FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas baseball picked up a commitment this week from a junior college infielder in Oklahoma.
Bryson Lierle (6-3, 215 pounds) chose the Razorbacks over interest from at least eight Division I programs, including Oklahoma State, said Roger Ward, Lierle's coach at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. Lierle played high school baseball at Lookeba-Sickles, about 60 miles west of Oklahoma City.
Lierle will have two seasons of eligibility remaining at Arkansas beginning in 2019.
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"He's one of the best hitting prospects I've ever had," said Ward, who is in his 20th season at the junior college in Miami, Okla. "He's really disciplined and doesn't chase pitches out of the zone. He makes pitchers work really hard. He hits line drives; he's not a fly ball guy. Even though he doesn't look like it, he's a good runner. I just think there's a lot more in the tank than he did here.
"He's a quiet kid who just works really hard."
Lierle is batting .288 with 3 home runs and 31 RBI in 49 games this season, down from his freshman season when batted a team-best .450 with 7 home runs and 45 RBI in 49 games.
Lierle has kept a high on-base percentage - .534 as a freshman and .424 this season - with 29 and 37 walks, respectively.
"His freshman year he was very dominant," Ward said. "He hit between two guys who are playing Division I baseball right now at Oral Roberts and Southeast Missouri State. This year, honestly, they pitched him incredibly hard.
"He's got great discipline as a hitter and a lot more topside than he had this year. It was just one of those years where people pitched around him, so he wasn't able to put the numbers up as the year before."
Ward said Lierle played first base and third base in junior college. His two-year fielding percentage is .977.
"He had (labrum) surgery coming out of high school and the arm is just now back where it was before the surgery," Ward said. "We played him a lot more at first base because of that."
Lierle, who is eligible for the draft but not a high draft prospect, would add experience to Arkansas' infield next season when the Razorbacks will lose starters Carson Shaddy and Jared Gates to exhausted eligibility, and could lose Jax Biggers to professional baseball.