FAYETTEVILLE — For all the eye Sam Pittman and Eric Musselman get for his or her efforts on the recruiting path, Dave Van Horn has quietly completed one thing for Arkansas baseball that neither of them have but to perform of their sport.

Within the newest replace to Good Sport’s rankings for 2023, the Razorbacks have the No. 1 recruiting class within the nation — simply forward of Vanderbilt. If that holds, it’d be the primary time in program historical past that it topped the outlet’s recruiting rankings.

With a tip of the cap to Courtney Deifel and her top-ranked 2022 class by Additional Inning Softball, it will even be the primary time any of Arkansas’ three main sports activities — soccer, males’s basketball and baseball — have introduced in a No. 1-ranked signing class.

The basketball staff got here shut in the newest cycle, as Musselman signed a trio of five-star recruits and three extra top-100, four-star recruits, however that class checked in at No. 2 behind a historic haul by Duke.

That has usually been seen because the Razorbacks’ high-water mark within the recruiting rankings period, surpassing Musselman’s in-state group in 2020 that included future lottery choose Moses Moody. The soccer staff has by no means sniffed the highest 10, however might probably crack the highest 20 on this cycle.

Arkansas Baseball as a Recruiting Juggernaut

In baseball, although, Arkansas’ recruiting prowess mirrors its success on the sphere. It’s among the many nation’s elite with regards to profitable video games, because it has reached three of the final 4 Faculty World Collection and was ranked No. 1 the 12 months it didn’t make it to Omaha, and on the recruiting path.

It will nearly definitely be the Razorbacks’ fifth straight top-five class. They’ve been within the prime 12 every year since 2016 and have been outdoors the highest 20 simply as soon as since Good Sport began rating lessons in 2011.

Apparently, that 2015 class — which was ranked forty third — supplied the core of Arkansas’ nationwide runner-up end in 2018, because it featured gamers like Grant Koch, Eric Cole, Blaine Knight, Kacey Murphy, Isaiah Campbell, Barrett Loseke, Jake Reindl and Cody Scroggins… To not point out some man named Kevin Kopps.

Arkansas’ highest end in Good Sport’s recruiting rankings was No. 2 a 12 months earlier than that, when it signed Keaton McKinney, Luke Bonfield, Chad Spanberger and a number of other different highly-touted gamers that both by no means made it to campus or didn’t pan out.

Essentially the most top-100 gamers the Razorbacks have ever signed in a single class was seven in 2021 — a quantity that in addition they would have hit in 2020 had Robert Moore not skipped his senior season and enrolled early.

Each of these marks are set to fall when signing day rolls round this November.

Breaking Down the Razorbacks’ Historic 2023 Class

Solely Vanderbilt (22) and LSU (21) have signed extra top-100 gamers than the 16 Arkansas — and Florida — have signed over the past three lessons, so the Razorbacks are not any strangers to touchdown prime expertise.

Nonetheless, they’ve taken it up a notch in 2023. Arkansas has a Division I-leading 10 commitments at the moment ranked among the many prime 100 gamers within the nation by Good Sport.

A fast search via Good Sport’s database appears to point that’d be a document, however the recruiting class rankings toss out signees who bypass school and signal professionally straight out of highschool. That’s why LSU is proven with solely six top-100 gamers in its 2022 class regardless of signing 11 — which is believed to be the precise document.

Nonetheless, it’s uncommon for groups to hit double digits. Within the 2023 class, during which just one top-100 participant is uncommitted, the subsequent closest groups to Arkansas’ 10 top-100 commits are Vanderbilt and UCLA, with seven apiece.

How Many Will Make it to Campus?

Along with being a much less well-liked sport, one cause baseball recruiting isn’t as broadly adopted as its counterparts is due to how distinctive it’s in comparison with soccer and males’s basketball.

Not solely do gamers have the power to show professional straight out of highschool, much like basketball earlier than a 2006 rule-change, however those that do get drafted nonetheless have the choice to go to school till nearly the beginning of the autumn semester. It’s not unusual for the perfect novice gamers to skip faculty in favor of seven-figure signing bonuses.

That stated, it’s changing into increasingly more frequent for prime prep gamers to decide on school over driving round in buses and enjoying in entrance of sparse crowds within the minor leagues.

This 12 months’s MLB Draft noticed 46 of Good Sport’s top-100 recruits go undrafted and one other 11 who acquired drafted however didn’t signal. Meaning greater than half of that record — 57 gamers, to be actual — will play school baseball.

A decade in the past, within the 2012 MLB Draft, the variety of top-100 recruits who didn’t signal professionally straight out of highschool was simply 33.

The chance to play in entrance of packed stadiums and develop in state-of-the-art amenities in conferences just like the SEC is interesting to top-tier baseball gamers, plus they now have the power to generate income in school as a result of Identify, Picture and Likeness (NIL) insurance policies have modified.

Should you embrace Robert Moore with the 2020 group, the Razorbacks have satisfied 10 of their 17 top-100 signees within the earlier three lessons to come back to Fayetteville. At 58.8 %, that’s about on par with the 57% charge seen within the 2022 cycle.

