With seven slots to fill in the staring lineup this coming season, Arkansas baseball coach Dave Van Horn got his first official look at his new 47-man roster Friday, which included 24 new faces.
It marked the first day of the fall season and included a team workout at Baum-Walker Stadium, followed by a five-inning scrimmage, with the Grey beating the Red, 2-1. College teams now have a 45-day window to conduct 28 official practices.
The Razorbacks will hold an intrasquad scrimmage next Friday, Sept. 15, at 6 p.m., inside Baum-Walker, with free admission and parking. Gates opening at 5 p.m. They will conclude the early season with their annual intrasquad best-of-three Fall World Series in late October.
“I thought we played extremely good baseball for the first time out,” Van Horn said after Friday’s workout. “We hit the cutoff man, relayed to the plate, handled the ball on a pickoff play and got a guy out. The little things, pitchers threw strikes. It was kind of fun to watch.”
Arkansas took a big hit in the 2023 Major League Draft, having seven players, seven signees and one committed transfer selected. The only one who didn’t sign and arrived on campus this fall is incoming freshman pitcher Gabe Gaeckle, a 20th-round pick by Cincinnati. The seven signees drafted from the Razorbacks’ previously top-ranked recruiting class, were the most of any school in the country.
The Hogs are counting on the returning leadership of veterans like Kendall Diggs and Peyton Stovall to the lineup, and pitchers Brady Tygart, Hagen Smith and Will McEntire on the mound.
Arkansas also landed a handful of transfers who are expected to have an immediate impact, including Missouri grad-transfer outfielder Ty Wilmsmeyer, who homered in Friday’s scrimmage. The portal also provided two key junior transfers from Texas Tech, left-handed pitcher Mason Molina and catcher Hudson White, as well as Sacramento State transfer shortstop Wehiwa Aloy. Senior infielder Jared Sprague-Lott will also join the mix after spending the past three seasons at Richmond.
2023-24 Diamond Hogs Fall Roster
No. Player, Pos., Yr., Ht., Wt., B/T, Hometown / High School / Previous School
1 Ty Wilmsmeyer, OF, Grad., 6-2, 185, R/R, Springfield, Mo. / Glendale HS / Missouri
3 Nolan Souza, INF, Fr., 6-3, 210, L/R, Honolulu, Hawaii / Punahou HS
4 Jack Wagner, INF, Grad., 6-0, 200, R/R, Wichita, Kan. / Maize South HS / Kansas / Tarleton State
5 Kendall Diggs, INF/OF, Jr., 6-0, 205, L/R, Olathe, Kan. / Saint Thomas Aquinas HS
6 Ben McLaughlin, INF, Sr., 6-3, 215, L/R, Golden, Colo. / Golden HS / Hutchinson CC
8 Hudson White, C, Jr., 6-1, 200, R/R, Keller, Texas / Byron Nelson HS / Texas Tech
9 Wehiwa Aloy, INF, So., 6-2, 200, R/R, Wailuku, Hawaii / Baldwin HS / Sacramento State
10 Peyton Stovall, INF, Jr., 5-11, 190, L/R, Haughton, La. / Haughton HS
11 Jaewoo Cho, RHP, Fr., 6-3, 200, R/R, Seoul, South Korea / IMG Academy
12 Jared Sprague-Lott, INF, Sr., 6-0, 190, R/R, Philadelphia, Penn. / Springside Chestnut Hill Academy / Richmond
