The spring sports are entrenched in the postseason, with Arkansas baseball getting ready for the NCAA Tournament and Softball battling in the Super Regional to make it to Oklahoma City. Unfortunately, both encountered trouble with the Ole Miss Rebels.
On the other hand, fall sports are preparing in the offseason for their time to shine. And for the media, the talking season is just beginning. So of course, rumors and anonymous coach interviews are running rampant.
Arkansas baseball early exit from SEC Tournament
The SEC Baseball tournament ended early for the Razorbacks. The 2-seeded Hogs ended SEC play exactly as it started, with a loss to Ole Miss.
Zach Root, who's been solid lately, had trouble again versus the Rebels. It was Deja vu in Hoover. Root gave up seven hits in four innings and earned all five Ole Miss runs, all of which came in the first inning. Against Ole Miss at the beginning of the season, Root gave up 10 hits and seven runs in three innings.
To be fair to Root, at least three runners reached base on missed plays by the Arkansas infield. Only one was scored an error, but two throws to first base pulled Reese Robinett off the bag on a potential double plays that .
After the first inning, Arkansas straightened up on defense, but the offenses seemed to still be in Fayetteville. Kuhio Aloy drove in a run in the first, and Cam Kozeal broke the single-season home run record with an unforgettable in-the-park homer. Apart from that, the offense was nonexistent.
Now, the Diamond Hogs wait for the selection committee to reveal their seed and regional opponents on Monday for the NCAA Tournament.
Adou Thiero and Karter Knox returning?
Last week, Matt Norlander of CBS Sports went on the Eye on College Basketball podcast and gave his opinion on the draft status of Adou Thiero and Karter Knox. He thinks that both would return to Arkansas.
Knox made sense as he seemed to enter the draft process primarily for the experience. However, Thiero wasn't unexpected to return, but his coming back is an intriguing thought. Arkansas returning its top scorer from last season would be a massive win for the program.
On the other hand, Thiero posted a TikTok with the caption "36 Days," with the following picture.
The post only adds to the confusion, but in three short days, the veil will be removed. The deadline to withdraw from the NBA draft to return to college is May 28 at 11:59 PM EST.
Softball forces a rubber match in the Fayetteville Super Regional
The Arkansas softball team is having one of the best seasons in history. It's led by Bri Ellis, the Softball America player of the year, but historically, they've had trouble getting through the Regional and Super Regional rounds.
Friday was no different. The Razorbacks lost 9-7 to Ole Miss. Arkansas gave the Rebels every chance to win, leaving 13 runners on base and missing out on two bases-loaded situations. It looked like the Hogs were headed down the same path. However, with all the missed opportunities, they still only lost by two runs.
Saturday, Arkansas evened the series with a 4-0 shutout. Despite fighting food poisoning (Arkansas' ace Robyn Herron also battled through it on Friday), star freshman righty Payton Burnham pitched all seven innings, giving up only three hits and striking out seven batters.
The offense struggled slightly, with only two RBIs in the first. In the fifth inning, Kailey Wyckoff reached first and second on two throwing errors that scored two runs.
Sunday, Arkansas and Ole Miss take the diamond for all the Marbles. You can catch the action on ESPN 2 at 4:00 PM CST.
Anonymous SEC coaches trash Arkansas' roster
Athlon Sports releases an annual piece where anonymous coaches talk about rival conference opponents. When the SEC coaches talked about Arkansas, they didn't hold back.
They discussed Sam Pittman's hot seat, and one concern they raised was Arkansas' roster. At least one stated the Hogs didn't have SEC talent in the trenches, and three of the five expressed doubts about Arkansas' offensive line.
On another note, they saw the wide receivers and the Razorbacks' quarterback Taylen Green were 'solid'. The common consensus was that the success of all three positions were pivotal to Sam Pittman's future as the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks.