FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas baseball received verbal commitments from three players earlier this week.
High school sophomores Caden Monke and Evan Hiatt, and freshman Nate Stevens committed. Monke is a left-handed pitcher and outfielder at Mt. Olive, Illinois; Hiatt is a left-handed pitcher from Little Rock (Catholic); and Stevens is a catcher from Waunakee, Wisconsin.
Monke (6-foot-1, 148 pounds) has been clocked throwing an 84 mph fastball and has a rating of 8.5 out of 10, according to his profile on the website for Perfect Game USA.
He has pitched two innings this season and has allowed one earned run on one hit, and struck out two. He had 32 strikeouts in 35 innings as a freshman.
2018 LHP 6'0 150 @cadenmonke3 of @SLPnation getting ready for showcase. 81-84MPH 85 once. https://t.co/eCIca5rmYQ
— Brett Huber (@B_Hube38) December 10, 2015
Hiatt (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) has also recorded an 84 mph fastball, according to PrepBaseballReport.com. He is 3-0 this season and has pitched two complete games.
On March 17, Hiatt struck out 12 and allowed one hit in a complete game against Greenwood.
2018 Evan Hiatt pounding the strike zone with FB 83-84 power CB 72-75 with late break pic.twitter.com/r1gUkaaZVa
— zac bottoms (@CoachBottoms) March 2, 2016
Stevens (5-foot-11, 160 pounds) is the only freshman on his high school's varsity roster and had a two-run single in his first game last week. Stevens, who bats from the left side and throws right-handed, was named the top prospect at the GRB Academy earlier this year and plays on the same travel team that produced Arkansas junior center fielder Clark Eagan.
Monke and Hiatt give the Razorbacks four commitments for the class of 2018, while Stevens is the first commitment for the 2019 class. Verbal commitments are non-binding.