14 Ross Lovich, OF, Sr., 6-0, 185, L/L, Overland Park, Kan. / Blue Valley West HS / Missouri
15 Lincoln Riley, OF, Grad., 5-10, 190, R/R, Marion, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Washington / Eastern Illinois
16 Hudson Polk, C, Sr., 6-1, 210, R/R, Coppell, Texas / Coppell HS / Oklahoma
17 Hunter Grimes, INF/OF, R-Sr., 6-1, 185, R/R, Kerrville, Texas / Tivy HS / UTSA / McLennan CC
18 Reese Robinett, INF, So., 6-3, 215, L/R, Kennett, Mo. / Kennett HS
19 Will Edmunson, OF, Jr., 6-0, 200, R/R, Luther, Okla. / Home School / Hutchinson CC
20 Gabe Gaeckle, RHP, Fr., 6-0, 190, R/R, Aptos, Calif. / Aptos HS
21 Mason Molina, LHP, Jr., 6-2, 225, R/L, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. / Trabuco Hills HS / Texas Tech
22 Ty Waid, C/INF, Fr., 6-2, 225, R/R, Texarkana, Ark. / Arkansas HS
24 Peyton Holt, INF, Sr., 5-10, 205, R/R, Greenwood, Ark. / Greenwood HS / Crowder College
25 Brady Tygart, RHP, Jr., 6-2, 215, R/R, Hernando, Miss. / Lewisburg HS
26 Tate McGuire, RHP, Fr., 6-3, 210, R/R, Liberty, Mo. / Liberty North HS
27 Ryder Helfrick, C, Fr., 6-1, 200, R/R, Discovery Bay, Calif. / Clayton Valley Charter HS
28 Koty Frank, RHP, Grad., 6-2, 220, R/R, Tushka, Okla. / Tushka HS / Eastern Oklahoma State College / Nebraska
29 Austin Ledbetter, RHP, Jr., 6-1, 200, R/R, Bryant, Ark. / Bryant HS
31 Dylan Carter, RHP, R-Jr., 6-2, 205, R/R, Bentonville, Ark. / Bentonville West HS / Crowder College
32 Hunter Dietz, LHP, Fr., 6-6, 230, R/L, Trinity, Fla. / Calvary Christian HS
33 Hagen Smith, LHP, Jr., 6-3, 225, L/L, Bullard, Texas / Bullard HS
34 Diego Ramos, RHP, Fr. 6-3, 195, S/L, Vian, Okla. / Vian HS
35 Jordan Huskey, LHP, R-Fr., 5-11, 190, L/L, Quitman, Ark. / Greenbrier HS
36 Parker Coil, LHP, So., 6-3, 190, R/L, Edmond, Okla. / Edmond Memorial HS
37 Jake Faherty, RHP, Jr., 6-3, 185, R/R, Georgetown, Ky. / Great Crossing HS
38 Colin Fisher, LHP, Fr., 6-3, 215, L/L, Noble, Okla. / Noble HS
39 Tucker Holland, LHP, Fr., 6-6, 230, R/L, Fayetteville, N.C. / The Burlington School
40 Ben Bybee, RHP, So., 6-6, 230, R/R, Overland Park, Kan. / Blue Valley Southwest HS
41 Will McEntire, RHP, R-Sr., 6-4, 225, L/R, Bryant, Ark. / Bryant HS
43 Kade Smith, INF/OF/RHP, Fr., 6-0, 200, R/R, Searcy, Ark. / Harding Academy
44 Parker Rowland, C, Sr., 6-3, 215, S/R, Tulsa, Okla. / Bishop Kelley HS / Arkansas State / Eastern Oklahoma State College
45 Gage Wood, RHP, So., 6-0, 205, R/R, Batesville, Ark. / Batesville HS
46 Christian Foutch, RHP, So., 6-3, 230, R/R, Littleton, Colo. / Chatfield HS
48 Cooper Dossett, RHP, So., 6-0, 190, R/R, Springdale, Ark. / Har-Ber HS
49 Stone Hewlett, LHP, Sr., 6-1, 195, L/L, Leawood, Kan. / Rockhurst HS / Kansas
51 Jack Smith, LHP, Fr. 6-4, 220, L/L, Moultain, Ala. / Hartselle HS
52 Jonah Conradt, RHP, Fr., 6-3, 175, R/R, Greenville, Wis. / P27 Academy
55 Josh Hyneman, RHP, R-Fr., 6-4, 245, R/R, Jonesboro, Ark. / Jonesboro HS
61 Adam Hachman, LHP, Fr., 6-5, 230, L/L, Wentzville, Mo. / Timberland HS