From @masonchoate:
Head coach Dave Van Horn has a roster that features plenty of players from around the nation, but he also has a pair of players who originate from outside the United States.
Alongside Australia native Brent Iredale, the other international player is outfielder Charles Davalan, who hails from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Davalan transferred to the Razorbacks after spending his freshman season at Florida Gulf Coast in 2024.
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Just the second player to commit to Arkansas out of the portal in the latest transfer cycle, Davalan slashed 288/.413/.514 with 10 home runs and 38 RBIs over 276 plate appearances as FGCU's leadoff hitter last spring. Davalan was tied for third on FGCU's squad with 16 doubles and he paced the Eagles with 13 stolen bases. He also posted a .960 fielding percentage with seven errors on the year in the outfield.
"We brought (Charles) Davalan in, really athletic," Van Horn said Sept. 3. "We need to see (the outfielders) hit our pitching, want to see — can these guys run? Can they steal bases? I mean we’ve, we’ve been working on it the first two weeks.
"I think if you come out to watch us work out, you’ll see us doing a few more things maybe than we have in the past, working on trying to score runs and be a threat. That’s one reason we went out and got some guys that could do some things."
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The fall was an overall success for Davalan, who slashed .300/.364/.625 with four doubles, three home runs and seven RBI across 40 at bats. He was only successful stealing one base on his two attempts and he struck out four times compared to three walks.
"Yeah, really (one of ) the guys that (was) really impressive in the fall in the outfield was Charles Davalan," Van Horn said Wednesday. "He had an incredible fall, and then he got big and strong in the weight room. Lot of personality. Great attitude."
One of Davalan's three home runs was when he took elite right-handed sophomore Gabe Gaeckle deep to right field for a 391-foot solo home run to leadoff a Sept. 6 intrasquad scrimmage at Baum-Walker Stadium. His other two home runs went 388 feet and 387 feet, with the latter coming off Ohio State transfer left-hander Landon Beidelschies in the Oct. 4 Fall Classic in Fayetteville.
Van Horn made it clear after the 2024 season-ending loss to Southeast Missouri State in the Fayetteville Regional that he needed to go get athletes in the transfer portal, especially in the outfield.
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"We've got to get a little better athlete," Van Horn said June 2. "We can't just have eight guys that hit homers. I like guys that hit doubles and I like guys that hit homers, but you've got to have some guys that can run, too."
On paper and throughout the fall, Davalan has proven to be an addition along the lines of what Van Horn described.
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Davalan attended TNXL Academy in Ocoee, Florida, for high school and he'll have three years of eligibility remaining, but he will be a draft-eligible sophomore in 2025.
The Razorbacks will open their season Friday, Feb. 14, against Washington State at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.
