State's top player decommits from Mississippi State, pledges to Arkansas

Hunter Milligan went 4-2 with a 1.50 ERA as a junior at Greenbrier.

— Arkansas picked up a baseball commitment Wednesday from the state's top recruit.

Left-handed pitcher Hunter Milligan of Greenbrier decommitted from Mississippi State and announced his commitment to Arkansas via his Twitter account. The Razorbacks hired away the Bulldogs' pitching coach, Wes Johnson, earlier this month.

"Mississippi State had a bunch of changes to its pitching staff and I really like Coach Johnson and now he is at Arkansas," Milligan said. "I decided I needed to look around while I was still committed to Mississippi State, but then I decided Arkansas was the best place for me because I truly have really wanted to be a Razorback all along."

Milligan (6-foot-4, 215 lbs.) has been rated as high as the No. 7 overall recruit in the nation by Perfect Game USA. Early projections indicate he could be a first-round pick in next year's MLB Draft.

"It would take life-altering money for me to decide to not go to college," Milligan said. "I've been told by my pitching coach (Dustin Mosley), who is a former Major League Baseball pitcher, that the bus rides and being in the minor leagues is just not that fun.

"He also said that you are more prepared by going to college and that will make your time in the minors a lot less. I also want to get a degree so my mindset right now is to go to college."

As a junior, Milligan went 4-2 with a 1.50 ERA. He struck out 69 batters in 42 innings, including 16 in one game against Harrison. He also recorded a perfect game in a game against Clarksville.

"My best pitch is my fastball, which is usually in the 90-93 mile per hour range," Milligan said. "My second best pitch is probably my curveball."

He has pitched the last three seasons for former Greenbrier coach Terry May.

“Coachingwise, I didn’t mess with him too much,” May told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette earlier this week. “Hunter’s been coast to coast playing baseball; he’s had a lot of different coaches. I tweaked a little bit here and there.

“...My biggest thing with Hunter was to make sure he was having fun playing baseball, and be a leader, and he really did that,” May said. He 'stepped up' and was a leader."

Milligan has already pitched this summer in a showcase events in Florida and will be pitching in one in Atlanta this weekend.

"It's basically the best 108 players in the country that get together and play games to get better," Milligan said. "I'm also playing with my summer team, the East Coast Sox."

Verbal commitments are non-binding. The national signing period for baseball begins in November.