For Arkansas baseball to thrive in 2025, it will need big jumps from expected everyday cornerstone Year 2 contributors like infielder Nolan Souza and catcher Ryder Helfrick.
The two sophomores are coming off a 2024 campaign that saw flashes of excellence but a lack of consistency. Souza hit for a .255 batting average with seven home runs and seven doubles, but he also struck out 38 times with 18 walks. Helfrick mashed three long balls and three doubles, but ended up with a miniscule .179 average by season's end.
Once Arkansas was eliminated in its own home regional, Souza and Helfrick went off to get more at-bats in summer ball. For the Santa Barbara Foresters of the California Collegiate League, Souza hit .271 with six extra-base hits, seven stolen bases and a much-improved 14 punchouts to 18 walks. Helfrick raked for the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod League, where he was named an All-Star after tying for the lead in home runs (11) with 37 RBIs and a .261 average.
Now back in Fayetteville for his 23rd season, coach Dave Van Horn said he's expecting a mental move-up for the "penciled-in starters."
"I've said this for many years, and I've coached at Division II level, junior college level, mid-majors, Division I, and what I've seen over the years is that the biggest jump a player makes is between their freshman and sophomore year," Van Horn said Jan. 15. "It's not always that way, but I'm just going to say the majority of them. They come in, they're young, they're talented, they feel their way through their freshman year. Then they get to the point mentally where it's like, 'I want to play. I don't like not playing, and I want to be a guy.'
"They go out, summer ball, and then they come back in the fall and they're confident. You can just really tell a difference in them physically. They start to move on from high school senior to young man to growing into a man. They just get stronger, and they're mentally better. Now the talent starts to kick in, and that's what I've seen with (Souza and Helfrick)."
According to stats compiled by the media, Souza slashed .259/.432/.481 with two home runs, 10 strikeouts and nine walks during fall ball. In the Diamond Hogs' fall scrimmages against Oklahoma State, Souza hit 3-of-8 (.375 AVG) with only one punchout.
"Souza, he's physical," Van Horn said. "He's got all the tools. He can hit it as far as anybody, can run as fast as anybody, can throw with anybody. He's what you're looking for. He's the type of guy athletically that, if he wasn't playing baseball, I could see him playing tight end. He's athletic enough to be a wide receiver at the Division I level. I mean, this is an athletic kid."
Arkansas' projected starting catcher continued his torrid pace in the fall, as Helfrick hit for a .364 average in 33 at-bats with 26 total bases and just three Ks. Versus the Cowboys, Helfrick gathered one hit in six at-bats but also walked twice.
"Helfrick is super strong, he's got power," Van Horn said. "He's a good leader. He's an outstanding receiver, and he was the best receiver on the team last year, but he was really young. The bat never kicked in all the way, but we DH'd him because of what we saw and what we knew, and we were trying to get ready for the future."
In two of the three spring preseason intrasquad scrimmages so far (HawgBeat didn't attend Saturday), Helfrick caught and Souza played at second base in both games, respectively. According to the GameChanger app, Souza hit 3-for-5 (.600) and Helfrick hit 1-of-6 in the three scrimmages combined.
During Friday's game, Souza collected a hit and was eventually driven in by Helfrick on a sacrifice fly.
"(With) Souza, it wasn't a straight up hit and run, it was more of just a steal," Van Horn said Friday. "He got a pitch and hit it in the hole and obviously he stole a couple bases for us. I thought Helfrick did a good job. When Souza stole third, Helfrick let a pitch go right down the middle because he saw what a great jump (Souza) had. Just a good baseball play, and then the next pitch (Helfrick) hits a sac-fly. That's the kind of stuff that wins games."
Arkansas will open its season Friday, Feb. 14, against Washington State at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.
