FAYETTEVILLE — Hagen Smith and Hunter Hollan grew up fans of the Texas Rangers baseball team in their home state.
This weekend the Arkansas left-handed pitchers will take the mound at the Rangers’ Globe Life Field as the sixth-ranked Razorbacks open the season with three games at the College Baseball Showdown in Arlington, Texas.
Smith will start Friday’s season opener against 24th-ranked Texas and Hollan will start Sunday’s game against eighth-ranked Oklahoma State. They will be joined in the weekend rotation by right-hander Will McEntire, who is scheduled to start against 17th-ranked TCU on Saturday.
Pitching at the Rangers’ fourth-year ballpark will be special for Smith and Hollan, who both said they grew up attending games at Texas’ old stadium across the street.
“It’s going to be really cool,” said Smith, a native of Bullard, Texas, about 130 miles southeast of Arlington. “I wish it was in the older ballpark, but this one is way nicer.”
Hollan, who grew up not far from Smith in the East Texas town of Hallsville, estimates his family went to between 10 and 15 Rangers games per year before travel baseball began to cut into how many games they were able to attend.
“It’s going to be surreal,” Hollan said of pitching at Globe Life Field. “Growing up and getting to watch those guys pitch, and knowing (Jacob) deGrom is walking around there now — guys that are the best at what I enjoy doing — it’s definitely going to be a cool moment.”
Hollan will be making his debut for the Razorbacks. He transferred to Arkansas from San Jacinto (Texas) College last summer after initially committing to pitch at TCU.
Hollan has made tremendous growth during his time on campus. MLB.com ranks him the 81st-best prospect for this year’s draft.
Hollan allowed 2 runs, 7 hits and 1 walk, and struck out 14 in 9 1/3 innings of scrimmages this preseason.
“When we got Hunter, I don’t know that we were expecting the stuff to be as good as it is,” Arkansas pitching coach Matt Hobbs said last week. “The strikes were always something we knew he did — at San Jac he was a really good strike thrower — but the stuff has gotten a lot better. We got a lot more than we expected out of him and I think he’s got a chance to have a really big year.”
Smith started 15 times for the Razorbacks last season when he was named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Smith was 7-2 with a 4.66 ERA in 20 appearances as a freshman, and he also recorded 2 saves during the postseason, including during a 4-3 victory at North Carolina in the super regional. Smith had 90 strikeouts and 46 walks, and a .232 batting average against in 77 1/3 innings.
Smith allowed 1 earned run, 3 hits and 4 walks, and struck out 15 during 9 innings of scrimmages this preseason.
“He’s throwing the ball as well as I've ever seen him throw the ball,” Hobbs said. “He's been much better than he was at any point last season. He's been throwing the ball great.”
McEntire redshirted in 2021 and did not pitch until last April, but he emerged as one of the Razorbacks’ best pitchers. He worked his way into the starting rotation by the postseason and started victories over North Carolina and Auburn, and pitched well out of the bullpen at Oklahoma State.
He finished the year with a 2-2 record, 1 save and a 2.59 ERA in 48 2/3 innings.
This preseason McEntire allowed 6 runs, 10 hits and 1 walk, and struck out 13 in 9 innings. His eight strikeouts during a 3 2/3-inning start last weekend were the most by any Arkansas pitcher during scrimmages.
“Will is a lights-on guy — the closer you get to the season, the better he gets,” Hobbs said. “He gives you that head-on-the-pillow starter that you really feel good about. We all know what Will is capable of and what he did last year.”
Smith, McEntire and Hollan were pitchers who were being evaluated as starters when team practice began in January, Hobbs said. They were expected to be challenged for a starting role by right-hander Jaxon Wiggins, but Wiggins was ruled out for the season last week when an MRI revealed he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow.
“I think the vibe in the locker room that day we found out, everyone was kind of pissed off and there weren’t many guys talking to each other,” Hollan said. “We had a team talk and it got everybody’s mind right. With him we’d be a lot better, but without him we’re still going to be a really good pitching staff.”