
SPORTS
By Robby Edwards | Photos courtesy of Razorback Communications
Van Horn Welcomes Nation’s No. 2 Transfer Portal Class
Baseball Hogs focus on fundamentals
A 44-16 season with a win in an NCAA Regional may not be disappointing for most programs, but for Arkansas baseball head coach Dave Van Horn, it led to changes as the Razorbacks gear up for the 2025 campaign.
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The Razorbacks and Southern Mississippi are the only two teams in the nation to win at least 40 games for seven straight years, excluding the shortened 2020 season. The Hogs were the No. 5 national seed and hosted a regional, but after an opening-round win over Southeast Missouri State, the Razorbacks dropped consecutive games to Kansas State and SEMO to fall short of the Super Regional round.
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Van Horn wanted to do something different on the field, and with his entire weekend starting pitching rotation being selected in the Major League Baseball Draft and only four regulars back on the field, changes were required to the roster, too.
“We haven’t scrimmaged as much,” Van Horn said of last fall’s practice. “We didn’t have nearly as many at-bats as we’ve had in the previous seven or eight falls. They normally get 70 at-bats, but the guys were mostly around 40 at-bats. We did more practicing, working on skills and offensively working on other things. We just did some hitting, a lot of baserunning, bunting; hopefully, it pays off.

Dave Van Horn
“Sometimes you assume things as a coach, and the kids we get out of high school, they don’t work on a lot of things,” he said. “They probably did in high school, but in the summer, they just play. They aren’t working on refining things like baserunning, bunting, bunting for a hit and maybe even throwing the ball to a cutoff man. We felt like we needed to do that just to make sure we’re good at it in the spring.”
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Before Van Horn and his staff could do that, they had to assemble a team. Ten of the top 14 position players and six experienced pitchers are gone. Four pitchers and four position players were drafted, including SEC Pitcher of the Year Hagen Smith (9-2, 2.04 ERA), who was taken in the fifth overall spot of the first round by the Chicago White Sox.


Gabe Gaeckle
Wehiwa Aloy
The top returnees in the field are infielders Wehiwa Aloy and Nolan Souza, catcher Ryder Helfrick, and outfielder Kendall Diggs. The top pitchers back are Gabe Gaeckle, Will McEntire, Hunter Dietz, Christian Foutch, Colin Fisher, Gage Wood, Cooper Dossett and Ben Bybee.
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Van Horn and crew went out and assembled the second-best transfer portal class in the country, according to Baseball America. Arkansas has eight of the top 100 transfers, including four of the top 50.


Will McEntire
Charles Davalan
According to the rankings, the top additions are No. 9 left-handed pitcher Landon Beidelschies, No. 13 left-handed pitcher Zach Root, No. 26 infielder Camden Kozeal, No. 33 outfielder Charles Davalan, No. 52 outfielder Logan Maxwell, No. 65 outfielder Rocco Peppi, No. 93 outfielder Carson Boles and No. 98 infielder Michael Anderson.
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Of this group, Baseball America said, “Both (Beidelschies and Root) will assume a weekend role this spring, and Arkansas has a bevy of weapons who will battle it out for the third starter spot. For as impressive a duo as Beidelschies and Root are, this class really shines positionally. Davalan has no shortage of tools packed into his compact frame, and the Florida Gulf Coast product will likely be the team’s everyday center fielder. Infielder Camden Kozeal will almost certainly start at second base, while a handful of other position players will be in the mix for starting roles.”

Landon Beidelschies

Kendall Diggs
Beidelschies was the Friday night weekend rotation starter at Ohio State last year, going 6-7 with a 4.15 ERA. He led the team with 91 strikeouts over 84.2 innings.
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Root was 6-2 with a 3.56 ERA at East Carolina, which went 46-17 and lost in the NCAA Regional finals. He had 76 strikeouts with just 21 walks over 68.1 innings.
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“The two new guys can start or come out of the pen, so could Wood and a few other guys,” Van Horn said. “They want to pitch for coach (Matt) Hobbs. They like what they’ve seen in the development of our younger pitchers. They had many options and could have gone somewhere in our league, and we would have to try to beat them. I think they just want to be on a team with a great pitching staff, and that’s what we foresee.”
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​Gaeckle was used out of the bullpen last year, appearing in 22 games and going 3-3 with a 2.32 ERA over 42.2 innings. Fisher started seven games for the Razorbacks, going 6-1 with a 2.67 ERA over 27.0 innings. Bybee started seven games and was 2-1 with a 5.83 ERA, and Wood made three starts and was 3-2 with a 4.46 ERA.


