Arkansas returning wealth of talent on pitching staff
Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn and pitching coach Matt Hobbs have to be extremely excited when looking at the pitchers they are bringing back from last season's College World Series team.
Two of the three weekend starters are back, a strong postseason starter returned and plenty of bullpen arms are primed to make an impact this season.
Van Horn and Hobbs didn't settle with what they had, though, as they went out and got a strong crop of transfer arms and some raw freshmen that have plenty of potential. The Hogs are in line to have one of the better pitching staffs in all of college baseball this year.
As the season is just 39 days away, HawgBeat is going to take a look at the pitchers that are back for another season in Fayetteville:
Returners
Jaxon Wiggins - junior RHP - 6'6, 225 pounds
2022 stats: 17 APP, 15 GS, 6.55 ERA, 6-3 W/L, 66.0 IP, 65 H, 51 R, 48 ER, 43 BB, 82 K
Wiggins was as impressive as any Arkansas pitcher during fall baseball. After struggling down the stretch in the 2022 season, he seems primed to take off this year.
Last season, Wiggins showed promise as the Day 3 starter through the first portion of the season. He even started SEC play with back-to-back wins over Kentucky and Missouri, both of which he threw eight strikeouts in.
He began to struggle after that, as he gave up 27 earned runs over his next 28 1/3 innings pitched. Wiggins pitched just two times after the SEC Tournament, and he gave up seven earned runs in 2 2/3 innings pitched.
Though he had a tough end to 2022, Wiggins decided not to play summer baseball and he just focused on his craft.
"Well Coach (Matt) Hobbs told me after a couple of bullpens he felt like Jackson had just made a jump," Van Horn said. "And he was throwing the ball around the zone, not a lot of bad misses. And that’s what he took to the mound. A lot of times, the bullpen is the bullpen. It’s like batting practice for a hitter. A lot of guys can hit at 5, 7 o’clock it doesn’t happen. Jaxon took it to the field."
Wiggins shined in the fall, especially in the Hogs' first game against the Texas Rangers Instructional League team on Oct. 12. He struck out four, walked none, gave up one hit and saw two unearned runs cross the plate in two innings.
In fall scrimmages that HawgBeat attended, Wiggins appeared six times and started four games. He had a 0.75 ERA, two walks, 22 strikeouts and he gave up just one earned run in 12 innings pitched.
Hagen Smith - sophomore LHP - 6'3, 215 pounds
2022 stats: 20 APP, 15 GS, 4.66 ERA, 7-2 W-L, 77.1 IP, 66 H, 41 R, 40 ER, 46 BB, 90 K
As a freshman in 2022, Smith earned a spot in the starting rotation. He excelled early in the year, but trailed off in the second half of conference play. After starting in each of his first 13 appearances, Smith came out of the bullpen for five of his final seven outings on the year.
It was clear early on that the Hogs had struck gold with the hard throwing lefty out of Bullard, Texas. A long season combined with the grind of playing an SEC schedule can be tough on a freshman, and it seemed to have gotten to Smith at times.
In fall scrimmages that HawgBeat attended, Smith struck out 18 batters, walked three, gave up seven hits and four earned runs across 9 1/3 innings pitched.
Though he earned a couple of saves in the postseason and looked strong out of the bullpen late last year, Smith is in line to be in the starting rotation once again this season.
Perfect Game named Smith a preseason third team All-American on Thursday. Smith was named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game after last season. He was also named to the Freshman All-SEC Team.
Brady Tygart - sophomore RHP - 6'2, 205 pounds
2022 stats: 24 APP, 3.82 ERA, 3-4 W-L, 37.2 IP, 28 H, 17 R, 16 ER, 21 BB, 51 K
At one point last year, Tygart was one of the best closers in all of college baseball. By the start of May, he had seven saves and was showing that he had an elite breaking ball against some of the SEC's best hitters.
Tygart struck out 13 batters, walked none and gave up two earned runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings pitched during fall scrimmages that HawgBeat attended.
Van Horn said they didn't get a great look at Tygart in the fall, but he did get to start a few games. He said he isn't sure if Tygart will have a starter role or not, yet.
"His stuff is really good, though," Van Horn said. "His fastball is good. He's got two fastballs now: one that's straighter and hard, and one that's moving all over the place, and it's hard as well. You're talking about a four-seamer or a two-seamer. It's fun to watch him pitch. Breaking ball is good, as always. He has the stuff to start. He could be a middle guy. He could close. We have about four or five guys that I would say this about."
Will McEntire - redshirt junior RHP - 6'4, 240 pounds
2022 stats: 12 APP, 8 GS, 2.59 ERA, 2-2 W/L, 48.2 IP, 34 H, 15 R, 14 ER, 23 BB, 49 K
One of the more pleasant surprises of the 2022 season for Arkansas was McEntire, who didn't even throw until mid-April. McEntire began in a midweek starting role, but he turned into one of the more reliable arms down the stretch.
