FAYETTEVILLE — Ten days ahead of the Major League Baseball Draft, veteran University of Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn had plenty to say on Thursday about the challenges of getting his 2023 roster in shape.
When a reporter asked if roster management was now “tricky, chaotic and hectic” than it has ever been in college baseball, Van Horn agreed, then took it a step further.
“All of the above. It’s ridiculous, honestly,” Van Horn said. “And what kicks it over the top is that draft.”
Van Horn met via video conference with reporters Thursday for the first time since the day the Razorbacks were eliminated from the College World Series with a 2-0 loss on June 23 to eventual CWS champion Ole Miss, one win shy of the championship series.
Van Horn and every other major college baseball program are awaiting the impact of the draft on their incoming classes before establishing their rosters. The Razorbacks signed 17 high school seniors in the early period and have the potential to land 14 or so players as junior college transfers or transfer portal additions to bring aboard with their returnees.
Some of the Hogs’ signees could be drafted and agree to professional contracts. Having the draft from July 17-19 during the Major League Baseball All-Star break adds to the chaos, and the time crunch before Van Horn would like to have his roster settled in the first days of August.
“You’ve got the draft coming up,” Van Horn said. “What a horrible time for the draft. The draft should have been last week.
“I’ve said this 10 times this year: It makes no sense at all. No one likes it except the [MLB] owners. They think it’s cool to have the draft during the All-Star game. Nobody cares.”
Van Horn’s solution: “Have the draft last week, let us get to work, get our rosters right, treat the kids right, give the ones that are not going to be able to come in more time to find a place to play,” he said.
“I mean, it’s a joke. So we’ve gotta get through that, and then you’ve got about 14 days after the draft to see who’s going to sign and now it’s August 1. That’s when the smoke will clear. Hopefully within a couple days after that, we’ll have a final roster. There could be a lot of changes.”
What seems certain is the Razorbacks will be adding pieces in their everyday lineup around one returning starter in sophomore Peyton Stovall, who is likely to move to second base, sophomore Kendall Diggs, who could wind up at first base, third base or a corner outfield spot, and Jace Bohrofen in the outfield.
The pitching staff has projected returnees like juniors Will McEntire and Jaxon Wiggins and sophomores Hagen Smith, Brady Tygart and Austin Ledbetter. After that, there are question marks on who might get drafted and sign, which incoming pitchers can earn roles and even Connor Noland has left open the possibility of a return. The staff ace with an 8-6 record and 3.65 ERA as a fourth-year player last year, Noland said on “ESPN Arkansas” that he would have to see where he was drafted and what kind of deal he could negotiate before deciding whether to go pro or return.
“On Connor I think that he loves wearing this uniform,” Van Horn said. “I just think if things aren’t exactly what he wants then there is an opportunity. Obviously there is a chance he’ll come back.
“I’ve met with him about it. We’ll see how it goes. I think he might be on vacation right now with his family and they’re thinking about some things, talking some things over.
“It’s gonna have to be a situation where he feels really good about it, the organization is serious, and if not,, you could see him back. And obviously we’d love to have him back.”
McEntire, Smith, Tygart and Wiggins are all resting their arms to start the summer instead of playing on summer ball teams, Van Horn said.
Junior second baseman Robert Moore, who signed early but had his freshman season cut short at 16 games due to the covid pandemic, also left open the possibility he might return when he talked to KABZ-FM, 103.7, recently.
“With Robert, yeah, I don’t think the door’s closed,” Van Horn said. “But I do think he’ll get picked pretty good.”
Van Horn touted Moore’s plus defense — he was charged with just 2 errors and had a .992 fielding percentage — as something professional scouts will cherish.
“Pro people see that, and I would be surprised if Robert came back,” Van Horn added.
The Razorbacks had numerous pitchers and several position players, including starting outfielder Zack Gregory and catcher Dylan Leach, enter the transfer portal, none of which caught Van Horn off guard.
“They understand, we understand what’s going on now with the portal and the opportunity to play,” he said. “And as a coach and maybe even them evaluating themselves, it was a big risk for them to come back and play. So really in most cases, or probably all cases actually, it’s probably for the best, for them.”
Van Horn’s top assistants, fifth-year hitting coach Nate Thompson and fourth-year pitching coach Matt Hobbs, are on track to return at this point, even though schools have made runs at hiring them in recent years.
Van Horn confirmed that LSU tried to hire Hobbs away last summer before eventually luring former Arkansas pitching coach Wes Johnson away from the Twins this summer.
“Who hasn’t tried to hire Matt?” Van Horn asked. “Just telling you, Matt’s really good. Glad he’s here.”
After all the draft and roster talk, Van Horn closed with remarks about the 2022 Razorbacks, who made it to Omaha, Neb., for the third time out of the last four College World Series and finished with a 46-21 mark with road victories at the NCAA Stillwater (Okla.) Regional and the Chapel Hill (N.C.) Super Regional.
“What a fun team to coach,” Van Horn said. “It started in the fall. We could tell we had a special group that liked each other. … What a run they made at the end. It was where we wanted to finish.
“We felt like in the fall we could get there. The league was every bit as good as we thought it was. People were saying the West is down. No, the West was never down. The West was really good.
“It made it look like other teams weren’t as good as maybe people thought they were. But I’m just so proud of them. We really fielded the ball. We pitched extremely well. I thought down the stretch, we hit the ball extremely well, and our at-bats were really good. We ran into a really hot team. We got hot, but they were a little bit hotter. Just proud of these guys and wish them all the best and want to thank them.”