Nolan Souza
Gage Wood
“Gabe is solidified up there at one or two (in the rotation),” Van Horn said. “He’s pitched really well since he walked in the door a year and a half ago. Wood has made a big move.”
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Additionally, McEntire was 5-0 with one start and 30 appearances. He had a 4.83 ERA in 54.0 innings of work. Foutch appeared in 20 games and was 1-0 with a 0.810 ERA in 22.1 innings. Dossett pitched 15.2 innings over 14 games and was 3-1 with a 5.17 ERA.
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Among the hitters, Aloy, who played shortstop, hit .270, starting all 60 games. He had 14 home runs and 56 runs batted in. Souza, who played third base, hit .255 in 40 games with seven home runs. Diggs started 54 games in the outfield and hit .229 with seven homers and 34 RBI. Helfrick hit .179 in 31 games at catcher.
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“Souza can play the outfield, first base, second base, third base, shortstop — he’s really gifted,” Van Horn said. “He made a jump, too. You could see it from the first couple weeks of our skill work.
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“It was fun watching Ryder play last summer,” he said. “He’s tougher than nails, can run, has a tremendous arm and has power. He’s the frontrunner. He brings more than just receiving to the game and calling the game. He can block the plate, control the running game, call pitches and deal with our pitchers, and offensively, he made a jump.”
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Kozeal played in 43 games last year at Vanderbilt as a freshman, hitting .284 with five home runs and eight doubles, 24 runs scored, and 28 RBI.
“He swings the bat,” Van Horn said. “He’s really strong. He was in and out of the lineup (at Vanderbilt) as a freshman. That’s hard to do at this level. He has a lot of competition, and things have to be earned everywhere you go. He’s an infielder, and he can also be our designated hitter.”
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Davalan started 56 games as a freshman at Florida Gulf Coast last season, hitting .290 with 10 home runs, 38 RBI, 65 runs scored and 13 stolen bases.
Maxwell started 46 games in the outfield in 2024 at Texas Christian University. He hit .335 with 30 runs scored, 25 RBI and 10 stolen bases.
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Peppi started his career at Long Beach State but played at Fresno State last year, where he started 53 times, hit .327 with a team-best 14 homers, 16 doubles, 56 RBI and 43 runs scored.
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Boles played at Lincoln Memorial University and, over 28 games, hit .446 with eight homers, 38 RBI, and 40 runs scored.
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Anderson, a junior who played first base at Rhode Island, hit .250 with 13 home runs. He led URI with 42 RBI and set the NCAA record with 12 RBI in one game against Stonehill (Massachusetts) College.
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Other portal transfers include infielder/outfielder Kuhio Aloy, Brigham Young (.269, 8 HR, 38 RBI); and pitcher Aiden Jimenez, Oregon State (5-2, 5.68 ERA in 2023).
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“I appreciate those guys coming to Arkansas,” Van Horn said. “They all had many options. There’s a lot involved. Players need to pick the right schools in need of their positions, and in many cases, they came here and could have made more money at other places. They really evaluated their situation as far as development and what we offer here, and they will make a big impact here.

Zach Root
“We plugged in some depth and filled holes, got a couple experienced starting pitchers to mix with our staff, brought in some infielders and outfielders, but we have to go out and practice, put them in game situations, and they have to continue to get better,” he said.
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The Razorbacks also brought in several junior college transfers, including infielder Brent Iredale, New Mexico Junior College (.441, 25 HR, 78 RBI); outfielder Justin Thomas, Florida Southwestern State (.393, 14 HR); and catcher Elliott Peterson, Southeast Community College (.517, 15 HR, 91 RBI).
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Other returnees include pitchers Tate McGuire, Dylan Carter, Hunter Dietz and Parker Coil.