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FAYETTEVILLE — Most of Dave Van Horn’s attention is on how his roster will shake out next season with a shortened MLB Draft and blanket eligibility relief, but he also has an eye on player development.

With the Razorbacks playing only about one-quarter of their games before the coronavirus forced the cancellation of all spring sports, their veteran coach said he’s hopeful some summer ball leagues will at least get to play in July and August.

If social distancing and stay-at-home policies prevent that from happening, Van Horn said the NCAA needs to change its fall schedule. He would like to bring players in before school starts, much like football does with fall camp, or at least have an expanded window for practice.

Another idea involves adding more scrimmages to the slate, allowing his players to face other teams.

“Maybe we could play outside competition whenever we want to, whether we play 10 games, or 15 or 20, whatever we need to do,” Van Horn said. “We could play Division I, we could play junior college, we could play Division II schools, whatever - just play some outside competition.”

Two years ago, the NCAA permitted college baseball teams to schedule two scrimmages. Arkansas played Wichita State and UALR before the 2019 season and Oklahoma and Oklahoma State before this season.

Expanding that schedule would be similar to what DI softball teams already do. For example, the Razorbacks had seven softball scrimmages this fall, with three against DI programs (Louisiana Tech twice, Stephen F. Austin), two against DII programs (Northeastern State, Texas A&M-Commerce) and two against JUCO programs (Crowder College, Butler C.C.).

That would give Arkansas’ players extra at bats and innings that they’re missing out on because of the shortened season and the loss of at least part of the summer ball schedule.

Van Horn said the lack of games will likely slow the usual freshman-to-sophomore and sophomore-to-junior jumps the Razorbacks experience from year to year, which is why he’s in favor of the fall adjustments and adding more scrimmages.

“We’re worried about development,” Van Horn said. “We want guys to get better and our guys want to get better, but you do that by playing.”