SPRINGDALE — Jake Reindl became the latest Northwest Arkansas prep baseball star to commit to the Arkansas baseball program when he verbally pledged to the Razorbacks on Thursday.
Reindl (6-foot-1, 175 pounds) had multiple offers this summer, including ones from Wichita State, Baylor and Oral Roberts. After an in-home visit with Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn and a tour of the facilities, Reindl committed to the Razorbacks this week.
“Coach Van Horn made an offer and invited me to check everything out,” Reindl said. “We went down there and I told him I wanted to think it over. I wanted to make sure before I committed. I thought about it overnight and committed the next day.”
Reindl was 8-2 last spring for Shiloh Christian and led the Saints to the Class 5A playoffs, earning a spot on the All-NWA Media team for the second straight year.
This summer he has seen his velocity go from mid-80s to a recent clocking of 91 MPH as a member of the Midwest Nationals summer program.
“The coaches at Arkansas said that they had been watching me and watching to see if my velocity improved,” Reindl said. “Once they saw how much it’s improved this summer, that’s when they started talking to me about becoming a Razorback.”
Reindl is the latest player from the region to commit and all four are pitchers. The others are Weston Rogers (Springdale Har-Ber), Kacey Murphy (Rogers Heritage) and Ty Harris (Heritage).
Reindl is continuing to play this fall with the Nationals.
“I’m glad to get this done and get this decision out of the way,” he said. “This is a dream come true for me. I’ve always wanted to be a Razorback.”