I did some creeping of hitting coach/recruiting coordinator Nate Thompson's Twitter and noticed a couple of potential graduate transfers who he's following/they're following him back...
This name was mentioned in another thread the other day, but one of them is TT Bowens from Central Connecticut State. He was the big 6-foot-4, 235-pound first baseman who looked more like an SEC defensive end/linebacker than a baseball player when CCSU came to Baum-Walker Stadium for the 2019 regional. The Hogs beat the Blue Devils 11-5 in the opening game, but Bowens went 1 for 3 with a three-run bomb and had all five RBIs. CCSU of course went on to become a fan favorite and TT was among the several player who were very complimentary of how they were treated. He was off to a slow start this year (.234, 2 HR, 6 RBIs, 13 K in 12 games), but was really good after coming back from injury last season, hitting .376/.459/.640 with five home runs and 26 RBIs in 32 games.
I think the plan is for Matt Goodheart to play first base, as he should be able to get fully healthy, but it's still a new position for him and he's not proven there, so I wouldn't be totally surprised if Arkansas was interested in adding TT.
The other potential grad transfer is A.J. Lewis from Eastern Kentucky. He's a 5-foot-10, 195-pound catcher from Chicago who began his career at Missouri, went JUCO and ended up at EKU. He was red hot when the season ended. Through 13 games, he was 23 for 51 (.451) with seven doubles, two triples and three home runs (.843 SLG), nine walks (.541 OBP) and 21 RBIs. That's coming off a junior season in which he hit .303/.434/.521 with nine home runs and 49 RBIs in 54 games. D1Baseball ranked him as the 12th best catcher in the country.
With Casey Opitz likely to be taken in the MLB Draft, I wouldn't be shocked if the Hogs pursue a grad transfer catcher and Lewis seems to be a top option.
This name was mentioned in another thread the other day, but one of them is TT Bowens from Central Connecticut State. He was the big 6-foot-4, 235-pound first baseman who looked more like an SEC defensive end/linebacker than a baseball player when CCSU came to Baum-Walker Stadium for the 2019 regional. The Hogs beat the Blue Devils 11-5 in the opening game, but Bowens went 1 for 3 with a three-run bomb and had all five RBIs. CCSU of course went on to become a fan favorite and TT was among the several player who were very complimentary of how they were treated. He was off to a slow start this year (.234, 2 HR, 6 RBIs, 13 K in 12 games), but was really good after coming back from injury last season, hitting .376/.459/.640 with five home runs and 26 RBIs in 32 games.
I think the plan is for Matt Goodheart to play first base, as he should be able to get fully healthy, but it's still a new position for him and he's not proven there, so I wouldn't be totally surprised if Arkansas was interested in adding TT.
The other potential grad transfer is A.J. Lewis from Eastern Kentucky. He's a 5-foot-10, 195-pound catcher from Chicago who began his career at Missouri, went JUCO and ended up at EKU. He was red hot when the season ended. Through 13 games, he was 23 for 51 (.451) with seven doubles, two triples and three home runs (.843 SLG), nine walks (.541 OBP) and 21 RBIs. That's coming off a junior season in which he hit .303/.434/.521 with nine home runs and 49 RBIs in 54 games. D1Baseball ranked him as the 12th best catcher in the country.
With Casey Opitz likely to be taken in the MLB Draft, I wouldn't be shocked if the Hogs pursue a grad transfer catcher and Lewis seems to be a top option.
