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Arkansas’ Gage Wood throws historic no-hitter in College World Series

Arkansas’ Gage Wood tosses the third no-hitter in Men’s College World Series history as Arkansas tops Murray State.

NCAA

Arkansas baseball’s season ended with a loss to LSU in the College World Series.Returning hitters Ryder Helfrick, Cam Kozeal and Kuhio Aloy will be key players in 2026.Top pitching prospect Gabe Gaeckle is expected to lead a deep pitching staff.

(This story was updated to correct a misspelling/typo.) 

It’s time for Arkansas baseball to turn the page to 2026.

The Razorbacks‘ season came to an end Wednesday night in a 6-5 loss to LSU at the College World Series. The Hogs fell four victories short of a first national title in program history, experiencing another soul-challenging defeat in Omaha, Nebraska.

The Razorbacks have already been looking ahead. With full focus on the NCAA Tournament, Dave Van Horn and his staff have been working the transfer portal and thinking about next spring in the background. He confirmed as much during his postgame presser after the loss to LSU.

“We’ve been on the phone a lot up here with kids that we’re trying to get to come visit us when our season’s over,” he said. “So we’ll be on the phone probably tomorrow getting them lined up.”

The portal is only one part of the equation, and Arkansas will have a solid core of players coming back next season.

Here is what to know about the returning players on the 2026 roster for the Hogs.

Arkansas baseball returns three top hitters

The Razorbacks will likely lose their entire outfield and left side of the infield to the MLB Draft, but Ryder Helfrick, Cam Kozeal and Kuhio Aloy are foundational pieces.

Helfrick slashed .305/.420/.616 with 15 home runs. Five of those homers came in the NCAA Tournament, and Helfrick was hitting just .192 on March 19 before finding his stride.

Kozeal led the SEC with 41 RBIs in conference games and finished with a slash line of .333/.386/.606. He also showed positional versatility, playing first and second. Aloy rode a hot start to a team-leading 70 RBIs. His hitting tailed off, but this was his first season without any diverted energy toward pitching.

Two other returnees spent time as starters. Nolan Souza was the everyday second baseman until a shoulder injury in April ended his sophomore season. If the shoulder returns to full strength, Souza is a candidate to play shortstop.

Finally, there’s first baseman Reese Robinett, who took over after Souza’s injury moved Kozeal to second. Robinett doesn’t have typical power numbers for a corner infielder, but his .400 on-base percentage is valuable. He had a strong postseason with seven runs in nine games.

Gabe Gaeckle will lead another deep pitching staff

Gaeckle is one of the top prospects for the 2026 MLB Draft and will enter next spring as one of the nation’s best pitchers. Arkansas must find a way to maximize his talent in the weekend rotation. Gaeckle did not thrive as a starter in 2025, but he closed the season with a 2.06 ERA in his final 35 innings.

Cole Gibler is an option to join the weekend rotation after going 3-2 with a 3.99 ERA as a freshman. Parker Coil (3-0, 1.27 ERA) should be a top option out of the bullpen, while Colin Fisher and Tate McGuire could grow into bigger roles.

The Hogs have three wild cards in Aiden Jimenez, Hunter Dietz and Carson Wiggins. Jimenez (4-1, 3.40 ERA) could be a weekend starter, but he is a draft-eligible redshirt sophomore. Another year at Arkansas as a full-time starter could boost his stock.

Dietz never got rolling in his return from injury, while Wiggins had elbow surgery this spring. If either can come back healthy and live up to expectations, the Razorbacks’ pitching staff becomes a lot more explosive.

Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@gannett.com or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.Â