Arkansas junior catcher Hudson White was selected 267th overall by the Boston Red Sox in the ninth round of the 2024 MLB Draft on Monday. White joins Michael Turner (2022), Casey Opitz (2021) and Charlie Welch (2021) as Razorback catchers to be drafted since 2020.
White is the fifth Arkansas player to be selected in the 2024 draft so far. He joins Hagen Smith (5th overall to White Sox), Peyton Stovall (117th to Reds), Mason Molina (215th to Brewers) and Jared Sprague-Lott (256th to Athletics).
As a transfer from Texas Tech, White slashed .297/.396/.525 with 47 hits, 12 doubles, eight home runs, 33 runs batted in, 23 walks and 28 strikeouts in 2024. The Keller, Texas, native posted a .994 fielding percentage with three errors and he caught four runners stealing from behind the plate.
After a slow start to the year, White was the Razorbacks' best hitter during SEC play. He slashed .330/.410/.534 in league play and he logged five of his homers with 16 RBIs across 24 total starts.
White ended the season with 16-game hitting streak that saw him mash seven home runs with 21 RBIs. During that streak, he logged seven multi-hit games.
"His swing’s so much freer... we felt like he had his hands too far back," Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said of White on May 12. "You’ve got to relax your hands to get more whip. I could go through hitting terminology, but he just seemed a little stiff. I know Coach (Nate Thompson) and him have worked a lot. It just seemed so much looser and freer and quicker now."
Prior to his time at Arkansas, White was the 2022 Big 12 Freshman of the Year after he batted with a .260 average, 11 doubles, six homers and 40 RBIs. He was also named an All-Big 12 honorable mention in 2023 after he slashed .296/.397/.550 with 11 home runs and 49 RBIs.
The projected pick value for White is approximately $194,600, according to the official MLB Draft tracker.
The Razorbacks have now had at least one affiliated player taken in every MLB Draft since 1975. Arkansas’ streak of 50 years is tied with Auburn - assuming it has a player drafted - for the second longest active streak in the SEC.
