Razorbacks gain former Austin Peay shortstop John Bolton
Check out the Recruiting Hawgs Podcast with Alex Trader and Mason Choate. New episodes including interviews with Arkansas recruits are available every Wednesday on YouTube, Apple and Spotify.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Just days after Arkansas lost its starting shortstop Jalen Battles to the Major League Baseball draft, former Austin Peay shortstop John Bolton decided to transfer to the Hogs.
Bolton announced Thursday that the next stop in his college baseball journey will be Fayetteville.
Bolton started 56 games for Austin Peay last season, hitting .287/.384/.399 with 18 doubles, 22 RBIs, one homer and he added 11 stolen bases.
He served as the primary shortstop for the Governors and had a .974 fielding percentage with six errors.
In 2021, Bolton appeared in 51 games and started 36 — 27 of his starts came at shortstop and nine came at second base. He hit .190 on the season and .224 in Ohio Valley Conference play.
He had a .248/.315/.338 slash line during his career with Austin Peay. He hit just one homer and had 25 RBIs.
As a freshman and sophomore from 2019-2020, Bolton played for Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi. He had a .317 average and a .384 on-base percentage during his freshman season at Hinds. Bolton recorded just three hits in the 2020 season that was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Coming out of Memphis University School, Bolton was a finalist for 2018 Tennessee Division II-AA Mr. Baseball award. He was selected to All-State teams by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association and Tennessee Baseball Report and was a Commercial Appeal All-Metro Team selection.
Bolton hit .375 with three home runs as a high school senior and on the mound he finished the 2018 season with a 1.08 ERA.
Arkansas now has seven Division 1 transfers and 17 total incoming transfers. Bolton is one of nine incoming transfers that are listed as infielders.
Click here for the full list of incoming transfers.