HawgBeat - Can Arkansas return to College World Series in 2024?
Is this finally the year? HawgBeat gives the reasons why the Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team can win a title in 2024.
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Arkansas has checked off almost every notable achievement in its recent dominant run under head coach Dave Van Horn. Six-straight 40+ win seasons? Check. Multiple SEC championships? Check. Golden Spikes Award Winner? Check.
Only one thing remains for this Razorbacks’ program to reach the upper echelon of college baseball’s elite: a national championship.
Ranked by D1 Baseball as the No. 3 overall team in the nation ahead of the season, Arkansas has everything on paper for another run to Omaha. Returning All-American starters, a highly-ranked group of transfers and the second-best high school recruiting class according to Perfect Game gives fans hope that this is finally the year to seal the deal.
Here’s why Van Horn and the Hogs have what it takes to win the first national championship in program history.
Good morning, good afternoon, good night
In the same tune that defense wins championships in football and basketball, pitching is what sets teams apart in baseball.
Year after year, some of the best pitching performances of the season come during the College World Series in Omaha. Arkansas has been a victim of it, most notably to RHP Kevin Abel in game three of the 2018 championship against Oregon State and then again in 2022 when Ole Miss RHP Dylan DeLucia threw nine scoreless innings against the Hogs one game short of the finals.
Fortunately for the Razorbacks, the script is about to flip. Loaded with three potential staff aces in LHP Hagen Smith, RHP Brady Tygart and LHP Mason Molina, Arkansas can match up against anyone in the country on any given weekend.
"It starts with Hagen Smith," Van Horn said. "Then you could run over to Brady Tygart. I think his stuff’s better than ever. We’ve just got to keep him healthy. He’s gotten so much stronger in the last five months, it’s been fun watching it. And then we also have a transfer in Mason Molina from Texas Tech. His numbers were really good. He walked too many batters this fall but we didn’t hit him at all. He gave up maybe one or two hard hits all fall."
The pitching talent doesn't stop there, though. Headlined by returnees RHP Will McEntire, RHP Koty Frank, RHP Gage Wood, RHP Ben Bybee and more, the bullpen is stacked with depth that can bridge games, close them or even start in a tournament setting.
Add in future MLB draft candidate freshmen like RHP Gabe Gaeckle, RHP Tate McGuire and LHP Hunter Dietz, and Arkansas absolutely has an argument for the best top-to-bottom pitching staff in the country.
"You could throw in a guy like Ben Bybee has really made a move," Van Horn said. "He gave up some home runs this fall but also was also dominant every now and then. We’re just talking starting pitching, you could throw in Gabe Gaeckle as a freshman, Tate McGuire as a freshman, Hunter Dietz as a freshman.
"I don’t talk about freshmen a whole lot but those guys are going to pitch a lot. And I know I’m leaving out some guys like veterans. Will McEntire, I think his game is gonna be out of the bullpen. Obviously if they’re not starting they’re going to be pitching somewhere for us."
Note: Arkansas freshman left-handed pitcher Hunter Dietz had a minor procedure done after fall ball and he is unlikely to be available for the start of the 2024 season, a source told HawgBeat.
RELATED: LHP Mason Molina primed for big year with Arkansas
Breakout batters galore
Chicks may dig the long ball, but the 2024 version of the Sooieville Sluggers will likely lean towards a high-batting average approach when attacking opposing pitching staffs.
That's not to say that Arkansas won't hit any home runs, though. Returnees Kendall Diggs, Jayson Jones, Peyton Holt, Ben McLaughlin and Peyton Stovall all have the bat talent to square up some baseballs over the fence.
"Kendall Diggs is our starting right fielder," Van Horn said. "He played longer than anybody this summer. Another guy we didn’t play out there much because he was working at third was Jayson Jones. But we’ve been working with him out there because we’re trying to get everybody in the lineup that we need to get in the lineup. At third base, you got Peyton Holt. At second base, it’s Peyton Stovall’s job to lose. But he looks better than ever. He’s swinging the bat now.
