Arkansas turns to Jimenez to start NCAA Baseball Tournament opener vs. North Dakota State

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas will begin its NCAA Baseball Tournament run with a pitcher who has started just once all season, but has been arguably its most valuable moundsman during the 2025 campaign.

Razorback head coach Dave Van Horn announced Thursday morning that he is giving redshirt sophomore Aiden Jimenez the nod when top seed Arkansas (43-13) faces fourth seed North Dakota State (20-31) in the opening game of the Fayetteville Regional Friday at 2 p.m. at Baum Walker Stadium.

Jimenez (4-1, 3.37 ERA, 1 save) has thrown 34 2/3 innings over 18 appearances – 17 in relief and one start against Tennessee – this season while allowing 34 hits and 13 earned runs, fanning 34 and walking 7.

“The starting pitcher will be Aiden Jimenez,” Van Horn said. “That was our game plan all along. He didn’t throw at (the SEC Tournament in Hoover (Alabama), which is okay. He got a chance to get some more rest. Strike-thrower, tough, you gotta know him.

“I know they’re going to hit about seven lefties in their lineup. It’s not a lot of power, it’s guys who hit the ball through the middle (and) the other way. Trying to win the regional. Bottom line. He’s a good pitcher.

“You think about it, he’s the guy we’ve given the ball to when the game’s on the line everywhere, sixth, seventh inning, Friday night in Baton Rouge, whatever. That’s the only game out of the bullpen it didn’t work out. He’s gotten one start, didn’t go great, but you’ve got to give the team we were playing a lot of credit for that one.”

Second-seeded Kansas (43-15) will battle third-seeded Creighton (41-14) Friday night at 7 p.m. with the losers playing Saturday at 2 p.m. and the winners at 8 p.m.

“Yeah, just great to be in a regional again,” Van Horn said. “Congratulations to the three other teams, it’s not easy to get to a regional. I know there’s teams that do it a lot, seem to do it every year, but you still have to fight your way through it and everybody has a different road. I feel good where we are, I’m glad to be at home.”

Van Horn is not interested in looking back to his team’s failure to get out of the Regionals and Super Regionals and into the College World Series, a place it has been to a nation’s best three of the past six seasons.

The Razorbacks, 32-4 this season at home, enter this season’s tournament as the No. 3 national seed.

“Well, you know, it’s really just been the last couple of years,” Van Horn said. “Bottom line, I mean, it’s a fact. This team’s a lot better than last year’s team or the year before. We’re better.”

A transfer from Oregon State, Jimenez will be allowed to go as long as he can per Van Horn.

“Obviously, we would like him to go as many (innings) as he can,” Van Horn said. The pitch count would be an issue as well, but I mean, he can go 80, 90. If that doesn’t happen, we just want him to give us his best when he’s in there and not hold anything back. That’s what we’re hoping that happens.”

Jimenez pitched in game two of the Arkansas-Tennessee series, an 8-6 Razorback win.

He went 2 1/3 innings while giving up four runs on seven hits in a game where Tennessee ace and expected top 5 overall draft pick Liam Doyle was hammered for 8 runs (6 earned) in 11 hits.

“Looking ahead to postseason,” Van Horn said of his decision to start Jimenez that game.. “Like I said, it didn’t go great, but if we would have won a couple games out there at the conference tournament — we didn’t — he would have probably got a start if there was a third day if we hadn’t used him yet.

“Now we’re here and we got them all rested. You look at the numbers, North Dakota State, they’re hitting within 10 points against right and left, so it’s about the same. Again, he’s just the guy we felt like we could go with Game 1.

Van Horn has viewed Jimenez as a starter, but likely for next year after coming off arm surgery he suffered before last season at Oregon State.

“We were hoping that all along,” Van Horn said. “We didn’t think he would progress this far with the arm surgery he had last year. It’s been what, like 15-16 months now, somewhere in there. We hope that he comes back next year because he’s draft-eligible. If he does, we feel like he’ll be a starter for us.”

Van Horn said there will be plenty of arms ready if needed in the opening game.

“All of them,” Van Horn said. “I mean, anybody we need, depending on the situation. If it’s tight or a tough situation we could bring in (Gabe) Gaeckle. I mean, we can, I don’t know. All of them. Just what we do.

“We’re going to try and win the game. If we have a good lead or we’re way down then we’ll do what we need to do. But you know, I don’t plan on that. I plan on it being a really good game and a lot of decisions will have to be made. All hands on deck. That’s what we told them.”

Van Horn plans to throw either Zach Root (6-5, 4.07) or Gage Wood (2-1, 5.59) in the Razorbacks’ Saturday contest.

“Probably wait and see,” Van Horn said. “ I feel like between Wood and Root, they’re both really good pitchers. Zach’s obviously had a lot more experience this year because of Wood’s injury.”

Despite throwing just 19 1/3 innings this season, Wood has leaped up to the first round in 2025 Major League Baseball Draft mock projections.

“He’s bounced back and he feels better than ever,” Van Horn said of Wood. “I mean, his stuff is electric. It could go either way.

“You know, you got… Kansas has a good mix. Creighton is a good mix. Win or lose, you’re going to play one of them, so we’ll just wait and see what happens tomorrow night.” 

Photo by John D. James