Checking the Field
Prior to last season, the last time Arkansas didn’t advance to the super regional round was in 2017. With the nation’s best pitching staff, an air-tight defense and an offense that knows how to get the job done, head coach Dave Van Horn and his Razorbacks are determined to advance not only to a super regional, but to the College World Series. Standing in their way is a balanced and battle-tested Louisiana Tech team that enjoyed their best season since they hosted a regional in 2021, a Kansas State squad loaded with impact talent and a powerful Southeast Missouri State lineup that has hit 100 home runs so far this season.
1. Arkansas Regular Season Results |
Team Stats and Leaders
2. Louisiana Tech Regular Season Results |
Team Stats and Leaders
3. Kansas State Regular Season Results |
Team Stats and Leaders
4. Southeast Missouri State Regular Season Results |
Team Stats and Leaders
Fayetteville Regional Superlatives
Most Exciting Player: Kaelen Culpepper, SS, Kansas State
Arkansas ace Hagen Smith would be an obvious choice for this one, but let’s save him for the Best Pitcher category and instead highlight Culpepper, a potential Day One draft pick this summer with exciting tools across the board. After playing standout defense at third base as a sophomore, Culpepper has made a smooth transition to short, where his double-plus arm is a serious weapon — and it’s fun to watch him throw lasers to first from deep in the hole. He’s also a good runner with serious bat speed, and he can impact the game by hitting a homer (9) or a double (12), or by swiping a bag (16). Along with 2B Brady Day (8 HR, 16 SB), CF Brendan Jones (8 HR, 36 SB) and Chuck Ingram (9 HR, 8 SB), Culpepper is part of an excellent core of Wildcats who can both hit for power and steal bases.]
Best Hitter: Cole McConnell, OF, Louisiana Tech
After missing almost the entire 2023 season due to injury, McConnell returned for his fifth year with the Louisiana Tech program this season and has routinely come up big when his team has needed him the most. Slashing .380/.462/.682, McConnell leads a dangerous offense in numerous categories, including each of the triple slash percentages, homers (18) and total bases (165). He also has committed just one error while playing center field, providing valuable leadership for a team that has no shortage of experience.
Best Defensive Player: Michael Ballard, 2B, Louisiana Tech
Ballard was a key offseason acquisition by the Bulldogs, arriving in Ruston from Eckerd College at the Division II level, where he batted .329 and committed just 21 errors in 116 games over a three-year span while playing shortstop. Playing second base this year in deference of another transfer, Kasten Furr (New Orleans), Ballard has solidified one of the best middle infield combos in the nation and has committed just one error all season long. He’s also been a steady offensive contributor and is one of six regulars in the Louisiana Tech lineup batting on the sunny side of .300.
Best Pitcher: Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas
The SEC Pitcher of the Year, Smith is going to earn plenty of national Pitcher of the Year accolades as he leads the nation in strikeouts (184), 30 more than anyone else, and a ridiculous 17.54 strikeouts-per-nine-innings. Overall he’s 9-1, 1.48 with a 154-to-30 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 79 innings. During that time he’s allowed just 37 base hits, enjoying a historic year for a power arm that rivals what Paul Skenes did a year ago for LSU.
Smith is going to be selected amongst the top 3-5 overall picks in this year’s draft, not only because of his results, but because of his stuff. At 6-foot-3, 225-pounds, there’s some effort to his delivery but he sustains his velocity well deep into games, touching the upper-90s with great frequency and sitting in the mid-90s while making opposing batters look foolish with a wicked slider. Whenever he takes the mound it instantly becomes must-see TV, and the spotlight will only shine brighter in the postseason.
X-Factor: Ethan Bates, DH/RHP, Louisiana Tech
Bates and McConnell give the Bulldogs one heck of a 1-2 punch to contend with at the top of the lineup, as Bates is slashing .343/.438/.622 with 21 doubles, 15 homers and 74 RBIs. Bates also serves as the team’s closer, and is the nation’s most prolific stopper with 17 saves. He’s far from a traditional, one-inning closer and frequently makes appearances whenever Louisiana Tech needs him the most to get out of a jam. With a 2-1, 3.50 record, 52 punchouts and just 28 base hits allowed in 43 2/3 innings, Bates is enjoying an incredible season.
