Arkansas

Arkansas baseball transfer tracker: Hogs, Dave Van Horn building 2026 roster in portal

Published

9 months ago

June 21, 2025

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Arkansas baseball transfer tracker: Hogs, Dave Van Horn building 2026 roster in portal

Arkansas baseball’s long road back to Omaha begins in the transfer portal.

The Razorbacks can officially turn their full attention to next year’s roster after the 2025 season ended Wednesday, June 18 in the College World Series semifinals. Arkansas fell two wins short of reaching the championships series.

The Hogs crushed the 2024 transfer portal, bringing in four All-SEC players in Charles Davalan, Zach Root, Kuhio Aloy and Cam Kozeal. They also landed the likes of Landon Beidelschies and Logan Maxwell.

A similar haul would once again make Arkansas a national title contender. The Hogs are bringing back a strong core of players, led by Gabe Gaeckle and Ryder Helfrick.

Here’s a look at who is coming and who is going for the Razorbacks this summer.

Players transferring to Arkansas baseball

Jackson Wells, pitcher, Little Rock

Wells attended Rogers High School and spent three years with the Trojans after beginning his collegiate career at UA Rich Mountain. In 2023, Wells led the country with a 1.65 ERA. Paul Skenes had the next-best ERA during his final season at LSU. The righty wasn’t able to replicate that dominance over his next two seasons, and in 2025 he went 3-8 with a 5.36 ERA in 87⅓ innings. At Arkansas, Wells figures to compete for a spot in the back end of the rotation or as a high-leverage option out of the bullpen.

Ethan McElvain, pitcher, Vanderbilt

McElevain went 2-3 with a 7.24 ERA in 2025. Those numbers are underwhelming, but the flame-throwing lefty struck out 45 batters in 27⅓ innings. According to D1Baseball, McElvain had a better-than 50% whiff rate on his slider, complimenting a fastball that lives in the upper 90s. Arkansas will hope to rein in his 1.02 walks per inning and turn McElvain into a reliable left-handed option out of the bullpen.

Players entering the portal from Arkansas baseball

Gabe Fraser, infielder

Fraser became the first portal departure who played in 2025. The California native hit .250 with one home run and 12 RBIs in 52 at-bats. He spent a brief period as the starting second baseman after Nolan Souza went down with a season-ending injury, but a leg ailment derailed Fraser’s own playing time. He was ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 144 overall prospect and the No. 37 shortstop in the class of 2024.

Jackson Farrell, pitcher

Farrell did not make an appearance during his one and only season with the Razorbacks. Perfect Game ranked Farrell as a top-500 overall prospect and the No. 70 left-handed pitcher in the class of 2024.

Ross Felder, pitcher

The Springdale native did not pitch for Arkansas in his one-year career with the Hogs. He was a a top-500 overall prospect and the No. 287 right-handed pitcher in the class of 2024, according to Perfect Game.

Tag Andrews, pitcher

Another in-state pitcher, the graduate from Maumelle High School was Perfect Game’s No. 345 overall prospect and the No. 105 right-handed pitcher in the class of 2024. He did not pitch during his freshman season.

Luke Williams, pitcher

Just like the three players above, Williams did not pitch in 2025. He was as a top-500 overall prospect and the No. 72 left-handed pitcher in the class of 2024, according to Perfect Game.

Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@gannett.com or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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Arkansas

Arkansas Razorbacks play the High Point Panthers in second round

Published

4 hours ago

March 20, 2026

Press Room

Arkansas Razorbacks play the High Point Panthers in second round

High Point Panthers (31-4, 18-1 Big South) vs. Arkansas Razorbacks (27-8, 16-5 SEC)

Portland, Oregon; Saturday, 9:45 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Razorbacks -11.5; over/under is 168.5

BOTTOM LINE: No. 14 Arkansas takes on High Point in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Razorbacks’ record in SEC play is 16-5, and their record is 11-3 against non-conference opponents. Arkansas has a 25-8 record against teams above .500.

The Panthers are 18-1 in Big South play. High Point ranks fifth in the Big South with 23.0 defensive rebounds per game led by Cam’Ron Fletcher averaging 5.3.

Arkansas’ average of 8.2 made 3-pointers per game this season is only 0.7 more made shots on average than the 7.5 per game High Point gives up. High Point scores 9.8 more points per game (89.8) than Arkansas gives up (80.0).

