The Arkansas baseball team secured its first transfer portal addition Friday in former BYU Cougar Kuhio Aloy, who could help the Razorbacks in more way than one way.
Now the third Hawaii-native on the Diamond Hogs' roster and the brother of Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy, Kuhio was a Big 12 All-Freshman Team selection as a first-year designated hitter this spring at BYU. He told HawgBeat that he was recruited to do more than just hit, though.
Of Aloy's 50 starts with BYU, 46 were at designated hitter and four were at first base. He led the Big 12 in sacrifice flies, was second on BYU in hits (53), and was third in doubles and multiple-RBI games (9). He was also only one of two Cougars to appear in all 52 games.
Now set play in the Southeastern Conference alongside his brother, Aloy said he's living out his childhood dream.
"It's always been a dream to play SEC baseball," Aloy said. "Always grew up watching SEC baseball. The transfer portal really made that happen, which was a big thing for me. To play SEC baseball with my brother just made this even more special."
The thing that sold Aloy on the Razorbacks, he said, was the Baum-Walker Stadium environment during the Fayetteville Regional last weekend. Although Arkansas was eliminated early and the Kansas State Wildcats defeated SEMO to win the regional, Aloy still saw what he needed to see from head coach Dave Van Horn and his staff, plus the Arkansas fans.
"I went to go watch regionals and just the atmosphere and the environment out there just felt like a place where I could thrive," Aloy said. "Just to be around my brother everyday doing day in and day out things just made that even more special and something I wanted to do."
As a transfer from Sacramento State, Wehiwa Aloy led the Razorbacks with 14 home runs and 56 runs batter in as a sophomore this spring. Although he saw his batting average drop from .376 to .270, he did improve his fielding percentage from .928 to .963.
"He said it was a big progress with strength training and just learning about the game overall," Kuhio Aloy said of Wehiwa's season at Arkansas. "Just getting more knowledge of the game and finding ways to produce and excel at that level."
As for Kuhio's season with BYU, the 6-foot-1, 200-pounder told HawgBeat that he was able to progress a better rate than he did back at H.P. Baldwin High School in Wailuku, Hawaii.
"I feel like I developed a lot more going from high school ball to college ball," Aloy said. "Just the game, learning how to slow down the game and learning more about it and trying to find ways to produce."
The Aloys played together a lot in youth ball and in high school, with Wehiwa playing shortstop and Kuhio playing first base. It's worth noting that Kuhio told HawgBeat that Arkansas is also recruiting him to potentially pitch as a right-hander.
"I pitched all (last fall at BYU)" Aloy said. "And then in the spring they finally gave me an opportunity to swing and I just went off."
Aloy told HawgBeat that his main pitches are fastball, slider and changeup. According to Five Tool Baseball, Aloy topped out at 93 miles per hour on the mound in high school.
"Just come in for one inning of relief and shut it down," Aloy said.
Aloy will have three more seasons of eligibility remaining in Fayetteville.
Now the third Hawaii-native on the Diamond Hogs' roster and the brother of Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy, Kuhio was a Big 12 All-Freshman Team selection as a first-year designated hitter this spring at BYU. He told HawgBeat that he was recruited to do more than just hit, though.
Of Aloy's 50 starts with BYU, 46 were at designated hitter and four were at first base. He led the Big 12 in sacrifice flies, was second on BYU in hits (53), and was third in doubles and multiple-RBI games (9). He was also only one of two Cougars to appear in all 52 games.
Now set play in the Southeastern Conference alongside his brother, Aloy said he's living out his childhood dream.
"It's always been a dream to play SEC baseball," Aloy said. "Always grew up watching SEC baseball. The transfer portal really made that happen, which was a big thing for me. To play SEC baseball with my brother just made this even more special."
The thing that sold Aloy on the Razorbacks, he said, was the Baum-Walker Stadium environment during the Fayetteville Regional last weekend. Although Arkansas was eliminated early and the Kansas State Wildcats defeated SEMO to win the regional, Aloy still saw what he needed to see from head coach Dave Van Horn and his staff, plus the Arkansas fans.
"I went to go watch regionals and just the atmosphere and the environment out there just felt like a place where I could thrive," Aloy said. "Just to be around my brother everyday doing day in and day out things just made that even more special and something I wanted to do."
As a transfer from Sacramento State, Wehiwa Aloy led the Razorbacks with 14 home runs and 56 runs batter in as a sophomore this spring. Although he saw his batting average drop from .376 to .270, he did improve his fielding percentage from .928 to .963.
"He said it was a big progress with strength training and just learning about the game overall," Kuhio Aloy said of Wehiwa's season at Arkansas. "Just getting more knowledge of the game and finding ways to produce and excel at that level."
As for Kuhio's season with BYU, the 6-foot-1, 200-pounder told HawgBeat that he was able to progress a better rate than he did back at H.P. Baldwin High School in Wailuku, Hawaii.
"I feel like I developed a lot more going from high school ball to college ball," Aloy said. "Just the game, learning how to slow down the game and learning more about it and trying to find ways to produce."
The Aloys played together a lot in youth ball and in high school, with Wehiwa playing shortstop and Kuhio playing first base. It's worth noting that Kuhio told HawgBeat that Arkansas is also recruiting him to potentially pitch as a right-hander.
"I pitched all (last fall at BYU)" Aloy said. "And then in the spring they finally gave me an opportunity to swing and I just went off."
Aloy told HawgBeat that his main pitches are fastball, slider and changeup. According to Five Tool Baseball, Aloy topped out at 93 miles per hour on the mound in high school.
"Just come in for one inning of relief and shut it down," Aloy said.
Aloy will have three more seasons of eligibility remaining in Fayetteville.
