Hagen Smith is the record-holder for career strikeouts at Arkansas.
The junior left-hander struck out his 346th batter in the fifth inning vs. Texas A&M on Thursday to surpass previous No. 1 Nick Schmidt, who struck out 345 from 2005-07.
Smith’s strikeout of Aggies shortstop Ali Camarillo was his 11th of the game and 147th of the season.
Smith is climbing the program leaderboard for most strikeouts in a single season, too. He entered Thursday’s game at No. 3 with 136 strikeouts this year and surpassed Schmidt, who was at No. 2 with 145. David Walling is the record-holder with 155 during the 1999 season.
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After finishing his six-inning start against the Aggies with 14 strikeouts, Smith’s season total sits at 150 and his career total at 349.
Smith entered Thursday leading the country in ERA (1.65), strikeouts per nine innings (17.24) and hits allowed per nine innings (4.18).
“He’s been amazing, in one word,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said during the ESPN2 broadcast. “He’s been very consistent. He’s the same every week in his routine to get ready, just very level-headed, very mature. He’s the best I’ve ever had, probably.”
FAYETTEVILLE — The signing of two kickers out of the NCAA transfer portal by the University of Arkansas on Sunday came into clearer focus late that night when highly touted freshman Scott Starzyk announced via social media he was entering the portal.
Starzyk was joined on Monday by defensive tackle Kevin Oatis as the considerable exodus continued for first-year Coach Ryan Silverfield.
The Razorbacks have as many as 30 scholarship players in the portal, and a small handful have already announced their destinations.
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The portal period opened on Friday and it will stay open through Jan. 16. The most recent announcements came from receivers Kam Shanks and Krosse Johnson and defensive back Quentavius Scandrett on Saturday, then long snapper Ashton Ngo, defensive back Ahkhari Johnson and Starzyk on Sunday.
“I’m officially in the NCAA transfer portal,” Starzyk posted to X late Sunday. “Thank you to all the fans at Arkansas for a great year. And thank you to the staff who have supported me during my time at the university.”
Arkansas landed Tennessee transfer Max Gilbert out of the portal on Sunday as well as Braeden McAlister, a kickoff specialist, from Georgia State.
Gilbert, a rising junior from Memphis, made 14 of 19 field goals (73.7%) this season, with a long of 53 yards. He has made 34 of 45 (75.6%) through two years as a starter.
Starzyk, the No. 1 kicker of the 2025 class by Kohl’s Kicking, had a strong freshman season while leading Arkansas with 89 points. The 5-10, 172-pounder from The Woodlands, Texas, made 14 of 18 field goals (77.8%) and converted all 47 of his extra-point tries. He was 2 of 3 from 50-plus yards, including a make from 53 yards on his first career field goal in the opener against Alabama A&M.
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With senior punter Devin Bale out of eligibility, the Razorbacks will lose a large chunk of their key special teams performers. Bale and Blake Ford, who is also in the portal, shared kickoff duties. Starzyk did all the place kicking and Ngo all the snapping, while Shanks was the Hogs’ top punt returner and running back Rodney Hill the lead kickoff returner.
Razorback transfers with known commitments are offensive line starter E’Marion Harris, a former standout at Joe T. Robinson who is expected to sign with Oklahoma, defensive end Justus Boone (Wisconsin), defensive tackle Ian Geffrard (Texas) and linebacker Tavion Wallace (Kentucky).
Brett Barrouquere is a staff writer with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A reporter and editor for more than 30 years, he’s worked a little bit of everywhere, mainly in the South. His most recent stop before Arkansas was in Baltimore, Maryland, as a night and breaking news editor. He’s a New Orleans native and has two daughters.
