FAYETTEVILLE — Greenwood’s Connor Noland would love to be at Baum Stadium this weekend watching Arkansas play in the NCAA Tournament.
But Noland a 2018 dual-sport prospect who is committed to the Razorbacks as a quarterback and a pitcher, is busy playing baseball himself, both this weekend and most of the summer. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder is playing summer baseball for the Sticks out of Little Rock and Exposure out of Nashville.
“I won’t be able to make it this weekend because I have a baseball tournament in Georgia,” Noland said. “I’ll be missing it, but I’ll be watching. I think I have seven total tournaments this summer so I’m going to be busy most weekends. …I believe I am in Florida next weekend.”
Noland went 7-2 on the mound with a 0.48 E.R.A. for the Bulldogs (26-7) while allowing just four earned runs the whole season and fanning 84 in 58 innings of work. He also hit .340 with two homers, nine doubles and 26 RBIs for a team that lost 1-0 to eventual state champion Sheridan in a Class 6A state tournament semifinal game.
“It was a good year,” Noland said. “We had a lot off good players and they supported me with great defense behind me. I trusted them and they made it real easy for me just to go out there and pitch.
“I also hit in the four hole and it seemed like our one through three hitters were always on base. That definitely helped my numbers out.”
Noland was asked how he would have attacked Arkansas slugger Chad Spanberger last week during his torrid hitting performance at the SEC Tournament.
“Personally, I would go straight at him and takes my chances and just hope I get lucky,” Noland said. “But right now it doesn’t seem like anybody is getting too lucky against him.”
Noland is doing his best to help both the football and baseball programs with recruiting.
“It has been going real good,” Noland said. “It’s going to be a small football class, but I think it is going to be full of great players. We are certainly off to a good start with the four we have and we have some good people out there that all four of us are talking to.
“We are telling them about everything that Arkansas and Fayetteville have to offer and how great the coaches and facilities are, but I think some of them are waiting for the summer to be over to make their decisions.”
That includes trying to help land Earle quarterback Gerry Bohanon, who has Arkansas as one of his final six schools.
“Anywhere you go you are going to have competition and we are here to help Arkansas,” Noland said. “If one of us starts and it is not me, that will mean that he is helping out the team and I will support him and do what I can to help our team win.
“We want the best players and the best leaders we can to come to Arkansas and he is certainly one of those.”
Noland plans to sign in the new Dec. 20-22 early signing period for football.
“I plan on signing early and I think it is a good idea to do it and just focus on high school,” Noland said.
Noland, a Greenwood native who spent some living in Reno, NV. before moving back to Greenwood in the ninth grade, has split snaps with Luke Hales the past two seasons, but will have the job to himself this season.
He has passed for 2,967 yards with 27 touchdowns and five interceptions the past two seasons while completing 66.7 percent of his passes and also rushing for 984 yards and 10 more scores.
“It will definitely be a lot different,” Noland said. “It will be more snaps, more reps and I am definitely ready for it. It’s been a long time coming and I am ready for the challenge, which will include enduring some more hits so I am working to get stronger and being more physical.”
He will do a few football things this summer, but he will mostly concentrate on baseball.
“We have some team camps for Greenwood and I think we have one 7-on-7,” Noland said. “But I am just sticking to team stuff and not going to individual camps.
“It’s really more about baseball this summer the anything.”