The key piece to Arkansas’ pitching rotation for the 2022 season has a big decision to make.
Arkansas right-handed pitcher [autotag]Connor Noland[/autotag] joined “The Morning Rush” on ESPN Arkansas Wednesday morning, where the topic of declaring for the Major League Baseball draft was discussed.
When asked whether or not he had plans to begin his professional career, or return to Arkansas for his fifth season of eligibility that has been granted due to the shortened 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Noland says that he is going to take his time to make the right decision for him.
“There is a possibility I do to come back to Arkansas. Never say never… I haven’t made a decision just yet… I’m going to test the waters and see what happens.”
– Connor Noland on The Morning Rush
— ESPN Arkansas & HitThatLine.com (@HitThatLineAR) July 6, 2022
Noland stepped up in a huge way for Arkansas, as he took over the Friday night starter role in place of projected ace [autotag]Peyton Pallette[/autotag], who suffered an elbow injury prior to the start of the 2022 season.
Noland, who had not gotten significant starts on the mound since his freshman season in 2019, went 8-6 in 19 starts, accumulating a 3.65 ERA with 113 strikeouts to just 34 issued walks in 116.0 innings pitched. He tells hosts Tye Richardson and Tommy Craft that he prepared during the offseason to be a shoe-in for that role.
“You think about Arkansas baseball. There’s always a Friday night guy that sets the tone for the weekend. I worked really hard in the off-season to try and be that.”
– Connor Noland
— ESPN Arkansas & HitThatLine.com (@HitThatLineAR) July 6, 2022
The MLB Draft is set to begin Sunday, July 17 and last until Tuesday, July 19. If Noland is not selected in a spot that is beneficial, he has the opportunity to return to Arkansas for next season in an effort to improve his draft stock.
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