Van Horn, Diamond Hogs still have lots to do with 2024 roster
The Arkansas baseball team lost plenty of production following the 2022 season and returned just two starters to the starting lineup in 2023. Despite the massive overhaul, head coach Dave Van Horn led the Diamond Hogs to a share of the SEC regular season title and he's putting in the groundwork to do the same in 2024.
Arkansas is going to lose players and signees to the 2023 MLB Draft in July. For a team like the Razorbacks, who get hit hard each year in the draft, it's a disadvantage to have it so late. Van Horn said he is done complaining about that, though.
"I think every Division I coach, we’ve talked about it until we’re blue in the face," Van Horn said Tuesday. "The draft should have been two weeks ago. Or at the very latest now. At the very latest. So at least we could move on and figure this thing out.
"We don’t know what’s going to go on with Aidan Miller or Walker Martin. I could go on and on. We are talking with them, trying to figure out what kind of money they’re going to demand to sign and what they’re really thinking. Do they really want to go to school? Having all those conversations."
On top of the draft, players are able to enter the transfer portal up until July 13, two days after the end of the draft on July 11.
Arkansas has lost just two players to the portal since the end of the 2023 season — Harold Coll and Isaac Webb — but that number is likely to grow. The Diamond Hogs currently have six portal additions and one incoming junior college transfer to go along with 21 signees that are part of the nation's top recruiting class, according to Perfect Game.
"We’ve got some other guys that going to be really good that are not going to be drafted, or they’re going to be drafted low and they’re probably going to make it to school," Van Horn said. "Pitching-wise, with the high school kids, we’re going to get some of these guys. We may lose a couple, but we’re going to get a lot of them those guys through and there’s going to be a really good pitching class.
"The position players, it might be a little more difficult to get some of these high-end hitters unfortunately. But we’re doing everything we can to figure it out. And then that leads us to the portal, when we know two or three guys aren’t going to get here, and a couple of our guys are going to sign."
On top of all that, Van Horn and his staff have to consider what the current players are going to do. Names like Caleb Cali, Peyton Holt and Ben McLaughlin are all intriguing as it pertains to the draft. Each one proved they can hit at a high level and Cali and Holt were more than serviceable in the infield.
"We feel like, for example, McLaughlin and Holt, they’re going to be a big part of our team next year," Van Horn said. "I think Holt is kind of like a utility guy, can play anywhere. McLaughlin’s a first baseman/DH type guy. I don’t foresee him pitching. He’s trying to heal up. The knee’s still not there and he’s back here working out and so is Holt, trying to get ready for fall."
Cali is someone that seemed primed to take off in the 2023 season, but a slow start set him back and he never seemed to reach the full potential he showed glimpses of in preseason scrimmages.
Eventually the Montverde, Florida, native took over as the everyday third baseman and he ended up slashing .308/.412/.512 with nine home runs, eight doubles and 37 RBIs across 51 games.
"Pro people look at a third baseman and he had a good year here, but you think about third basemen that are in the big leagues or what they do, they’re hitting 35, 45 home runs a year and sometimes they’re 6-foot-7," Van Horn said. "You never know, but I think he had a really good year. I don’t feel like he's going to just take anything. He does want to play pro ball.
"I just talked to him yesterday and it’s not all about signing. He’s not going to sign for a little bit, so to speak. He’s got to feel good about it. There’s got to be a path. You kind of have an idea if an organization just signs you to fill a spot or whatever. They need to show you the way a little bit. There’s always that possibility."
Names Van Horn doesn't expect back include outfielders Jace Bohrofen and Tavian Josenberger, along with pitchers Jaxon Wiggins and Hunter Hollan. Sluggers Jared Wegner and Brady Slavens are out of eligibility and so is starting shortstop John Bolton.
"Well, we had to fill in some spots, obviously," Van Horn said. "Maybe with a little bit of age. But I mean… It’s pretty simple. You know who you lose, you know who you’ve got coming back. Do you need to plug in a guy for depth or do you need a left-handed hitter, right-handed hitter, maybe a reliever or two? That’s kind of what we’ve done."
So far the transfer portal haul is strong. According to Sixty-Four Analytics, Arkansas owns the best transfer portal class in college baseball right now. With most of the freshman — 12 of which are listed on MLB Pipeline's top 250 draft prospects list — likely not making it to campus, the transfers will be integral to Arkansas' success in 2024.
"If we do anything else, it just needs to be the right guy," Van Horn said of the transfer portal. "It needs to be the right makeup, mentality, teammate. There’s a few high-profile names out there and it gets a little crazy. But I feel good about the guys we have coming back.
"We’ve got almost, shoot, 15-18 guys out playing summer ball, working hard and they’ve been in our program. So we feel good about them. Obviously if there was somebody who could really help us on the mound or in the field, we would definitely be interested. It’s not like we feel like we’re not going to be able to put good players at every position next year."
Some names that are up in the air to return include catcher Parker Rowland and pitchers Will McEntire and Zack Morris.
Van Horn said he expects Rowland to be back and if Morris doesn't sign a professional contract, he wants to continue his baseball career at Arkansas. As for McEntire, his role out of the bullpen at the end of the 2023 season is something the big righty might want to do again as a redshirt senior.
“Will is the same way — unless somebody drafts him or gives him a really good opportunity, we feel like he will be back,” Van Horn said. “He is here, working camps and just seeing what happens for him. Obviously we want him back and his role - I think that is the role he liked.
"The first guy out of the pen, gets the fifth and let’s see if he can go the distance. You can close him. You got to see when he only had to throw one inning that he can get the ball up there a little bit. He pitched really well the second half.”
Other returning names that aren't eligible to be drafted, but will play a big role next season include Hagen Smith, Brady Tygart, Kendall Diggs, Peyton Stovall, Gage Wood, Jayson Jones and more.
Jones has been tearing it up in the Northwoods League this summer, and Van Horn said there is a chance the former No. 2 shortstop in the 2022 class on Perfect Game could be an every day player next year.
"He can run, he throws well, obviously he's got power, and I think he's going to hit for an average," Van Horn said. "He can probably play all four infield positions, and I believe he could play some short if you wanted him to or just said 'hey, we need help there.' He can actually play in the outfield as well.
"He looked really good out there when he just out of the blue went and took some fly balls for us in pregame against Mississippi State. I was like 'Wow.' He was out there with his infield glove. We were down a couple of outfielders at the time, and we actually put him in there. We said to heck with it, let's just do it. So, I think he's one that will play every day."
It's safe to say Van Horn and his staff still have a lot of work to be done in shaping the roster. One benefit they will have is being able to put together a 40-man roster, as opposed to the usual 35-man roster.
Arkansas baseball has turned into a machine of success under Van Horn's leadership, but he's continuing to try to build a roster to get the program to the highest level of success in the sport.
“An SEC championship is really hard to get," Van Horn said. "We want to take one more step. Obviously our goal is to win a national championship and if we can get all the pieces to come back, we are going to do everything we can to get one here in the next year or two.”
For a full outlook of Arkansas baseball's roster in 2024, click here.