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HawgBeat's coverage of the Diamond Hogs' Road to Omaha is brought to you by CJ's Butcher Boy Burgers, which has locations in Fayetteville and Russellville.

FAYETTEVILLE — Although he barely got off the bench, Michael Turner’s trip to Baum-Walker Stadium with Kent State during his freshman year left an impression.

Aside from a brief stint as a late defensive replacement in the final game of the series, the Ohio native watched from the opposing dugout as his teammates split a doubleheader with Arkansas in front of nearly 9,000 fans before dropping a tight rubber match against the eventual national runner-up the next day.

More than three years have passed since then, but it gave him an up-close look at what proved to be his future team, as Turner committed to Arkansas as a graduate transfer Tuesday morning.

“As soon as I got some interest from them, I had some flashbacks to freshman year,” Turner told HawgBeat. “It was the best experience I’ve had playing college baseball and I was the away team, so I’m excited to be there for sure.”

After jumping at his first offer and committing to Kent State as a freshman in high school, Turner got the full recruiting experience when he entered the portal for his fifth and final collegiate season, which was made possible by the NCAA granting eligibility relief in response to the pandemic wiping out most of 2020.