Best Starting Rotation: Arkansas
Hagen Smith alone might have given Arkansas this recognition, but then you throw Brady Tygart and Mason Molina into the mix and you truly have a special group. Arkansas, however, has sent a few different starters to the mound in recent weeks and have been known to mix things up in the postseason, basically going with whatever arm is needed to get them through whatever situation they’re facing, and they certainly have the depth to do so.
Best Bullpen: Arkansas
Gabe Gaeckle, the team’s more traditional closer, has a 2.27 ERA and seven saves. Stone Hewlett is at 3.55 and four. Will McEntire has starting experience and is 5-0, 4.26 with four saves. Christian Foutch, Colin Fisher and Gage Wood are among the team’s more frequently turned-to options. And that’s what the Razorbacks have more than pretty much any other team in the nation, options, and it’s what makes them especially dangerous in a postseason setting.
Best Offensive Team: Louisiana Tech
The 1-2 punch of McConnell and Bates makes Louisiana Tech’s lineup especially lethal, a unit that’s slashing .299/.395/.478 with 88 home runs. Six regulars are batting .300 or better and four of their hitters have double-digit home runs, including cleanup hitting catcher Jorge Corona (16) and leadoff hitting first baseman Dalton Davis (15). Left fielder Adarius Myers gives the lineup a fifth hitter with over 100 total bases and gives the Bulldogs the best lineup, one through nine, at the Fayetteville Regional.
Best Defensive Team: Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech and Arkansas have identical .981 fielding percentages, but the nod goes to the Bulldogs given their infield defense – Davis, Ballard, Furr and third baseman Grant Comeaux have combined to commit just 23 errors, only one of which was made on the right side of the infield – and overall strength up the middle of the field. McConnell and Corona have both been with the team since 2020.
No. 1 Seed Win Probability (1-10): 7
Even though the Arkansas pitching hasn’t been quite as airtight down the stretch as it was early, the Hogs still lead the nation with a 3.65 ERA, and that’s loud. They’re also 33-3 at home this year, and you know the Baum-Walker Stadium fans will be in a frenzy this weekend. Louisiana Tech is a very worthy challenger, and Kansas State’s star power makes the Wildcats intriguing as well, but the Hogs are the heavy favorites at home.
Frisky 4-seed Factor: SEMO’s Power.
Southeast Missouri emerged from the homer-happy Ohio Valley Conference blasting 100 home runs to get to this point of the season. Four of their regulars have at least 12 home runs, led by shortstop Ben Palmer’s 17. Two more regulars have eight dingers and two others six, making SEMO a particularly challenging opponent considering there isn’t an easy out in their lineup. After finishing the regular season second in the OVC standings, SEMO out-scored their opponents, Morehead State and Southern Indiana, 35-28, in four games, hitting eight homers along the way.
WARriors
Here’s a look at the top five players in Wins Above Replacement (as calculated by our partners at 6-4-3 Charts) for each of the four teams in the Fayetteville Regional:
Arkansas:
1. Hagen Smith (3.38)
2. Ben McLaughlin (3.03)
3. Wehiwa Aloy (2.80)
4. Peyton Stovall (2.56)
5. Jared Sprague-Lott (2.45)
Louisiana Tech:
1. Ethan Bates (4.62)
2. Jorge Corona (3.18)
3. Dalton Davis (3.01)
4. Kasten Furr (2.88)
5. Cole McConnell (2.74)
Kansas State:
1. Brady Day (3.80)
2. Kaelen Culpepper (3.52)
3. Brendan Jones (3.07)
4. Jackson Wentworth (2.10)
5. Raphael Pelletier (1.87)
Southeast Missouri State:
1. Ben Palmer (2.88)
2. Ty Stauss (2.52)
3. Brooks Kettering (2.51)
4. Josh Cameron (2.28)
5. Michael Mugan (2.24)
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