FAYETTEVILLE — An MLB draft pick has been added to Arkansas' 2017 recruiting class.
Texarkana, Texas, right-handed pitcher Caleb Bolden committed to the Razorbacks on Friday, just nine days after being drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 16th round of the MLB amateur draft. Bolden said he will turn down the Rays and play for the Razorbacks next season.
Bolden (6-2, 175 pounds) previously was committed to Seminole State College in Oklahoma.
"Earlier in the season, (Arkansas) wanted me to come on," Bolden said. "They didn't have any (scholarship) money but they still wanted me, and they said if any money came up they would let me hear about it. When a couple of their guys got drafted, the money cleared up and they kept their word.
"I've grown up an Arkansas fan and gone to all the games that I can. I've been to the camps and everything, and I just fell in love with Baum Stadium as soon as I saw it."
Bolden lost only two games in three seasons at Pleasant Grove High School. As a senior he recorded a 0.91 ERA, up from a 0.43 ERA as a junior.
Arkansas lost three signees to professional contracts since the draft ended, but Bolden will be one of at least three freshmen on Arkansas' roster next season who turned down the team that drafted them. Right-handed pitcher/shortstop Bryce Bonnin and outfielder Cole Turney - both from Texas - were rated No. 74 and No. 129, respectively, among draft prospects by Baseball America.
Two more signees, catcher Casey Opitz and outfielder Heston Kjerstad, could turn down the teams that drafted them, and two other top 500 prospects, right-handed pitcher Jackson Rutledge and left-handed pitcher Hunter Milligan, went undrafted.