The Diamond Hogs will begin their 2025 season Friday with Washington State coming to Fayetteville for a four-game series, and it is time for HawgBeat's week-by-week predictions for the Razorbacks' schedule.
With 56 regular season games on the docket, HawgBeat's Riley McFerran went through each week and gave notes on each opponent, plus the record he thinks Arkansas will have that week. He finished things off with a postseason projection as well.
Enjoy...
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2024 predictions - Riley: (38-17, 19-11 SEC)
2024 result - 44-16 (20-10 SEC)
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2025 PREDICTIONS
Week 1 - vs. Washington State (Feb. 14-17)
A four-game opening series is needed for the Razorbacks, who boast an almost entirely new supporting cast offensively and in the pitching staff.
Washington State isn't a complete pushover — the Cougars won early-season matchups against then-No. 24 Kentucky and Kansas, and nearly upset then-No. 3 TCU last year — but its 21-32 overall 2024 record, one returning starter in the batting order and two returning relievers doesn't inspire confidence that it can pull off the upset. The Cougars are now also an associate member of the Mountain West Conference.
The Razorbacks will face Rock Valley College implant Griffin Smith on Friday, a right-handed pitcher who was named a NJCAA Division II All-American last season. Facing an SEC lineup is a significant jump, even for the most talented JUCO players.
I like Arkansas to win the series, but not to sweep. Each of the last two seasons, Arkansas has dropped one game to open things up at Baum-Walker Stadium, and the Cougars are solid enough to steal one away.
Record - 3-1
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Week 2 - vs. Kansas State (Feb. 21), vs. TCU (Feb. 22), vs. Michigan (Feb. 23)
Notice anything about Arkansas' first two opponents this weekend? Besides their purple team color, both TCU and Kansas State defeated the Hogs in the Fayetteville Regional in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Michigan is also a familiar face, as Arkansas won, 4-3, against the Wolverines in the College Baseball Series in Arlington a year ago.
TCU is preseason ranked No. 23 by D1Baseball and is expected to contend for the Big 12 Championship, while Kansas State will be without stars like Kaelen Culpepper, Brady Day, Brendan Jones and others.
I think Arkansas enacts revenge against the Horned Frogs and Wildcats, but the Wolverines get the last laugh of the weekend after the close game last year.
Record - 5-2
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Week 3 - vs. Grambling (Feb. 25), vs. Charlotte (Feb. 28-March 2)
Grambling is nothing more than a tune-up game for the Razorbacks, who will then face a Charlotte program that finished below .500 last year.
4-0 weeks don't happen often, but Arkansas secures one here with its talent gap.
Record - 9-2
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Week 4 - vs. ULM (March 4-5), vs. Portland (March 7-9)
Arkansas' deep pitching staff will help with two-game midweek sets and I think the Hogs take care of ULM at home, but Portland isn't a pushover after finishing 37-19 (19-5 WCC) last season.
The Pilots won games over teams like USC, Oregon, Maryland, Gonzaga, Washington and others in 2024, and they walk out of Fayetteville with one win to avoid the sweep.
Record - 13-3
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Week 5 - vs. UCA (March 11), at Ole Miss (March 14-16)
Conference play is finally here, but Arkansas has to take care of a pesky in-state opponent first. Arkansas and UCA played March 5 last season, a 9-7 victory for the Hogs. It won't be that close this time around.
Then you have Ole Miss, a program that's gone below .500 in back-to-back seasons after winning it all in 2022. Arkansas has won five-straight over the Rebels including a series win in Oxford, Mississippi, in 2023.
Despite having former front-line left-handed starter Hunter Elliott back in the fold from injury, Ole Miss fails to hold serve against the Razorbacks.
Record - 16-4 (2-1 SEC)
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Week 6 - vs. Oral Roberts (March 18-19), vs. South Carolina (March 21-23)
Oral Roberts is one of those teams that I expect to snag a win from Arkansas almost every time they play, but it doesn't ever really happen. In fact, the Eagles have lost 11 straight to Arkansas dating back to 2009. The trend certainly favors another Arkansas midweek sweep.
South Carolina is no Oral Roberts, though, especially with star power bat Ethan Petry in the lineup. The Gamecocks did lose a lot of major offensive contributors from last year's team, so look for Arkansas to still take care of business at home.
