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Arkansas is set to open its 2022 baseball season with a series against Illinois State beginning Feb. 18 at Baum-Walker Stadium. Leading up to the opener, HawgBeat will get you ready for the season by previewing the Razorbacks’ key players.
The series continues with our projected starter in right field…
RF - Brady Slavens - #17
Senior
6-3 | 205 | L/R
Olathe, Kan. | Olathe Northwest HS / Wichita State / Johnson County C.C.
Similar to Robert Moore and Dylan Leach, Brady Slavens skipped his senior year of high school to enroll early at Wichita State.
After one year with the Shockers, though, he opted to take the junior college route and put up video game numbers at Johnson County C.C., hitting 14 home runs and slugging 1.240 through 22 games before the pandemic.
He obviously wasn’t able to replicate those numbers in the SEC, but Slavens still had a great 2021 campaign with the Razorbacks. He was hitting right at .300 until an ankle injury sidelined him in the SEC Tournament.
Although he managed to return late in the regional, the injury clearly impacted Slavens’ ability at the plate. He went just 2 for 18 with nine strikeouts in the postseason, including six strikeouts in seven at bats against Nebraska. That dropped his batting average 16 points to .284 and was a much higher strikeout rate than during the regular season, when he was right around the team average (27.5%).
