LHP Mason Molina primed for big year with Arkansas
Arkansas baseball fans might not know the name Mason Molina yet, but they will soon become familiar with the talented transfer left-handed pitcher from Texas Tech.
Originally from Rancho Santa Margarita, California, Molina spent his first two seasons with the Red Raiders and all he did was pick up Big 12 All-Freshman honors his first year and Second Team All-Big 12 honors his sophomore season.
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound lefty started in all 16 of his appearances in 2023, when posted a 6-2 record across 83.1 innings with a 3.67 ERA, 108 strikeouts, 35 walks, 39 runs allowed, 63 hits allowed and five hit-by-pitches.
Molina made 20 appearances and nine starts as a freshman in 2022. He had a 3.90 ERA in 57.2 innings pitched with 71 strikeouts and 29 walks.
The work he did in two seasons made him a desirable prospect for the 2024 MLB Draft, and he was as highly-coveted as nearly any player who hit the portal after last season.
"When we talked, Mason had about 37 Division 1 schools trying to get him to come there," Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said Aug. 9. "We feel really fortunate that he liked it here. I know that he took three visits, he went to Georgia, and I think he went to Texas A&M, and we were his last visit.
"We didn't know how it was going to go whenever he left. We felt like he had a good visit, and I think he liked what we're doing here. We had some of the guys in town, so they got to hang out with him a little bit and talk about our program. I feel like that always helps."
Prior to Molina making the decision to call Fayetteville his new home, the Razorbacks had already picked up his battery partner and former Texas Tech catcher Hudson White.
"I never talked to Hudson about it, but I feel that any time that you have guys that are on one team, it’s just normal or human-nature that they’re going to say hey you’re going there, I might be interested in going there," Van Horn said Aug. 9. "So I would say it was definitely a plus on our side. But who’s to say."
Now that he is with Arkansas, Molina has a shot to really sharpen his mechanics and prove he can perform as a starting pitcher in the hardest conference in college baseball.
"I think that he knows about how we handle our pitching and a lot that we do here with our pitching staff and all the technology that we use and he maybe thinking about coming to pitch for Coach (Matt) Hobbs, so that was a big get for us," Van Horn said.
Just last year, Arkansas took a JUCO transfer in lefty Hunter Hollan from San Jacinto College and turned him into a third round MLB Draft pick after just one season as a conference starter. With already two years of Division I baseball under his belt, Molina could be in line for an even higher selection if all goes well.
"When you can get a pitcher that has a couple years of Division I experience, especially in a really good conference, it should help," Van Horn said Aug. 9. "If he is healthy, and I think he is, I think that he is going to be a big part of our pitching staff. That was a big get for us."
According to stats compiled by Arkansas media, Molina started in all six of his fall appearances and he posted a 0.00 ERA across 8.0 innings. He gave up just one hit all fall, walked six and struck out 15 of the 31 batters he faced.
"He walked too many batters this fall but we didn’t hit him at all," Van Horn said Nov. 30. "I mean we did not hit him. I mean he gave up maybe one or two hits all fall. Didn’t hardly give up any runs. He needs to command the zone better. And he really didn’t have that breaking ball he had throughout the season last year."
Molina is projected to be in the starting rotation alongside junior ace Hagen Smith and junior right-hander Brady Tygart. The Diamond Hogs report back for spring Friday and they will begin preseason workouts ahead of Opening Day against James Madison on Friday, Feb. 16.