The Arkansas baseball team has received a big-time commitment from East Carolina left-handed pitcher Zach Root, who announced his pledge to the Razorbacks on Monday.
A 6-foot-1, 186-pound soon-to-be junior, Root finished the 2024 season with a 3.56 ERA in 68.1 innings. In 13 appearances and 12 starts, the Florida native struck out 76 batters, walked 21 hitters and held opponents to a .228 batting average.
Root's season-high on the mound came against Elon on March 8, when he tossed five innings of shutout baseball with three strikeouts. Root's highest strikeout performance was against Tulane on May 28, when he totaled six in four innings of work.
As a freshman in 2023, Root recorded a 5.53 ERA in 13 appearances out of the bullpen. He racked up 54 strikeouts, 27 walks and 53 hits in 53.2 innings while also acquiring a save.
According to 64analytics, Root is the 2nd-best player in the transfer portal. He is the 10th Division I transfer to commit to Arkansas, joining fellow commits Landon Beidelschies (Ohio State), Rocco Peppi (Fresno State), Aiden Jimenez (Oregon State), Michael Anderson (Rhode Island), Charles Davalan (FGCU), Carson Hansen (Milwaukee), Maximus Martin (Georgia State), Logan Maxwell (TCU) and Kuhio Aloy (BYU).
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