Arkansas baseball picked up a commitment from a graduate transfer on Tuesday.
Michael Turner, a catcher from Warren, Ohio, announced in a post to his Twitter account that he is transferring to Arkansas from Kent State.
"I got in the portal and I got a lot of interest out of a bunch of teams,” Turner said. "I saw that Arkansas' recruiting guy emailed me, so obviously I got super excited, and honestly it didn't feel real at first."
Turner said his top four schools were Arkansas, Kentucky, Clemson and Houston.
Turner hit .337 in 25 games last season and his 1.079 OPS led the team. He hit 6 home runs, 2 triples and 5 doubles during the 2021 campaign. His season was cut short due to a hamstring injury that he tweaked attempting to steal second base.
During the shortened 2020 season he started all 14 games for the Golden Flashes and played first base, third base and catcher.
Turner played shortstop until his senior year of high school, but he believes the opportunity is there for him to be behind the plate at Arkansas.
"I mean, I was talking to Coach (Dave) Van Horn and he mentioned Casey (Opitz),” Turner said. “(Van Horn) said he was gone, so, I mean, they're looking for a catcher and I feel like I can fill that role."
In 2019 Turner was named MAC player of the week twice and was an All-MAC selection.
Prior to his college career, he was a state champion at Champion High School in Ohio.
Kent State finished the 2021 season with a 30-26 record and 23-17 mark in MAC play, placing third in the conference. The Golden Flashes played 13 double headers in 2021. The MAC opted to play four-game series on weekends during the conference season.
While Turner did not visit Arkansas before his commitment, he has been to campus. Kent State visited Baum-Walker Stadium during the 2018 season, Turner’s freshman year.
He did not play in the game, but being able to see the Razorbacks’ facilities firsthand influenced him.
"I've been on the field,” he said. "I've seen the indoor facility and all that, so that was pretty much a no-brainer for me."
Turner is the first player to transfer in to Arkansas this offseason.