Record - 20-5 (4-2 SEC)
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Week 7 - vs. Missouri State (March 25), at Vanderbilt (March 28-30)
Here comes the annual freak-out week for Arkansas fans. Almost every season, the Hogs will lose three in a row — usually a midweek and then the first two of an SEC series — that pushes Razorback faithful to the brink. And usually, it's an overreaction.
I tend to think that's the case here. The Arkansas-Missouri State matchup has lost its flare in recent years, but I think the Bears enact revenge on the Razorbacks at Baum-Walker. Vanderbilt is always a good team and does just enough to win the series in Nashville, but a big hit from former Commodore infielder Cam Kozeal seals the Game 3 win for Arkansas.
Record - 21-8 (5-4 SEC)
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Week 8 - vs. Grambling (April 1), vs. Missouri (April 4-6)
Then there's the pressure release. After a tough 1-3 week, Arkansas gets greeted by a Grambling team it beat 21-1 in seven innings last season.
After that, it hosts a bottom-end Missouri team that lacks power and proven commodities in the pitching staff. Arkansas takes advantage with a dominant sweep over the Tigers.
Record - 25-8 (8-4 SEC)
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Week 9 - vs. Arkansas State (April 8), at Georgia (April 11-13)
This is the week when Arkansas shows why it's a "big brother" type of program nationally. Arkansas State was less-than-stellar in 2024 and just doesn't have the chops to keep up with the Hogs.
Led by former Arkansas pitching coach Wes Johnson, the Bulldogs have the weapons to challenge for a Top-4 spot in the SEC, but their power bats and arms can't hold up against the lethal finesse of Van Horn's club. The Razorbacks walk out of Athens, Georgia, with a series win.
Record - 28-9 (10-5 SEC)
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Week 10 - vs. UAPB (April 15), vs. Texas A&M (April 17-19)
Unfortunately, Arkansas isn't the top dog in college baseball this season. It takes care of a measly Arkansas Pine-Bluff team, but Texas A&M's red-hot offense and pitching staff led by LHP Ryan Prager is a notch too good for the Hogs even at home.
Record - 30-11 (11-7 SEC)
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Week 11 - vs. Little Rock (April 22-23), at Florida (April 25-27)
Van Horn said this offseason that Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan believes this is one of his better Florida teams in recent years, but don't overlook Little Rock. In some high-scoring games, Arkansas shows some versatility and the offense picks up the slack for a temporarily struggling pitching staff.
It won't get much better when the team travels to Gainesville, Florida, as the Gators overcome some recent woes against Arkansas to earn the home series win.
Record - 33-13 (12-9 SEC)
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Week 12 - at Missouri State (April 29), vs. Texas (May 1-3)
There isn't much thought that goes into this prediction other than if Arkansas loses to Missouri State at home earlier in the season, I believe it'll hand the Bears the same result in their own home stadium.
Arkansas then hosts Texas for the first time as members of the SEC, and the Longhorns learn the struggles of playing in Fayetteville late in the season.
Record - 36-14 (14-10 SEC)
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Week 13 - at LSU (May 9-11)
Life is tough in the SEC, and LSU is set to be one of the best teams in the country again. Van Horn and pitching coach Matt Hobbs have indicated that star Arkansas ace Gabe Gaeckle will have his "not-so-great days", and I think that's exactly what happens in Game 1 of this series.
Arkansas battles to notch things up after Game 2, but a Tigers walk-off in Game 3 seals the series victory for LSU.
Record - 37-16 (15-12 SEC)
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Week 14 - vs. Tennessee (May 15-17)
A lot is on the line for this highly-anticipated regular season-finale. Not only is Arkansas looking to lock in a Top-8 seed for the NCAA Tournament, but it wants bragging right over a Volunteers team coming off a National Championship win in 2024.
The baseball gods answer the Diamond Hogs' call and the Sooieville Sluggers deliver a magical performance to close out another strong regular season.
Arkansas sweeps Tennessee loudly.
Record - 40-16 (18-12 SEC)
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Postseason Projection: Arkansas breaks Fayetteville Regional upset trend
The difficulty of making it to Omaha for the College World Series has been taken for granted by some in Arkansas, and though I believe the Razorbacks have what it takes to make it there, I'm not going to predict them to do so.
However, after back-to-back finishes in regional play at home, Arkansas gets over the hump and advances to the supers. What happens after that is anyone's guess, but I think fans will be relieved to not see a purple-colored team stroll into Fayetteville firing on all cylinders for once.
