FAYETTEVILLE — Within Arkansas, expectations are high every year for the Razorbacks’ baseball program.
This year, expectations are high out of the state, too.
Arkansas begins preseason practice today as a consensus top 10 team nationally and ranked No. 6 in the preseason coaches' poll. It is the highest preseason ranking for the Razorbacks since they were a consensus No. 1 team entering the 2013 season.
That campaign didn’t end like many thought it might — not even close. Arkansas finished the year with a 39-22 record and had to travel for the NCAA postseason, where it failed to advance past the regional at Kansas State.
Brandon Moore was a junior pitcher on that team and said this group of Razorbacks can learn some lessons from those of five years ago.
“It’s easy to get distracted and listen to what people say,” said Moore, who now works for a nonprofit ministry in Fayetteville and serves as Arkansas’ team chaplain. “Nick Saban had that famous quote last year that called positive media ‘rat poison.’ That’s pretty aggressive, but there is some truth to that.
“It’s easy to get distracted and lose focus — not from winning the national championship, but the day-in and day-out kind of tasks that you need to be focused on in order to compete well. If you lose focus of those tasks, you’re in a world of trouble.”
Moore said he found that as soon as the Razorbacks began to struggle in 2013 — swept during a four-game trip to Arizona in late February and early March — pressure mounted because of the expectations.
“We felt this pressure of, ‘Well, we didn’t live up to our No. 1 ranking,’ and heaped this extra pressure on us that was not needed,” Moore said. “It really doesn’t matter how the third weekend of the season goes so long as you’re playing well the last few weekends.”
Moore isn’t the only former Razorback to address this year’s team. Catcher Grant Koch said he had spoken with the likes of James McCann and Tyler Spoon about the same topic.
“What Tyler and guys like James McCann say: Focus on your business and do what you do day after day,” Koch said.
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn also addressed the rankings with the team.
“I told our team in our first meeting when they got back for this semester, people are saying they are good but so is everyone on our schedule,” Van Horn said. “It’s a tough schedule, really tough. I think we have the maturity to handle it. The other thing I told them: You guys are an older team, but everyone in the SEC has an older team. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen."
Eight SEC teams are ranked in the preseason coaches' poll and half the league is in the top 15. In addition to what promises to be a great conference schedule, the Razorbacks have non-league games against Arizona, Southern Cal, Texas, Missouri State and Texas Tech, as well as other mid-major programs expected to compete for their league championships.
“We will get everyone’s best shot because of the rankings, but if we can handle it, we will have a big RPI and that’s the goal," Van Horn said. "I do know that people saying we are good is extra pressure.”
Moore watched much of the Razorbacks’ fall practice. He said he thinks this team has the maturity to handle the expectations that are coming.
“The balance is finding a group of guys who understand that there are expectations and pressures that come along with being ranked, but are still focused and know that the end goal is not just to be ranked, but to win a national championship,” Moore said. “Coach Van Horn is an incredible coach and knows how to get you to Omaha, but you need a group of guys that will take it the extra mile and say, ‘We’re going to win this thing.’
“From what I’ve seen, this appears to be a group that is not just content with being ranked high, but they want to win a national championship.”