Arkansas pitcher [autotag]Hagen Smith[/autotag] was named a preseason first team All-American by D1Baseball on Monday, becoming the first Razorback to earn the honor since relief pitcher Zach Jackson in 2016.
The left-hander is coming off an impressive 2023 campaign where he was named a consensus All-American. In addition to that, Smith earned first team All-SEC honors and was a semifinalist for both the Golden Spikes Award and College Baseball Foundation’s National Pitcher of the Year Award. He became the first Arkansas pitcher since Ryne Stanek in 2013 to be named All-SEC first team.
Smith made 18 appearances last year as a sophomore, 11 of them being starts. He went 8-2 with a 3.63 ERA and opponent batting average of .217, a team-best 109 strikeouts and two saves in 71 2/3 innings of work.
Against SEC competition, Smith made 11 appearances with five starts. He posted a 5-1 record with 3.07 ERA, opponent batting average of .201 and 65 strikeouts in 44 innings of work.
Smith has been racking up preseason honors as he’s now a first team All-American according to both D1Baseball and Perfect Game. He’s also been picked as the SEC Preseason Pitcher of the Year by both publications.
The [autotag]Diamond Hogs[/autotag] begin their road to Omaha on Friday, Feb. 16 at 3:00 p.m. when they take on James Madison as part of a four-game series.