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HawgBeat – Arkansas Baseball 2024 Lineup Projection: SS Wehiwa Aloy

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HawgBeat  –  Arkansas Baseball 2024 Lineup Projection: SS Wehiwa Aloy


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We are XXX days away from Arkansas baseball, and HawgBeat is continuing its annual lineup preview series for the 2024 Diamond Hogs.

With scrimmage coverage, analysis, interviews, previews, the Diamond Hawgs Podcast and more, HawgBeat provides the best Arkansas baseball coverage around.

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We continue things with the four-hole spot in the lineup, which shortstop Wehiwa Aloy is projected to fill…

#9 – Wehiwa Aloy – SS

So. | R/R | 6-2 | 200

Wailuku, Hawai’i / H.P. Baldwin HS / Sacramento State

2023 stats: 56 GP, .376/.427/.662, 15 2B, 5 3B, 14 HR, 46 RBI, 15 BB/44 K, 2 SB

Sacramento State transfer Wehiwa Aloy has quickly become a fan favorite before even playing a game for the Diamond Hogs. The Hawai’i native was a D1Baseball First Team Freshman All-American in 2023, and now he has his sights set on the SEC.

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“I watched (SEC baseball) growing up,” Aloy said on Monday. “I always looked up to many people in the SEC. Once I saw Peyton (Stovall) at Arkansas, I said ‘Yeah, I really want to work with him.’ Because he’s one of the best in the nation and he gets me better everyday.”

Facing higher competition is something that Aloy said has helped mold his game, but it hasn’t seemed to slow him down much. He has put his power on display against some of Arkansas’ top arms with three home runs through the first two weekends of preseason intrasquad scrimmages.

“You can’t teach that stuff,” Peyton Holt said Monday. “I mean, the kid rolls up to the field and hits a double or home run about every scrimmage. He’s a special talent. Love having him on our team, middle of the lineup, going to be fun to watch this year.”

Across fall and spring scrimmages attended by Arkansas media, Aloy leads the team in OPS (1.291) and RBIs (17), but he also has the fewest walks (2).

During Monday’s Swatter’s Club luncheon, head coach Dave Van Horn said the Razorbacks were close to having to compete against Aloy, likely alluding to the fact that another SEC team was recruiting him hard.

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“We feel very fortunate to have him,” Van Horn said. “He’s going to probably hit in the four-hole for us, somewhere in there. Great guy. Really good person. I think you’ll enjoy watching him play.”

The recruiting visit to Fayetteville for Aloy didn’t go exactly as planned, but it did lead to a lingering problem getting taken care of.

“He wasn’t feeling real good on his visit, and he ended up having to go and get his gallbladder taken out,” Van Horn said Monday. “He was going to go play in the (Cape Cod Baseball League) after he committed to us from the airport. I gave him one more shot. I called him at the airport before he got on the plane, he committed and canceled his other trips.

“He might be playing in another uniform. It was scary. He had been having problems. He played with stomach issues all spring last year. They took his gallbladder out. He’s been fine ever since. He was super quiet on his visit. We hoped he liked it. We felt like he did. But that’s kind of just his personality.”

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Aloy has been sharp in the field at shortstop for the Razorbacks this preseason, but it is worth mentioning that he had 17 errors and a .928 fielding percentage last season at Sacramento State. He will have a new infield partner at second for the start of the season, as second baseman Peyton Stovall suffered a broken foot Monday that’ll keep him out for 4-6 weeks.

Arkansas will host James Madison at Baum-Walker Stadium on Friday, Feb. 16 for Opening Day. The first game of the season is set for a 3 p.m. CT first pitch and it will be streamed on the SEC Network+.

HawgBeat’s Lineup Breakdown Series

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Arkansas driver’s licenses and state IDs now available in Apple Wallet

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Arkansas driver’s licenses and state IDs now available in Apple Wallet


Arkansans can now present their driver’s licenses and state identification cards on mobile devices using Apple Wallet, state finance officials announced Wednesday.

The Department of Finance and Administration said Arkansans can use Apple Wallet to present their license or ID in person, online and in apps at select organizations, including at more than 250 Transportation Security



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Your Arkansas Driver’s License Can Now Live on Your iPhone

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Your Arkansas Driver’s License Can Now Live on Your iPhone


IDEMIA Public Security North America and the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration’s Division of Driver Services and Motor Vehicles have launched Arkansas driver’s licenses and state IDs in Apple Wallet, allowing residents to securely store and use their credentials on an iPhone or Apple Watch.

