Arkansas rises to the consensus No. 1 team in college baseball

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON

FAYETTEVILLE – The nation’s new consensus No. 1 college baseball team plays its home games at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Arkansas (30-3, 11-1) ascended to the top spot in all five major polls on Monday after a weekend in which it pummeled SEC foe Missouri by combined margin of 51-9.

The Razorbacks, who are tied with Texas for the SEC lead, will take itjeir new status into a game with Arkansas State (14-17) Tuesday night at 6 p.m.

Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn took the news in stride.

“Yeah, I mean, it means there’s nowhere to go but backwards,” Van Horn joked after Monday’s Swatter’s Club Luncheon. “ That’s really about it. I’ve never talked to the team this year about a ranking, not one time where we were, where we are in the standings. I haven’t said one thing.

“I just tell them everyday, ‘Just stay humble, keep working and it’ll all end up what you’re looking to do.’ Whether that’s individually or as a team.”

But Van Horn does admit he knows others revel in the No. 1 status.

“I think the rankings are… It’s good for the fans,” Van Horn said. “It’s good for college baseball. It’s good for internet you-know-what talk, and fun banter. Whatever, but it’s nice. It’s respect for your program, so I appreciate that. I’m not all about it.

“…It’s definitely good for recruiting. I’d be able to say that.”

The Razorbacks moved up from, No. 2 in the D1 Baseball, Baseball America, USA Today Coaches and NWBA polls ands up from No. 4 in Prefect Game’s rankings.

The SEC has the top four spots in the USA Today poll with No. 2 Texas, No. 3 LSU and No. 4 Tennessee.

The league has 10 teams in the this week’s USA Today Top 25 with Georgia (6), Ole Miss (7), Alabama (10), Auburn (12), Vanderbilt (14) and Oklahoma (19) also ranked.

Van Horn suspects Arkansas will get Arkansas State’s best shot on Tuesday night.

The Red Wolves are coming off a weekend where they downed Sun Belt Conference leader Coastal Carolina 2-0 in Sunday’s to avert a sweep by the No. 21 Chanticleers.

“Just a little bit of video,” Van Horn said of his knowledge of Arkansas State. “They got a big win, I think against Coastal yesterday, shut them out I think. Coastal is a ranked team so I am sure they are talking about that right now.

“I think they flew straight into here from over there instead of going back to Jonesboro…I think they are going to work out at our park (on Monday)…So that are probably talking about we can get us another ranked team and knock them off.

“I always tell our guys, and we try to give them as much information as possible, but we always finish with it is about how we play. That’s the only thing we can control.”

Van Horn believed he saw the right mindset from these Razorbacks early.

“In the fall in the weight room, in the fall while we were playing, just watching the guys, got a little bit of baseball savvy,” Van Horn said. “I thought ‘they are kind of tough.’ They just seemed to get along and they worked. Guys weren’t running out of there. That was good to see.”

Photo by John D. James