Tag: Hudson Polk

Arkansas will have a battle for next year’s starting catcher position.

After receiving the commitment of Parker Rowand from Eastern Oklahoma earlier this summer, coach Dave Van Horn and the Razorbacks landed another transfer via the portal this week.

Former Oklahoma catcher Hudson Polk will join the Diamond Hogs in the fall. Polk, a rising junior, hit .313 as the No. 2 catcher with the Sooners last year as Oklahoma made the national championship series at the College World Series before falling to Ole Miss, the team that knocked out Arkansas.

Arkansas lost all three of its catchers off the 2022 roster as Michael Turner’s eligibility was exhausted and both Dylan Leach and Max Soliz Jr. entered the transfer portal.

Van Horn had said at his end-of-season press conference that he was not concerned about the catching position at the time even though no commitments had yet been made public.

Polk is the sixth known Division-I transfer to join the Razorbacks since summer began. Arkansas is likely to return just one position-player starter in 2023. Peyton Stovall is expected to shift from starting at first base to starting at second.

Arkansas also has 10 junior-college commitments plus its incoming high-school recruiting class to help refresh the roster.