FAYETTEVILLE — Two of Dave Van Horn’s best Arkansas teams were led by historic offensive seasons from draft-eligible sophomores.
In 2010, Zack Cox set the Arkansas single-season record with a .429 batting average on a team that might have played in the College World Series with any other postseason draw. The Razorbacks lost two 12-inning super regional games on the home field of the No. 1 overall seed, Arizona State.
Five years later, Andrew Benintendi was the national player of the year as he hit .376 with 20 home runs and 24 stolen bases on a team that got hot in May and lost two one-run games — including to national champion Virginia — at the College World Series. Benintendi was the first college player in six years with 20 homers and 20 stolen bases.
Cox and Benintendi were each selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft as sophomores.
It is too early to tell whether the 2022 Razorbacks will be paced by a first-round sophomore, but all indications are they might be. Expectations are high for third baseman Cayden Wallace following a good freshman season and good showing in the Cape Cod League in 2021.
Wallace is expected to be a cornerstone in Arkansas' lineup this year. He is also expected be a draft-eligible sophomore, although MLB has yet to announce the date for the 2022 draft. That decision will determine whether Wallace will be eligible.
Draft rules state a Division I player must turn 21 within 45 days of the draft in order to be eligible as a sophomore. Wallace will turn 21 on Aug. 7.
Last year's draft took place in July. If that is the case again, as expected, Wallace’s birthday would fall within the 45-day window.
But if the draft takes place around the time of traditional dates in the first half of June, Wallace would not be draft eligible until 2023.
“Believe me, we know that,” Van Horn said with a laugh in the fall when asked about the draft date and how it affects Wallace.
In more recent interviews and public appearances, Van Horn said he expects Wallace to be drafted this year.
"He's two-year draft eligible this year," Van Horn said Jan. 26 at the Hawgs Illustrated Sports Club. "He will not be back because he's a really good player. They will draft him good."
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Wallace, who Baseball America rates as the 12th-best overall college draft prospect, does not think much about the draft. He is focused on playing his best baseball for Arkansas for however long that may be.
“I’m not worried about if it’s my last year or if there could be another year,” Wallace said. “I’m just worried about this year and trying to win a national championship.”
Wallace played primarily in right field last season, but will move to his natural position, third base, as a sophomore. He said the hot corner is where he feels most comfortable. He and his brother, former Wichita State third baseman Paxton Wallace, grew up playing third base in Greenbrier.
Paxton Wallace won the college Rawlings Gold Glove Award last season at the position. Based on the younger Wallace’s play in scrimmages, it isn’t far-fetched to think the award has a chance to stay in the family.
“We worked together this offseason and I just tried to learn and watch him,” Cayden Wallace said of Paxton, who signed with the Los Angeles Angels last summer as an undrafted free agent. “We had a few guys teach us growing up, but it just kind of came natural. We pick up on things fast.”
Wallace picked up playing outfield quickly at Arkansas last season. Van Horn said it was a joy to watch unfold, which allowed the Razorbacks to put their best hitters in the lineup.
Van Horn said Wallace has the ability to play center field if needed.
“Playing outfield last year was definitely a different experience, but after I caught that first fly ball I was good,” Wallace said. “Like anything, it’s just a confidence thing.”
Confidence is not lacking for Wallace at the plate. He is likely to be one of the Razorbacks’ top hitters. He was consistently hitting second or third for Arkansas at the end of his freshman season, and has remained in that position in scrimmages this preseason.
Moving Wallace up in the order was key to him breaking out of an early-season slump as a freshman. He was batting .077 near the bottom of the lineup when Van Horn penciled him in as the clean-up hitter for a Feb. 26 game against Southeast Missouri State last year.
“He probably thought I was nuts when I put him in the four hole,” Van Horn said a few weeks after the move. “All he did was respond with a couple of home runs.”
On the night he moved up in the order, Wallace hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie — the beginning of a knack of coming through in clutch situations during a stretch when most of the Razorbacks’ games seemed to go to the wire.
He hit a leadoff double to spark a three-run second inning after the Razorbacks had fallen behind 4-0 to Murray State on March 6. Arkansas came back to win the game 11-6.
