The Arkansas Razorbacks are coming off a rough weekend in SEC play that saw them drop two of three games at Kentucky.
How costly were the Diamond Hogs’ losses in Lexington? Enough to drop the Razorbacks in the latest Field of 64 projections for the 2024 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament in the eyes of two outlets.
In its new forecast for the 64-team postseason, On3 dropped Arkansas from a projected No. 2 seed to a No. 4 seed. That’s enough to keep Arkansas a “safe” best to finish as a top eight national seed, according to On3’s Johnathan Wagner.
Notes Wagner:
“The Razorbacks are still 40-9 overall, 17-7 in the SEC and No. 3 in RPI with remaining weekends vs. Mississippi State and at Texas A&M. It won’t be an easy finish, but Arkansas is still safe to host as a top eight seed. Joining them in Fayetteville is Virginia Tech, Louisiana Tech and New Mexico.”
With the stretch run of the season upon them, the Razorbacks find themselves down two pitchers after coach Dave Van Horn announced that left-handers Colin Fisher and Hunter Dietz would miss the remainder of the season with elbow injuries. Fisher has been the team’s de facto No. 4 starter this season.
RELATED: Diamond Hogs lose two pitchers to season-ending injuries
While On3 is still relatively high on the Hogs (just a week ago, they predicted that the Arkansas-Texas A&M series in College Station to close the regular season would determine the No. 1 overall national seed), Baseball America wasn’t as favorable in its new postseason outlook.
Baseball America dropped Arkansas from a projected No. 2 national seed to the No. 6 seed. Similarly, BA lifted Kentucky all the way to the top of its projections and forecasts the Wildcats as the new No. 1 overall national seed. Kentucky rose to as high as No. 4 in one of the major Top 25 polls after its series victory over Arkansas.
Joining the Razorbacks in Baseball America’s projected Fayetteville Regional are Oklahoma State, Louisiana Tech and Arkansas-Little Rock. Texas A&M dropped to No. 2 with Clemson at No. 3. Tennessee and North Carolina also jumped Arkansas for higher seeds in Baseball America’s projections.
The final Field of 64 that will make up the NCAA Tournament and compete for a berth in the College World Series in Omaha will be unveiled on Selection Monday, May 27 at 11 a.m. CDT.
Arkansas returns to SEC play Friday night at Baum-Walker Stadium when it hosts Mississippi State beginning at 6:30 p.m. CDT. The Bulldogs (32-16, 14-1) are ranked as high as 12th in one poll this week and are No. 15 in this week’s USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll.