Refuse-to-lose season earns Arkansas pitcher first ever Razorbacker of the Year Award

In another standout year by the Arkansas Razorback baseball program, choosing the first Razorbacker of the Year Award presented special challenges. 

Junior shortstop Wehiwa Aloy earned the 2025 national player of the year by becoming the program’s third all-time Golden Spikes Award Winner. Catcher Ryder Helfrick and lead off hitter Charles Davalan emerged in their sophomore seasons as arguably the best in the country in their respective roles.

Senior outfielder Logan Maxwell led one of the country’s most prolific offenses with a .356 batting average and perfect fielding percentage on defense. Junior pitcher Zach Root emerged as the team’s pitching ace to finish with a 9-6 record and 3.62 earned run average while joining his aforementioned teammates by earning All SEC honors.

Each of them along with regular starters like Kuhio Aloy (.317, 13 homers and team-leading 70 runs batted in), Cam Kozeal (.333 15 homers) , Brent Iredale (.287 with 14 homers) and Justin Thomas Jr., who by year’s end emerged as arguably the best No. 9 hitter in the country with a .303 batting average and one homer shy of the entire lineup logging double digits in that category — all contributed special moments in a historic season.

The first baseball Razorbacker of the year winner is...

The first Razorbacker of the Year Award however came down to more than numbers. We wanted it to transcend statistics and embody the spirit of what it means to be a Razorbacker; so our first Razorbacker of the Year Award goes to none other than Gage Wood. 

The junior pitcher gave Razorback fans plenty of historic numbers in the end. Wood captivated the entire baseball world by likely concluding his college career with a performance for the ages on June 16. With the team facing elimination from the 2025 College World Series, Wood took the mound against the Murray State Racers and the Arkansas native from Batesville — in what seemed like a singular act of will — simply refused to let the team lose with a near-perfect, no-hit shutout win. 

The whole country has probably heard the numbers by now, but just for the record here are a few from the 3-0 elimination-game win with the Arkansas bats being unseasonably cool and Wood sizzled.

• A program record 19 strikeouts
• CWS record for consecutive outs (21-straight)
• Most strikeouts in one CWS game
• Third no hitter in CWS history and the first since 1960

More than numbers

The honor is not all about Wood’s singular performance in the College World Series of course. The first Razorbacker of the Year is also about the journey to that moment and what it meant to Razorbackers everywhere.

While the Razorback hitters carried the team to a No. 1 ranking in the country over the first half of the season, how far the team ultimately went depended on the development of the team’s deep, talented but largely unproven — in the country’s most competitive conference, the SEC, at least — pitching staff. Root, a transfer from East Carolina, emerged as the team’s No. 1 starter when SEC preseason pitcher of the year Gabe Gaeckle struggled in that role to start the year. 

With No. 3 starting pitcher Landon Beidelschies also struggling to find his sea legs in the turbulent SEC waters, Gaeckle settled into a key role as a middle reliever and possible third starting option. What was needed to keep Arkansas’ hopes of competing for an SEC title however was a solid No. 2 starting option in the rotation. 

The Journey

Wood started the year in that position but a shoulder impingement injury early on in the season on February 23 against Michigan during the annual Amegy Bank College Baseball Series in Arlington, Texas sidelined him until a pivotal SEC series against pre-season national favorites Texas A&M at Baum Walker Stadium in Fayetteville. Wood didn’t make it out of the first inning as he gave up three earned runs to the Aggies. 

As they had for much of the season to that point, the Razorback bats rallied the team to an 11-5 victory, but Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn was not dissuaded by what he saw from Wood and kept him in the rotation going forward.

That faith was rewarded in Wood’s next start when he teamed up with Gaeckle and bullpen closer Aiden Jimenez to shutout Florida in Game two of a weekend series at Florida. Wood pitched three innings and gave up on hit in Gainesville to solidify his spot in the rotation going forward. 

The trio followed that up with a 7-1 game-two victory in an Arkansas sweep of then No. 1 ranked Texas on May 2nd. Wood went four innings against the Longhorns while giving up one earned run on two hits while striking out nine hitters. 

He would falter in an 13-3 Game-two in the regular-season finale series loss at LSU, but rebound with his best performances of the season once the postseason got under way. 

Rising to the occasion

Wood teamed up with Gaeckle again to advance Arkansas past the home regional round of the NCAA Tournament. He went six innings with three earned runs on three hits and 13 strikeouts in an 8-3 win over the Big East Conference champion Creighton Blue Jays. 

He next got the start in the home Super Regional matchup with the defending national champion Tennessee Volunteers and gave the Razorbacks three innings where he allowed one earned run on three hits in three and a third innings of work. The bullpen led by freshman Cole Gibler, Jiminez, Parker Coil and Christian Fouch finished off the Volunteers in an 11-4 win on June 8 to send Arkansas to a historic 10th College World Series appearance under Van Horn. 

Of course, LSU would deny another Arkansas bid at their first national championship by defeating Van Horn’s Razorbacks twice in this year’s CWS, but it was Wood who stepped up on the biggest stage and refused to let his team lose. For that and so much more, he earned the first-ever Razorbacker of the Year nod in the 2025 Arkansas baseball campaign.