Two of Arkansas baseball's top bullpen arms have received invites to USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp.
The Razorbacks announced Monday that right-handed pitchers Christian Foutch and Gabe Gaeckle were among the 56 non-draft eligible players invited to the training camp.
If they accept the invites, both pitchers will have the chance to play in the USA Baseball Stars vs. Stripes series on June 26 and 27 and will compete for a chance to join the 28-man roster that will go up against Chinese Taipei in the International Series on June 29.
Should Gaeckle or Foutch make the final cut for the 28-man roster, they will play five games against Chinese Taipei. Team USA will follow that up with two games against the Coastal Plain League and two games against the Appalachian League.
The summer concludes with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Fourth of July Game in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Recently, Arkansas lefty ace Hagen Smith was a part of the USA Collegiate National Team in 2023. He appeared three times out of the bullpen against Chinese Taipei and posted an ERA of 1.59 in 5.2 innings. Since 1979, 22 Razorbacks have suited up for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.
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In the 2024 season, Gaeckle cemented himself as one of Arkansas' top arms coming out of the bullpen. The Aptos, Californian native appeared in 22 games for the Razorbacks and finished with a 2.32 ERA with 57 strikeouts in 42.2 innings to earn him Freshman All-SEC honors.
Foutch just finished his second season with the Razorback program, and appeared in 20 games. He pitched 22.1 innings and owned an ERA of just 0.81 with 20 strikeouts. His velocity is his strength, as he can regularly hit 98-99 miles per hour, and he built on his splitter and sinker to devastate hitters down the stretch.
"He can throw 100 miles an hour if he wants to," Van Horn said March 26 after an 11-0 win over Little Rock. "He’s got a little different pitch going and it’s got a little sink on it. You’ll probably see him more. He’s just been working on it. Threw it last week to some live hitters. Didn’t pitch this weekend. Threw it tonight. Still touched 98-99 tonight.
"Then he threw one about 96 and it had some sink on it. That’s the one I like, because that one is hard to square up. And then he’s got another one or two, but I think that could be the difference maker for him, and it might even be a career-maker for him if he can get that sinker going up with that velocity."
Arkansas is currently working on rebuilding the roster after a disappointing exit in the Fayetteville Regional, utilizing the transfer portal to fill holes. Stay tuned to HawgBeat for the latest developments.