Across two starts against North Carolina in the Chapel Hill Super Regional and against Auburn in the College World Series, McEntire threw 12 2/3 innings, gave up six hits, one earned run, walked three and struck out 13.
McEntire did not have the best fall, as he gave up five earned runs on 10 hits in just 6 2/3 innings pitched. He struck out eight and walked three in scrimmages that HawgBeat attended.
When asked about McEntire and lefty Zack Morris, Van Horn said he's not worried about them at all.
"They're going to be really good," Van Horn said. "McEntire is a warrior. Morris is as tough as they come out there. I trust those guys. Our team trusts them. They might not have lit it up or shut everybody down, but we know what they can do."
McEntire can be a great spot-start guy and long relief option this season.
Zack Morris - senior LHP - 6'3, 225 pounds
2022 stats: 22 APP, 2 GS, 2.31 ERA, 6-1 W/L, 35.0 IP, 29 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 19 BB, 26 K
Morris was excellent in relief last season. He didn't strike out a ton of batters, but he was great at limiting the damage and trusting his defense.
Van Horn turned to Morris in the postseason by giving him a start in the Super Regional-clinching win over Oklahoma State in the Stillwater Regional. He also handed to ball to Morris to start against Ole Miss in the Hogs' first game against the Rebels in the College World Series.
"We gave him the ball because we trusted him in a crucial situation and he got it done," Van Horn said on July 7. "It was really good to see."
Morris got hit hard in the fall, as he gave up 13 earned runs on 16 hits in 13 innings pitched during scrimmages HawgBeat attended.
This season, Morris will likely assume his role as one of the top bullpen arms on the team.
Austin Ledbetter - sophomore RHP - 6'1, 190 pounds
2022 stats: 7 APP, 2 GS, 2.84 ERA, 0-0 W-L, 12.2 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 12 K
Ledbetter had one of the more impressive fall season's on the Arkansas pitching staff. He struck out 15, walked two and gave up just three earned runs in 14 1/3 innings pitched during scrimmages HawgBeat attended.
As a freshman last year, Ledbetter started a pair of midweek games, including a three-inning outing where he gave up just one earned run and struck out three against UIC.
When asked about pitchers that didn't play "a lot" last year that could take a jump this year, Van Horn said Ledbetter is a guy that could do so.
"I think that he can jump in there," Van Horn said on Sept. 7. "The pitchers that we got back, most of them got some action. That’s probably the one that jumps out the most."
With a year under his belt in the system, Ledbetter has a shot to be a solid reliever and maybe start some midweeks again this year.
Nick Griffin - redshirt sophomore LHP - 6'4, 195 pounds
2022 stats: 7 APP, 2.70 ERA, 0-0 W-L, 6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 11 BB, 11 K
Griffin had Tommy John surgery prior to his freshman year and Van Horn was expecting him to make an impact last year. That didn't really happen, as Griffin struggled to throw the ball over the plate in his limited action.
During the fall, Griffin gave up 10 hits, 10 runs and struck out 11 in 10 innings pitched. He is talented left-hander, but he hasn't pieced it all together just yet. It's clear that Van Horn sees something in Griffin, though.
"It’s probably going to be better than ever," Van Horn said prior to the 2022 season. "The arm action is actually a little cleaner, a little shorter than it was before surgery. He’s throwing more strikes. Hasn’t faced any hitters, but we see him pitching for us in the spring. We’re just going to have to, once he gets to a certain point, we’ll get him on the mound facing live hitters."
Griffin threw for the Santa Barbara Foresters in the California Collegiate League over the summer. He struck out 18, walked seven and gave up five earned runs on eight hits in 14 1/3 innings pitched.
Dylan Carter - redshirt sophomore RHP - 6'2, 210 pounds
McEntire was once a Northwoods League All-Star selection in the summer of 2021, and Carter earned an all-star nod for the Green Bay Rockers in 2022. He started nine games and threw 57 2/3 innings with an ERA of 2.97. Carter struck out 48 and walked 18 for the Rockers.
A former starter for Crowder College, Carter hasn't thrown a pitch in an Arkansas uniform, but he's excelled just about everywhere else he's been. He could be a surprise this season like McEntire was last year.
Jake Faherty - sophomore RHP - 6'3, 190 pounds
Faherty threw just 1/3 of an inning as a freshman last season, with his only out being a strikeout against UIC.
The righty from Georgetown, Ky., had an up and down fall, but he struck out the side in the team's Fall Classic on Sept. 30.
"He's got a really good breaking ball," Van Horn said after the Fall Classic. "The ball jumped out of his hand, upper 90s, and the key has been command and tonight he had it. He's made a move in a year. He went out, pitched in the summer and played on a really good team that ended up winning one of them summer championships. So he gained a little experience there, and I think that's really helped."
Faherty also threw for the Santa Barbara Foresters in the California Collegiate League over the summer. He made 11 appearances out of the bullpen and struck out 16, walked 15 and gave up nine earned runs on seven hits.