeast Missouri State to open up Fayetteville Regional play May 31. A 20th round selection by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2023 MLB Draft, Gaeckle struck out six against SEMO and walked three across three innings of one-run ball.
"I think he was doing a good job of changing eye sights," SEMO head coach Andy Sawyers said postgame. "He has that high RPM fastball, a really sharp slider and a slower curveball too. He was able to change speeds and change eye sights. That can make you a little uneven in the box.”
Arkansas communications pointed out that Gaeckle is the fifth Razorback freshman pitcher to total five or more saves in a season since head coach Dave Van Horn's first year at the helm in 2003.
Gaeckle was also named Freshman All-SEC by the league's coaches after he posted a 2-1 record with a 1.59 ERA, 26 strikeouts and three saves in 22.2 innings over 12 appearances. The 6-foot-0, 195-pound righty also has received an invite to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp.