Arkansas baseball adds to pitching depth with highly ranked transfer from ECU

FAYETTEVILLE — The rich got richer Monday, with Arkansas baseball adding one of the best players available in the transfer portal to its pitching staff.

East Carolina lefty Zach Root announced his commitment to the Razorbacks on social media Monday evening, becoming the 10th Division I transfer to join Arkansas this offseason. According to 64analytics, Root is ranked as the No. 2 player in the portal.

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Root was the Saturday starter for the Pirates in 2024, going 6-2 with a 3.56 ERA. He struck out 76 batters and only allowed 21 walks in 68 ⅓ innings. Root held opponents to a .228 batting average.

Root is a rising junior who hails from Florida. The lefty primarily worked out of the bullpen during his freshman season at ECU, sporting a 3-3 record and a 5.33 ERA.

Arkansas will need to replace consensus national pitcher of the year Hagen Smith and all of its weekend rotation next season. Still, the Hogs are blessed with plenty of options, and Root will add to the depth.

Freshmen Gabe Gaeckle, Colin Fisher and Hunter Dietz are all potential options. Gaeckle was the bullpen ace this spring, while the two lefties both had their seasons cut short due to injury. Gage Wood finished the year as a starter, while Ben Bybee took over as the top midweek option after Fisher’s injury.

Root is also the third potential starter added through the transfer portal. Ohio State’s Landon Beidelschies (6-7, 4.15 ERA) and Oregon State’s Aiden Jimenez have also joined the program. Jimenez missed the entire 2024 season with an injury.