This summer time, the Razorbacks went 2 for 3 on getting their top-100 signees to campus. They misplaced flame-throwing right-hander Cole Phillips (No. 38) to the professionals, however power-hitting infielder Jayson Jones (No. 35) and speedy outfielder Mason Neville (No. 86) are enrolled at Arkansas.

Members of the 2023 Arkansas Baseball Recruiting Class

The crown jewel of the 2023 Arkansas baseball recruiting class is Aidan Miller, an infielder out of J.W. Mitchell Excessive Faculty in Trinity, Fla. At No. 4 total, he’d be the highest-ranked participant to signal with the Razorbacks throughout the Good Sport period (since 2002).

He’s been ranked within the prime 10 since committing to the Razorbacks in October 2020, however Miller’s inventory has continued to rise. Simply this summer time, he was named the MVP of the Excessive Faculty All-American Sport and gained the Excessive Faculty House Run Derby, each of which passed off at Dodger Stadium as a part of MLB’s All-Star Week festivities.

Miller — who additionally earned Good Sport’s Jackie Robinson Participant of the Yr Award — is one among 5 Arkansas commitments who participated in Sunday’s Good Sport All-American Basic at Chase Area in Phoenix, residence of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

He was the Razorbacks’ lone consultant on the East squad, however the West featured 4 Arkansas signees — together with the sport’s MVP.

Ryder Helfrick, a catcher from California who’s ranked No. 40 total within the class, broke up a no-hitter with a triple within the seventh inning and later scored the game-tying run. That compelled additional innings, when Helfrick as soon as once more delivered with a go-ahead two-run single.

Two different Arkansas commitments — right-handers Dylan Questad (No. 34) from Wisconsin and Gabe Gaeckle (No. 38) from California, the latter of which flipped from UCLA to the Razorbacks on Aug. 13 — had been among the many West pitchers who put up scoreless frames, in line with Good Sport’s recap.

He wasn’t talked about within the recap, however right-hander Barrett Kent (No. 57) from Texas was additionally on the West roster. He’s had a formidable summer time with robust showings on the Space Code Video games in San Diego — six strikeouts in three no-hit innings whereas touching 96 mph, touchdown on the All-Match Staff — and on the Good Sport Nationwide Showcase.

Maybe probably the most unbelievable half about Arkansas’ 2023 recruiting class is that none of its top-100 commitments are from the Pure State.

Along with the 5 beforehand talked about prospects, the Razorbacks even have commitments from left-hander Tucker Holland (No. 70) from Missouri, shortstop Nolan Souza (No. 72) from Hawaii, left-hander Adam Hachman (No. 81) from Missouri, outfielder Kendall George (No. 95) from Texas and shortstop Walker Martin (No. 98) from Colorado.

In line with Good Sport, Arkansas has 12 different gamers outdoors of the highest 100 who’re pledged within the 2023 class.

Arkansas Baseball Prime-100 Signees

2005

• No. 16 — Kyle Hancock — RHP
• No. 70 — Travis Wooden — LHP

2008

• No. 25 — Tyler Pattern — RHP
• No. 47 — Zack Cox — RHP
• No. 58 — Bobby Bundy — RHP
• No. 79 — Austin Wright — LHP
• No. 86 — Jarrod McKinney — OF

2010

• No. 6 — Justin O’Conner — INF
• No. 20 — Ryne Stanek — RHP
• No. 52 — Dominic Ficociello — INF
• No. 78 — Jared Lakind — OF
• No. 96 — Robbie Ray — LHP

2011

• No. 14 — Dillon Howard — RHP
• No. 30 — Brandon Nimmo — OF
• No. 72 — Michael Fulmer — RHP

2012

• No. 27 — Ty Buttrey — RHP
• No. 96 — Teddy Stankiewicz — RHP

2013

• No. 10 — Jon Denny — C

2014

• No. 42 — Keaton McKinney — RHP
• No. 60 — Luke Bonfield — OF

2016

• No. 17 — Cole Stobbe — SS
• No. 18 — Cole Turney — OF
• No. 29 — Ben Rortvedt — C
• No. 82 — Dominic Fletcher — OF
• No. 86 — Tyler Benninghoff — RHP
• No. 99 — Jordan McFarland — INF

2019

• No. 41 — Jason Hodges — OF

2020

• No. 11 — Masyn Winn — SS
• No. 20 — Robert Moore — SS (signed a 12 months early)
• No. 25 — Cayden Wallace — 3B
• No. 44 — Nate Wohlgemuth — RHP
• No. 57 — David Calabrese — OF
• No. 64 — Markevian Therefore — RHP
• No. 86 — Nick Griffin — LHP

2021

• No. 47 — Peyton Stovall — SS
• No. 48 — Maxwell Muncy — INF
• No. 54 — Braylon Bishop — OF
• No. 61 — Drew Grey — OF
• No. 71 — Hagen Smith — LHP
• No. 73 — Brady Tygart — RHP
• No. 93 — Drake Varnado — SS

2022

• No. 35 — Jayson Jones — SS
• No. 38 — Cole Phillips — RHP
• No. 86 — Mason Neville — OF

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