The top-ranked college baseball team in the country has been getting a lot of talent from one of the nation’s best summer baseball programs.
They just happen to be in the same state.
In six years there have been 40 members of the Arkansas Sticks Academy who have played or are pledged to the Razorbacks' baseball team.
That includes 16 members who will be playing this summer for the Sticks’ various teams.
“At one time last year, the whole entire starting (pitching) rotation were Sticks guys with (Connor) Noland, (Patrick) Wicklander and (Blake Adams)," said Chase Brewster, owner and coach of the Sticks.
“There’s been a lot of other good players — Matt Goodheart, Peyton Pallette and Cason Tollett — that have played for us, and even Christian Franklin, who played with us a weekend or two.”
Brewster is happy the organization has been able to act as an unofficial feeder program for the Razorbacks.
“It’s just been a really fortunate situation that we have been proud to be a part of,” Brewster said. “Like this summer we are going to be wearing the replica Razorback jerseys.
“The one thing that I do know is that the state of Arkansas loves the Razorbacks. Everybody is trying to play catch up with them and we are just trying to put together a team and have a product that the state is proud of just like the Razorbacks.
“We are glad to turn the TV on every Friday and be able to watch some Sticks alumni play on the SEC Network.”
Arkansas’ 2021 recruiting class is ranked third nationally by Perfect Game and includes former Sticks standouts Austin Ledbetter (Bryant), Braylon Bishop (Texarkana), Brandon Arledge (Sheridan), Max Soliz (Madison, Ala.), Landrey Wilson (Van Buren/Crowder College) and Drake Varnado, an IMG Academy standout who has been named a finalist for MaxPreps National Player of the Year.
The Razorbacks' 2022 class is ranked ninth nationally and the 2023 class is ranked eighth.
“There is a lot of good talent there now (at Arkansas) and there is a lot of good talent coming,” Brewster said. “The 2021 kids are maybe the most talented group that we have seen, including the out-of-state kids as well, so when those guys get on campus, it is going to be special.
“There is also some really good ones in 2022 and 2023, too. We’ve even got three kids in our 2024 class that have offers from Arkansas.”
The Sticks have helped fill rosters at every level with more than 250 college commits and 17 MLB Draft picks since 2017.
“We have had a lot of kids commit in the six years to schools across the country that are D1, D2 and D3, JUCO and NAIA, but it is because we have got really good players and the high school coaches across Arkansas have done an unbelievable job getting them ready to play,” Brewster said. “We have just let them use us as a vehicle in the summer for them to get a little bit of exposure and get recruited.
“It takes a village and the whole thing has just been a blessing to be a part of. It is not something that we take credit for, but we are proud and watching these guys excel in college.”
Brewster is impressed with the development ability of Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn and his assistants, Nate Thompson and Matt Hobbs.
“Coach Thompson, Coach Hobbs and Coach Van Horn are unbelievable, and all of our guys get up and get bigger and stronger and all get better,” Brewster said. “It is so impressive.”
Brewster, a former coach at Genoa Central High School who went 91-6 over a three-year period, oversees over 400 players and is charge of the high school program, including roster placement, scheduling, budgeting, travel and college advancement.
“I went to Genoa Central in 2010 and I was finishing my degree at Texarkana College, who was getting rid of its athletic program,” Brewster said, “and just went to Genoa to finish my degree. The next thing I know we won two state championships and five regional championships, a lot of conference championships in a row. I had other job offers, but just stayed there.
“The Sticks then just got so big and it became a full-time job. That summer we were going to have 10 teams and the last three years I have done it full time and we have almost tripled in size.
“We will have 25 teams this summer in Arkansas, three in Arizona and one in Canada, so it has just been a real blessing.”
Brewster said the organization will have its fourth annual Sticks Weekend on May 28-30 at Arkansas-Little Rock’s Gary Hogan Field.
The 2023 Sticks members will be there Friday, followed by 2022 members Saturday and uncommitted 2021 prospects Sunday when the NCAA recruiting schedule allows college coaches to observe.
“Sticks Weekend is a weekend for us to get out there and get moving around, take some batting practice, take some ground balls and be able to meet your teammates and coaches, and kind of go over what we expect from the summer,” Brewster said.
“It’s just a way to kick off the summer off on a good note and for our 2022s and hopefully have as many colleges as we can get there on Sunday and start the recruiting process for them, and then have great weekends in Memphis and Atlanta.”
Arkansas Sticks players committed to Arkansas
2022
• Jayson Jones, SS, Braswell, Texas
• Sean Fitzpatrick, LHP, Tomball (Texas) Concordia Luthern
• Parker Coil, LHP, Edmond (Okla.) Memorial
• Reese Robinett, 3B-!B, Kennett, Mo.
• Cooper Dossett, OF, Springdale Har-Ber
• Josh Hyneman, RHP, Jonesboro
• Jordan Huskey, LHP, Greenbrier
• Austin Jobe, RHP, El Dorado
• Colton Hoyt Sims, 3B, Russellville
2023
• Ty Waid, RHP-INF, Texarkana
• Kyler Spencer, RHP, Conway
• Martavius Thomas, SS-CF, Camden Fairview
• Riley Henfling, LHP, Kennett, Mo.
• Hudson Guinn, 1B-3B, Greene County Tech
• Nolan Souza, SS, Honolulu Punahou
2024
• Ross Felder, RHP, Springdale Har-Ber