After the crushing news that projected Friday night starter, [autotag]Peyton Pallette[/autotag] would miss the 2022 season due to an injury to his UCL that would need Tommy John surgery to repair, Arkansas fans were scrambling to find an answer to the question of “who will take his place?”
For head coach [autotag]Dave Van Horn[/autotag], he has found the answer in [autotag]Connor Noland[/autotag].
Since starting 19 games as a freshman in 2019, Noland had only appeared in 12 games prior to the beginning of the 2022 season. But, that has not slowed down his journey to become one of the best pitchers in College Baseball. On Tuesday, Noland joined a significant list of athletes named to the National Pitcher of the Year Watchlist by the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
Noland is one of nine pitchers from the SEC to be named to this list, with Tennessee leading the way with four nominees.
In nine starts this season, Noland is 5-1 with a 2.82 ERA and 67 strikeouts. The senior has allowed just 17 earned runs and has issued 11 walks in 54.1 IP of work.
The next time that Arkansas fans can see Noland on the mound will be Friday evening in the series-opener with Texas A&M. First pitch is set for 7:30 p.m. CT at Blue Bell Park in College Station, Texas. The game will be nationally televised by SEC Network.
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