Catcher Robert Emery shares unique journey to Arkansas as a grad transfer

When he was in middle school, Robert Emery’s two best friends were bat boys for the University of San Francisco.

He had always gone to the Dons’ games, but their access to the program in 2010 gave Emery an up-close view of a young pitching coach named Matt Hobbs.

Fast forward a decade, Hobbs is now at Arkansas and was one of the first coaches to call Emery the same day the San Francisco catcher entered the portal as a graduate transfer.

“I am from San Francisco and (I’ve been) around the program there my whole life and knew who he was and the type of pitching coach he had been and the career he had gone on to have,” Emery said. “He called me and it was something I was really interested in right away.”

With Casey Opitz expected to get picked in this summer’s MLB Draft, the Razorbacks were in the market for an experienced catcher and Emery fit the bill.

After discussing his options with his family and girlfriend and deciding to pursue a sixth year of college baseball, Emery narrowed his choices down to staying in the Bay Area by transferring to Cal or heading to the SEC with the Razorbacks.

“Growing up in the Bay Area, I think everyone kind of idolizes Cal for being a top academic and athletic school,” Emery said. “But really, once Arkansas came in, it was kind of a no-brainer.”

It took all of 10 days from the moment he entered the transfer portal to signing his paperwork to officially join the Razorbacks.

Emery brings with him a track record of success at the plate. He earned second-team All-WCC honors last season when he slashed .320/.386/.479 with five home runs and 40 RBIs. In the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season, he slashed .381/.451/.540 in 17 games.

When the season ended, Emery was red-hot, riding a 13-game hitting streak during which he was 22 for 49 (.449) with seven multi-hit games. Those statistics are likely why he landed on the Buster Posey Award watch list each of the last two years, but he also prides himself on defense - something head coach Dave Van Horn requires of his catchers.

Since becoming the full-time starter at San Francisco last year, Emery has committed just two errors for an impressive .993 fielding percentage while throwing out 14 of 41 (34.1 percent) potential base stealers. His strength, though, doesn’t necessarily show up in the box score.

“I’d say my best skill is helping the pitcher to win pitches,” Emery said. “I’m a really good receiver, have strong hands and I manage the game really well in terms of pitch to pitch, making adjustments. Just doing anything to get the pitcher to pitch his best, I’d say is my main goal as a catcher.”

It also helps that this isn’t Emery’s first experience transferring to a new school.

Coming out of St. Ignatius Prep in San Francisco as an honorable mention All-American in the Class of 2015, he could have stayed home and played for the program he supported throughout his childhood. Instead, the draw of an Ivy League education and an opportunity to play on the other side of the country led to Emery picking Dartmouth over San Francisco.

Despite having a solid freshman season in which he hit .275, including an impressive .340 in conference play, and earned second-team All-Ivy League honors, Emery wasn’t quite satisfied. The 40-game schedule - opposed to a typical 56-game slate - and less-than-ideal New Hampshire climate left him wanting more from the baseball side of things, so he asked for a release and transferred back home to play for the Dons.