Arkansas baseball has landed its likely starting first baseman for next season.
Junior-college All-American Caleb Cali, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound first bagger from the College of Central Florida, will transfer to Arkansas in time to play next season.
He slashed .438/.533/.826 this past spring with 17 home runs, 22 doubles, six triples and 77 RBIs. Cali was primarily a third baseman at CofCF, but his college coach told WholeHogSports that Cali projects as first baseman at the Division I level.
Cali began his career at Florida State where he redshirted before transferring to Hillsborough Community College for the 2021 season. Arkansas will make his fourth school in four years, but Cali will have two years of eligibility with the Razorbacks.
His arrival should allow Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn to shift this year’s starting first baseman, Peyton Stovall, to the middle infield, his primary position in high school.
Cali is one of 10 junior-college commits Van Horn and the Diamond Hogs have landed in the class. Arkansas is losing starters Jalen Battles, Michael Turner, Braydon Webb, Zack Gregory and Chris Lanzilli. They’re also likely to lose third baseman Cayden Wallace and second baseman Robert Moore to the MLB draft.