The new feature gives Arkansans the ability to present their identification at participating businesses and venues, at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints in more than 250 airports, and online or within apps when age or identity verification is required.

The launch builds on Arkansas’ ongoing efforts to expand digital identification options. In March 2025, the state introduced the Arkansas Mobile ID app, and officials say adding IDs to Apple Wallet offers residents another secure and convenient way to access their credentials.

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“We’re proud to build on our partnership with the Arkansas DFA’s Division of Driver Services and Motor Vehicles, expanding on the launch of the Arkansas Mobile ID app in March 2025. The launch of ID in Apple Wallet in the state provides Arkansas residents a new, secure way to store and present their digital credentials, with transparency and control over how their information is shared at the forefront,” said Rob Gardner, CEO, IDEMIA Civil Identity.

To add an Arkansas driver’s license or state ID to Apple Wallet, users can tap the plus sign at the top of the Wallet app on their iPhone, select “Driver’s License or State ID,” and follow the verification process.

Officials say privacy and security were central considerations in the rollout. Information stored in Apple Wallet is encrypted on a user’s device, and users control when and how their information is shared. When presenting an ID, only the information necessary to verify age or identity is provided.

Apple and the Arkansas Division of Driver Services and Motor Vehicles also do not receive information about when or where residents use their digital IDs.

The technology is also designed to make verification easier for businesses. Participating businesses can use IDEMIA’s Mobile ID Verify app to accept and verify mobile IDs directly from an iPhone without requiring customers to hand over their devices or use additional hardware.

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The launch marks another step toward broader adoption of digital credentials in Arkansas, giving residents a secure alternative to carrying a physical driver’s license or state ID while maintaining control over their personal information.

For information on the launch of IDs in Apple Wallet in Arkansas, click here.

READ ALSO: Adam O’Neal Stepping into Chancellor Role at UA-EACC



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Arkansas gymnatics coach Chris Brooks completes staff with hiring of Zan Jones | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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Arkansas gymnatics coach Chris Brooks completes staff with hiring of Zan Jones | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette


New Arkansas gymnastics coach Chris Brooks announced Monday the hiring of Zan Jones to complete his first staff, as well as the promotion of assistants Kyla Ross and Catelyn Branson.

Brooks succeeded his wife, Jordyn Wieber, on April 28 after Wieber stepped down.

Jones joins the Razorback after two seasons as an assistant coach at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas. The Pioneers won back-to-back Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics National Invitational Championship titles in 2025 and 2026 with Jones on staff. He has been named a Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association Division II assistant coach of the year three times, including this spring.

Jones also earned Midwest Independent Conference assistant coach of the year in both of his seasons at Texas Woman’s.

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Jones served as the Pioneers’ primary vault and uneven bars coach, and the team set a program record of 49.35 on the bars in March.

An Alabama alumnus, Jones served as a student manager for the Crimson Tide gymnastics team. He served a year at Talladega (Ala.) College in its inaugural season of gymnastics and spent time as a recreational and team coach at Trussville (Ala.) Academy of Gymnastics.

Brooks also promoted both Ross and Branson to the title of associate head coach. Ross, a former UCLA gymnast and Olympic gold medalist as part of Team USA in 2012, started at Arkansas as a volunteer assistant in 2022. Ross helped Arkansas produce program records on the balance beam in back-to-back years before taking over the vault squad, which set a program high 49.675 in 2026. 

The Razorbacks ranked as high as No. 2 on the vault last season and were never lower than No. 7. Senior transfer Morgan Price landed the first 10 in school history on the vault in February.

Branson returned to the Arkansas staff ahead of the 2025 season, helping lead the floor squad. In that time, Branson has led the Gymbacks to two of their top five best floor scores ever and Arkansas has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the country on floor in the last two seasons. In 2026, over 60% of the team’s scores on floor were 9.85 or better.

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Branson served as Lindenwood’s head coach from 2022-24, where she was named 2024 Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association South Central Region Coach of the Year and the Midwest Independent Conference Coach of the Year. She led the Lions to their second consecutive and fifth overall USAG national championship and seventh MIC title in 2024.

Branson had a prior stint at Arkansas from 2020 to 2022, in which time the Gymbacks ranked as high as third on beam and second on floor.



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