During another comeback victory at Louisiana Tech on March 12, Wallace hit a solo home run with one out in the sixth inning to tie the game after Louisiana Tech had taken the lead with four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Later in the game, Wallace drew a leadoff walk to spark a three-run eighth inning that tied the game again. Arkansas won 9-7 in 10 innings.
Wallace and Matt Goodheart hit back-to-back homers in the first inning of the series opener at Mississippi State, the start of a big weekend during which the Razorbacks swept the eventual national champions.
“He’s got really good makeup,” Arkansas hitting coach Nate Thompson said. “That’s a baseball term that means the way he goes about his business. It’s his focus to detail, work ethic.
“Cayden is a fantastic human being. He’s got all of the tools, too. He can drive the ball. He’s got a nice bat path. He’s going to get his hits.
“We have a few holes we tried to eliminate so people can’t exploit him, but he’s really steady. He doesn’t get too high or too low.”
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Wallace said his biggest improvement from this time last year is in his level of confidence. He wasn’t sure if he would even play before his freshman season, but started 60 games.
Wallace batted .279 and had an OPS of .869, and hit 14 home runs with 44 RBI for the Razorbacks in 2021.
“I started off really rough last year and Coach Van Horn kept believing in me,” Wallace said. “I had a good year and had a good Cape, but being more mature and being more confident, and becoming more consistent with all that has helped me improve my game so much.”
In the wood-bat Cape Cod League, Wallace hit .290 with 2 home runs and 14 RBI in 18 games. He left the league early, as planned, to rest before the start of fall practice at Arkansas.
His brief time in Massachusetts included a six-game hit streak. When he hit a walk-off single on July 14 — a game Van Horn attended — it raised his average to .327.
“The experience was unreal,” Wallace said of being on the Cape.
At Arkansas, his most clutch late-inning hit came in the Razorbacks’ final game of the season. With Arkansas trailing North Carolina State 2-1 in the seventh inning, Wallace blasted a game-tying solo home run to left field with two outs.
The Razorbacks never scored again. Wallace was on the top step with bat in hand when NC State recorded the final out.
“I love having him in the batter’s box in a big moment,” Thompson said. “He’s got a good approach. Nobody hits a good breaking ball, but he can hit mistakes. You make a mistake, good hitters hit it.
“What you love is to look at his hit chart. It’s all over. He has power to a variety of locations.”
Wallace continued to hit well in the fall. On the first day of intrasquad fall scrimmages he had two of the loudest hits — a double off the left-field wall and the equivalent of a walk-off home run into the Hog Pen beyond left field. The scrimmage that day continued after the home run in order to get more work for pitchers.
During Game 1 of the Cardinal and White Series in October, Wallace had the only two hits against Connor Noland on a day when the veteran right hander had one of his strongest outings.
“When you are pitching against Cayden, I don’t want to say you have to be perfect, but if you leave one pitch thick, it will be hit deep in the stands,” Noland said. “He sure has a lot of power.
“He’s one of our cornerstones. He’s a big piece. He brings attitude. He is always working to get better. He’s swinging in the cage, lifting. He’s a worker. His production speaks for itself.”
In the open scrimmages he has played this preseason, Wallace is 6 for 7 with 2 home runs, 2 doubles, 3 walks, 3 RBI and 5 runs scored.
“Cayden is elite,” Thompson said. “He’s got a lot of talent and has a great swing, a great approach right now. He’s feeling a lot of confidence. He’s really bought in to who he is and what he needs to do. His preparation has been fantastic here lately.”
Noland calls Wallace “high character,” and added, “That’s big for team chemistry when one of your best players is high character.”
Along with Zebulon Vermillion and Zack Gregory, Wallace was voted a team captain this year.
“I definitely feel like there’s a different role, for sure,” Wallace said. “Last year I was just trying to get along with everybody because I was the young guy. You’re a freshman, you just listen to whatever the upperclassmen tell you…and they’ll lead you in the right direction.
“I’m still a young guy, but I’ve always been a leader by example; not a big talker. I just kind of lead by the way I play and the way I am in the locker room and the way I work.”
A previous version of this story first appeared in the 2022 Hawgs Illustrated Baseball Preview