BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON
There will be 24 new faces for Arkansas baseball fans to learn on Sept. 15 when this season’s squad takes the field at Baum Walker Stadium for its annual Fall Classic.
The Fall Classic is free to the public with gates opening at 5 p.m. and the contest slated to begin at 6 p.m.
Arkansas has added 24 players – 8 portal transfers, one junior college star and 15 freshmen – b to its roster mix for the 2024 season.
The Razorbacks open practice on Friday, Sept. 8 and have a 45-day window to get in its fall work per head coach Dave Van Horn.
“We’re going to start on Friday, September 8th with full team practice, and that will get us to the middle of October with our 45-day window if we use it all,” Van Horn said. “ Sometimes, we don’t use the last couple of days and get those back for maybe in the spring. We’ll see how that turns out.
“Our philosophy here is to get them here and go a couple of weeks with kind of their position coaches and the weight room a little bit and then get out there and get them going and off the field in October so we can get in that weight room, get them off the field.”
The Diamond Hogs will follow a tried and true formula with plenty of scrimmages that will end with the annual Fall World Series.
Arkansas went 43-18 overall last season while winning a fourth SEC overall championship, its second in the last three seasons.
The Razorbacks the lone SEC program and one of just two teams in the country that has won at least 40 games in each of the last six full seasons.
“It’s a formula that’s worked,” Van Horn said. “If you go back and look over the last five years, I think we’ve won more games than any Division I program in the country.”
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Concession stands will be closed for the Fall Classic, but outside food and drinks are allowed. Non-food items must be in a clear bag. Coolers are allowed in the Hog Pen. No coolers will be permitted in the main seating bowl.
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Arkansas 2024 roster additions
Transfer Portal (8):
• Wehiwa Aloy, SS, Sacramento State
- Stone Hewlett, LHP, Kansas
- Ross Lovich, OF, Missouri
- Mason Molina, LHP, Texas Tech
- Jared Sprague-Lott, IF, Richmond
• Jack Wagner 1B-OF, Tarleton State
• Hudson White, C, Texas Tech
• Ty Wilmsmeyer, OF, Missouri
Junior college transfer (1) :
• Will Edmunson, OF, Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College
Freshmen (15):
- Jaewoo Cho, RHP
- Jonah Conradt, RHP
- Hunter Dietz, LHP
- Colin Fisher, LHP
- Nate Franco, C-INF
- Gabe Gaeckle, RHP
- Adam Hachman, LHP
- Ryder Helfrick, C
- Tucker Holland, LHP
- Tate McGuire, RHP
- Diego Ramos, RHP/INF
- Jack Smith, LHP
- Kade Smith, P-INF
- Nolan Souza, SS-3B
- Ty Waid, C-1B
