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FAYETTEVILLE — Following the longest offseason in program history, Arkansas returned to the diamond for practice early last month.
The Razorbacks will cap the 45-day window for fall ball with their annual seven-game Fall World Series beginning Friday. It will be the final chance for the 51 players on the roster to impress head coach Dave Van Horn before the spring.
However, a handful of players have already made a solid impression on the veteran coach and stood out amongst the massive roster created by the coronavirus pandemic.
When asked Thursday about the biggest surprises of the fall so far, the first name out of Van Horn’s mouth was freshman catcher Dylan Leach.
Originally a member of Arkansas’ 2021 recruiting class, Leach decided to take a route similar to Robert Moore. Unlike the talented middle infielder, though, he didn’t wait until mid-year to arrive in Fayetteville.
Instead, Leach skipped his entire senior year at Carthage, Texas. Even after the Razorbacks added not one, but two graduate transfer catchers and even after Casey Opitz went undrafted, he never wavered on the decision.
“He was planning on doing that early in the summer, late spring and then Opitz came back,” Van Horn said. “That didn’t sway him a bit. His attitude and opinion was ‘I’m just going to learn from him.’ It wasn’t all about playing time his first year.”
Although Opitz is the clear starter as one of the best catchers in college baseball, Leach has made a push to be Arkansas’ backup.
His competition is Cason Tollett, who was limited because of an injury during a shortened true freshman season, and junior college transfer Charlie Welch. Despite being the youngest of the bunch, he has made strides this fall to put him in position to earn playing time this year.
“He’s really, really improved his catching skills,” Van Horn said. “He has a very good arm, very accurate. He’s done a nice job.”
At the plate, Leach is a switch hitter. While he hasn’t hit as well as he hoped this fall, Van Horn said he’s been pleased with how many walks he’s taken, which is impressive for a young player.
Unfortunately, fans likely won’t get an opportunity to see Leach during the Fall World Series. He was slated to start for the Black squad, opposite of Opitz on the Red squad, but he recently tweaked his arm in practice.
Among the players who were already in the program, Van Horn singled out Cullen Smith.
An all-conference performer in the SoCon who hit .300 as a three-year starter at East Tennessee State, Smith decided he wanted to play in the SEC following the 2019 season - even if it meant sitting out a year.
He landed at Arkansas and redshirted in 2020 because of NCAA transfer rules, but Van Horn said he’s had a “tremendous” fall at the plate and is versatile defensively.
“He sat last year and has worked hard, gotten his body in great shape and he’s probably led our team in hitting all fall,” Van Horn said. “He can play first, second, third and probably play some outfield - just having a really, really good fall.”
Game 1 of the Fall World Series is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT Friday. It does not have any viewing options, but HawgBeat will be in attendance and providing live updates on The Trough.
The next six scrimmages will be streamed on SEC Network-Plus. Click here for the full schedule, pitching matchups and rosters.
