Absent from the College World Series since 2022, Arkansas will attempt to prove itself worthy of the "OmaHawgs" moniker once again during the 2025 season.
To do that, the Razorbacks — full of returners, transfer portal additions and freshmen — must come together with one common goal.
"You see all that’s going on all over the country, you have teams that are super talented in other sports, it’s semi-professional now, call it what it is," coach Dave Van Horn said Wednesday. "So, I feel like our job as coaches is to find a way to develop these guys physically, but mentally we’ve got to find a way to get them to bond and care about each other and care about the University of Arkansas and the fans, and not just in and out of here. I don’t feel that way with this team. I feel this team is, they’re on a mission."
Arkansas has fallen in the Fayetteville Regional in each of the last two seasons, eliminated by TCU (2023) and Southeast Missouri State (2024), respectively. Those have been especially gut-wrenching, as the Hogs were top-8 national seeds on both occasions.
"There’s been some things go down the last couple of years at the end of the season that have been hard to swallow," Van Horn said. "Honestly, behind closed doors, the coaches, we knew we weren’t maybe quite as good as we were ranked or whatever, but we were just finding ways to win. Credit to the players for that. This team wants to make sure we get to the end."
How Arkansas' newcomer-laden roster comes together will shape the success of the season, but the early signs point to a team personality focused on confidence, according to Van Horn.
"A lot different personality than last year’s team," Van Horn said. "This year’s team just seems really confident and a little more verbal, vocal. So far, so good. Feel like they get along really well.
"That’s the feedback I’ve gotten from returners, and then the new guys just seem to really like it here. Like what’s going on. I think they’re excited about the schedule we’ve lined up, which is ridiculously tough, but it’ll be a lot of fun."
The Razorbacks will open their season Friday, Feb. 14, against Washington State at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.
