The 2025 NCAA baseball season is less than three weeks away as No. 5 Arkansas comes in with a highly talented roster. The Razorbacks look to make their 12th College World Series appearance in school history in their 103rd year of play.
Head coach Dave Van Horn enters his 23rd season with the Hogs with a career record of 883-457 (.659) and an overall record of 1,254-624 (.668). The three-time Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year has led the program to 21 postseason berths in 22 full seasons and seven trips to the Omaha, Neb.
After being eliminated in the Fayetteville Regional for the second straight season, Arkansas did some digging around in the transfer portal during the offseason. The Razorbacks lost a good chunk of their roster to the 2024 MLB Draft, including talented southpaw flamethrower Hagen Smith, but replenished by having the No. 2 transfer portal class by Baseball America.
Arkansas baseball 2025 season preview
New additions
Sophomore INF Kuhio Aloy was the first player to transfer to Arkansas, joining his older brother SS Wehiwa Aloy, who led the team with 14 bombs last year. He hit for a batting average of .269 with eight home runs and a team-leading 38 RBIs as the 1B for the BYU Cougars while putting together an on-base percentage of .329. Aloy is the fourth Hawaiian-born player to compete for the Razorbacks and the third on the team (Wehiwa Aloy and Nolan Souza).
The Razorbacks added two starting pitchers out of the portal, with junior lefties Zach Root (East Carolina) and Landon Beidelschies (Ohio State). Root made 13 appearances (12 starts) on the mound as the Pirates’ Saturday starter and registered a record of 6-2 with an ERA of 3.56 across 68.1 innings while striking out 76 batters. Beidelschies made 15 starts on the hill for the Buckeyes and compiled a 6-7 record with an ERA of 4.15 through 84.2 frames and 91 punchouts.
Root earned a spot on the midseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Award while putting together four quality starts in 2024. The Fort Myers, Fla. native obtained Preseason All-American honors by D1Baseball on Wednesday and was named to the third team. He was also ranked the No. 2 impact transfer pitcher by D1Baseball, while Beidelschies was rated No. 5.
One of the most unique transfers for the Hogs is junior INF Brent Iredale. Originally from Sydney, Australia, Iredale was a back-to-back WJCAC MVP for New Mexico Junior College, with a school record of 42 home runs.
He was rated the No. 1 impact JUCO transfer by Perfect Game after swinging for an average of .441 with 25 homers and 78 RBIs as a sophomore, as well as stealing 24 bases on 27 attempts in 58 games. Iredale will undoubtedly be a huge run producer for the Razorbacks.
Iredale competed for Team Australia in the 2016 Little League World Series, hitting a game-tying two-run homer in the top of the sixth inning against Panama in the 1-0 game, but Australia ultimately fell, 3-2.
While the Hogs have many new faces in the dugout, plenty of familiar one who made a huge impact last year are returning to the team .
Returners
Sophomore RHP Gabe Gaeckle will be the ace of the pitching staff after stringing together an excellent freshman campaign last season. The Aptos, Calif. native led the team with seven saves and a 3-3 record in 2024 with a 2.32 ERA across 42.2 innings while racking up 57 strikeouts in 22 relief appearances. He was named to the SEC Freshman Team along with INF Nolan Souza.
Gaeckle had no experience coming out of the bullpen, much less closing out games. His skills and maturity have earned Van Horn’s trust to potentially be the Friday starter.
Senior OF Kendall Diggs is looking to make a huge comeback this season after swinging for a .229 average with seven home runs and 34 RBIs. Diggs tore his labrum against McNeese State on March 9, diving for a ball, but continued to be the starting right fielder for the Hogs. He underwent successful surgery during the offseason and, unfortunately, missed all of fall practice.
The Razorbacks had the No. 4 recruiting class by Perfect Game and only lost two commits to the 2024 MLB Draft (SS Tyson Lewis at No. 51 and OF Eli Lovich at No. 332).
The Freshman
RHP Carson Wiggins is among one of the hardest-throwing freshmen on the team out of Roland (Okla.) High School with a fastball that tops out at 99 MPH, according to MLB Pipeline. He is the younger brother of former Arkansas standout Jaxon Wiggins (who was drafted in the second round of the 2023 MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs) and was named the District 3A-7 Pitcher of the Year in his senior season.
INF Gabe Fraser will be a name to look out for this year after being named the Trinity League's Co-MVP in his senior season for Orange Lutheran (Calif.) High School, helping the team win the state title. He was invited to the 2024 MLB Combine but ultimately chose to attend Arkansas after he wasn't selected in the first two days of the draft.
Fraser hit a home run on Friday in the Hogs’ first spring scrimmage of 2025 in the top of the fifth. The ball traveled 375 feet with an exit velocity of 106 MPH. Fraser’s dinger was the only run scored on the day by the Cardinal team as the Gray team won in six innings, 4-1.
The Razorbacks begin the 2025 campaign against the Washington State Cougars on Friday, Feb. 14 in Baum-Walker Stadium. It will be the start of a four-game series that concludes on Monday, Feb. 17.
2025 Arkansas Razorbacks Baseball Roster:
1 Rocco Peppi OF R-Sr.
3 Nolan Souza INF So.
4 Justin Thomas OF Jr.
5 Kendall Diggs OF Sr.
6 Gabe Fraser INF Fr.
8 Cam Kozeal INF So.
9 Wehiwa Aloy INF Jr.
10 Brent Iredale INF Jr.
12 Elliott Peterson C Jr.
13 Steele Eaves RHP Fr.
14 Gage Wood RHP Jr.
16 Aiden Jimenez RHP R-So.
17 Zane Becker C Fr.
18 Reese Robinett INF R-So.
19 Carson Willis C Fr.
20 Gabe Gaeckle RHP So.
21 Brenton Clark OF Fr.
22 Logan Maxwell OF Sr.
24 Charles Davalan OF So.
25 Kuhio Aloy INF So.
26 Tate McGuire RHP So.
27 Ryder Helfrick C So.
28 Carson Boles OF Sr.
29 Cole Gibler LHP Fr.
31 Dylan Carter RHP R-Sr.
32 Hunter Dietz LHP R-Fr.
33 Zach Root LHP Jr.
35 Landon Beidelschies LHP Jr.
36 Parker Coil LHP Jr.
37 Luke Williams LHP Fr.
38 Colin Fisher LHP So.
40 Ben Bybee RHP Jr.
41 Will McEntire RHP R-Sr.
42 Michael Anderson INF Jr.
44 Carson Wiggins RHP Fr.
45 Lance Davis RHP Fr.
46 Christian Foutch RHP Jr.
48 Cooper Dossett RHP Jr.
49 Jackson Farrell LHP Fr.
50 Tag Andrews RHP Fr.
52 Tyler Holland INF/RHP Fr.
57 Ross Felder RHP Fr.