photo credit: Falmouth Commodores
Three months ago, Maika Niu was scuffling along as an average hitter at Marshall. He was playing every day, but didn’t exactly look like the kind of player who’d garner the attention of a school like Arkansas.
Since making a subtle adjustment in the batter’s box at the start of May, though, the Mechanicsburg, Pa., native has turned into one of the best hitters in the country. The transformation culminated this week with Niu being named the MVP of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
“It’s a great honor,” Niu told Best of Arkansas Sports. “I didn’t really think about it or even know it was a thing. I didn’t really pay any attention to it, I just tried to be simple and do me. I guess good things happen when you do that.”
It sounds simple when you listen to him describe the summer surge, but it really undersells just how remarkable of a run Niu has been on dating back to his time with the Thundering Herd.
Entering the month of May, he was hitting just .261 with a .759 OPS and had 4 home runs in 45 games. While those aren’t terrible numbers, they pale in comparison to what was to come — and were no where close to what his personal hitting coach knew he was capable of producing.
Maika Niu’s Breakout
Baseball coach Teed Wertz has worked with Maika Niu since he was 5 years old, so he knows the slugger better than most.
That familiarity likely helped Wertz notice that Niu was standing at the plate with his weight evenly distributed between his two legs, causing him to shift the weight back before moving it forward like he always has with his swing.
“He gave me a call and he was like, ‘Dude, what are you doing? You’ve got to get back on your back foot to start because of your forward move,’” Niu said. “So I was like yeah, let’s put 90% of my weight in my back leg and go from there.”
The tweak helped Niu keep his head still and better recognize pitches, leading to a Ruthian final stretch of the 2025 season.
Not only did he go 19 for 59 (.322) over Marshall’s last 13 games, Niu smacked a whopping 11 home runs and posted an incredible 1.352 OPS. He collected 26 RBIs, as well, equaling his total over the first 45 games.
He didn’t slow down with a wooden bat in the Cape Cod League, either. Playing for the Falmouth Commodores in the most prestigious summer collegiate league, Niu slashed .280/.364/.508 and led the league with 8 home runs. He also finished second in RBIs (23) and runs scored (28) while swiping 15 of 19 bases.
Joining Arkansas Baseball
That kind of late-season and summer production turned Maika Niu into a legitimate threat to be plucked by the MLB Draft before making it to campus.
Considering he was an unknown before dominating the Cape, though, Niu checked in at just No. 499 in Baseball America’s list of top 500 prospects and ultimately went undrafted.
Teams were certainly interested in him, but he was set on playing at Arkansas.
“I think Maika just wants to prove that he can play in the SEC and that he deserves to be a good draft pick next year, and we’re excited to have him,” Arkansas baseball coach Dave Van Horn said. “Getting him through (the draft) gives us a lot of Division I at bats. He’s confident and excited that he had a good summer.”
With the Razorbacks, the converted shortstop will play in the outfield and is expected to compete for the starting job in center.
That’s a major need for Van Horn’s squad after all three of last year’s starters moved on, with Justin Thomas Jr. and Charles Davalan getting drafted and Logan Maxwell exhausting his eligibility – not to mention key backups Carson Boles and Kendall Diggs.
The only returning outfielder with any experience is Kuhio Aloy and he started just one game in right field as Arkansas’ everyday designated hitter. The Razorbacks also return Brenton Clark, but he redshirted in 2025.
Those guys will be competing with Niu, as well as key transfers Zack Stewart from Missouri State and Damian Ruiz from Lamar.
Arkansas Baseball Transfer Portal Class
Here’s a rundown of all players Arkansas landed out of the transfer portal this offseason…
RHP James DeCremer – Oregon State
RHP Jackson Kircher – Oklahoma
C Brendan Kleiman – Eastern Michigan
LHP Ethan McElvain – Vanderbilt
OF Maika Niu – Marshall
INF TJ Pompey – Texas Tech
OF Damian Ruiz – Lamar
OF Zack Stewart – Missouri State
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Best of Arkansas Sports will have a more in-depth look at Maika Niu’s journey, with more insight from our interview with the incoming Razorback, sometime this fall.
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Incoming Arkansas Razorback Maika Niu wins the 2025 Cape Cod League MVP
He leads the league in home runs with 8 and is 2nd in RBI with 23. Last season at Marshall he hit 14 doubles, 15 homers and 52 RBI
64 Analytics x @codball pic.twitter.com/CNuRENGEVC
— 64Analytics (@64Analytics) August 4, 2025
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Here’s a full rundown of what the 2026 Arkansas baseball roster looks like:
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More coverage of Arkansas baseball from BoAS…