"McLaughlin was our DH down the stretch, one of our top hitters. We’re excited that we’re going to have him plugged in the middle of our lineup, because I think he’s going to drive in a lot of runs. He’s a contact guy. He’s got some power."
Did I mention that Arkansas brought in one of the best transfer portal classes in the nation this offseason?
Additions like Sacramento State's Wehiwa Aloy, Tarleton State's Jack Wagner, Missouri's Ty Wilmsmeyer, Richmond's Jared Sprague-Lott, Texas Tech's Hudson White and Hutchinson's Will Edmunson all slashed right around or over .300 from the plate last year with a combined 78 home runs and will be in contention for playing time this season.
"You got Ty Wilmsmeyer from Missouri," Van Horn said. "He hit .300 at Missouri, did not hit this fall. Didn’t hit our pitching, played great defense. I think he’s a lot better hitter than he showed and we hope he is, but he’s a really good defender. He’s the centerfielder. Will Edmunson, the centerfielder from junior college, he had a good fall. Got better and better as fall went on. Learned how to deal with the velocity he was seeing.
"You got Jared Sprague-Lott who played at Richmond last year. One of our top defenders. Started hitting the ball really well at the end of the year. Wehiwa Aloy transferred in here. He’s just getting better and better with the glove. Big kid. Got a lot of power. I think he led our team in home runs this fall.
"And then Jack Wagner, I think he had 14, 15 home runs last year over at Tarleton State. Probably one of our team favorites amongst the players. Hard-nosed kid. Had an incredible last week of fall ball. Home runs, doubles. He could play first. He could play outfield."
Even if Arkansas takes a step back in the home run department in 2024, discounting an offense led by so many proven commodities primed for a breakout season is a surefire way to get your feelings hurt as an opposing pitching staff.
RELATED: Arkansas RF Kendall Diggs ready for breakout season
Van Horn: GOAT
The "GOAT" moniker is entirely subjective, but even if you don't think Van Horn is deserving of it, what he's done for the Razorbacks baseball program is truly incredible.
A three-time SEC Coach of the Year, Van Horn has led Arkansas to a 839-440 record in 21 seasons with three SEC Championships, seven SEC West Championships and nine College World Series appearances.
Winning a national championship would be the final feather in a very large cap of success. As one of only five head coaches in college baseball history with over 300 SEC career wins, Van Horn is long overdue for a national title to cap off what's been a legendary Hall of Fame career in Fayetteville.
"Baseball is just around the corner, so we’re pretty excited," Van Horn said after Fall Ball. "Fall went great. For the most part, stayed healthy, which is always a concern in the fall. The fall’s all about development. It still is. We’re still going through that. But got to see a lot of good things. Excited about where the program is and the potential of what could happen this spring."
RELATED: Three Diamond Hog freshmen who could play in 2024
BONUS: 30-year championship anniversary
Games are decided on the field, but fans throughout every sport can agree that the universe seems to have some sort of divine interference in their team's ability to win.
Arkansas has historically been on the short end of the stick in that regard, but if trends are to be believed, that could finally be about to change.
It all started in 1964, when head coach Frank Broyles led the Razorbacks to an undefeated 11-0 football season that included a 10-7 victory over Nebraska. Recognized by The Football Writers Association of America and the Helms Athletics Foundation as national champions, the title is the only one for the Hogs' football program.
30 years later in 1994, the Hoop Hogs won their first ever national championship against Duke. Head coach Nolan Richardson led Arkansas to a 31-3 (14-2 SEC) record and secured legendary status in his ninth season in Fayetteville.
Fast forward another 30 years, and the baseball program is searching for its first national championship in 2024. Call it crazy, but for those who are superstitious, the stars seem to be lining up for a dogpile in Omaha this season.
RELATED: Stovall ready to have bounce-back junior season