TOP PERFORMERS: Darius Acuff Jr. is shooting 48.6% and averaging 23.0 points for the Razorbacks. Meleek Thomas is averaging 16.7 points over the last 10 games.

Terry Anderson is averaging 16 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals for the Panthers. Chase Johnston is averaging 1.8 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Razorbacks: 8-2, averaging 93.6 points, 33.6 rebounds, 17.2 assists, 7.1 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 49.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 88.9 points per game.

Panthers: 10-0, averaging 86.5 points, 34.3 rebounds, 15.3 assists, 9.2 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 45.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.0 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Arkansas

What Arkansas basketball’s John Calipari said about facing High Point in March Madness

Published

16 hours ago

March 19, 2026

Press Room

What Arkansas basketball’s John Calipari said about facing High Point in March Madness

PORTLAND, Ore. — Arkansas basketball is sticking around in the Pacific Northwest.

In order to clinch a berth in the Sweet 16 for a second consecutive season, the Hogs must take down an underdog brimming with confidence.

The No. 4 Razorbacks (27-8) knocked off No. 13 Hawaii 97-78 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 19. Arkansas began the game with an 11-0 run and never looked back, leading for 39:38 of a 40-minute contest.

Their next opponent is No. 12 High Point (30-4), who kickstarted the beautiful disruption of March Madness with an 83-82 victory over No. 5 Wisconsin just before the Hogs took the floor inside the Moda Center. Razorbacks coach John Calipari knows his team is in for a stiff test against a talented mid-major opponent.

“I’ll be walking the streets of Portland tonight enjoying this, but I’ve got three tapes that I got to watch of High Point,” Calipari said. “They’re good. Wisconsin found out they are good, and they’re not afraid.”

There might not be a hotter team in the country than the Panthers. They’re riding a 15-game winning streak into Saturday’s matchup, and coach Flynn Clayman delivered a fiery, confident statement after High Point stunned the Badgers.

“Looks pretty obvious to me that high-majors need to play mid-majors early in the season. Because they said we didn’t play nobody. We played somebody now,” Clayman told CBS Sports.

Calipari admitted he does have some familiarity with the High Point roster. Fifth-year senior Cam’Ron Fletcher began his career at Kentucky for the 2020-21 season before transferring to Florida State. There was a pit stop at Xavier, and now Fletcher is averaging 12.7 points and 6.9 rebounds with the Panthers.

The Panthers are led by a a pair of seniors in explosive wing Terry Anderson and veteran point guard Rob Martin. Anderson (16 ppg) has nine games this season with at least 20 points, while Martin (15.3 ppg) boasts an assist-to-turnover ratio better than 2-to-1.

After the Arkansas win, freshman point guard Darius Acuff Jr. said he didn’t pay attention to High Point’s upset against Wisconsin.

The SEC Player of the Year was following instructions from his Hall of Fame coach.

“I’ve been telling these guys, ‘You’re going to look and you’re worried about somebody in front of you, and they get beat. Then you’re playing somebody else,’” Calipari said. “That’s why you don’t even need to watch games. Just stay in the moment. Let’s stay in the five-minute segments. Let’s stay locked in.”

Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@usatodayco.com or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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Arkansas

Darius Acuff Jr. NBA mock draft projection: Where Arkansas star is expected to land

Published

1 day ago

March 19, 2026

Press Room

Darius Acuff Jr. NBA mock draft projection: Where Arkansas star is expected to land

March Madness is underway and today’s college stars have a chance to cement themselves in this summer’s NBA draft class. The 2026 draft is expected to take place in late June. In USA TODAY’s latest mock draft, Arkansas’s Darius Acuff Jr. is expected to go in the first round.

Here’s how USA TODAY currently projects the guard’s draft night will play out.

Darius Acuff Jr. 2026 NBA Draft prediction: Pick No. 6 overall, Dallas Mavericks

All picks based on Tankathon lottery projection

Kalbrosky’s Analysis:

Now led by Cooper Flagg, the Mavericks need to find players who can help Dallas stay competitive on offense and Arkansas freshman Darius Acuff Jr. can do exactly that. The SEC Player of the Year is excellently efficient at operating ball screens or in isolation. He leads freshmen for points created per 40 minutes (43.1) either by himself or through an assist, per CBB Analytics. He can score well from either side of the court and is among the freshmen leaders in both alley-oop assists (15) and field goals made in transition (62) this season. There is a reason rival coach Sean Miller thinks this generational guard should have his name in the mix at No. 1 overall.

See USA TODAY’s full mock draft here