Ben McLaughlin and the Art of Patience

FAYETTEVILLE, Ar. (KNWA/KFTA) – When Arkansas starting first baseman Ben McLaughlin steps into the batters box, most things in life are put in perpective.

He thinks about his family, his journey to Arkansas, his work ethic, but more importantly not taking where he is for granted.

“Every moment is so crucial on the field,” McLaughlin said. “I mean, we won the SEC last year and the regional didn’t go the way we wanted.”

Yet his journey to Arkansas required patience, and understanding that life has a funny way of working out. After having only a few small mid major offers out of high school, McLaughlin took an unorthodox approach to his recruitment and went the junior college route.

From Golden, C.O., McLaughlin started his colliegate career at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. Following two years there, he got a call from Nate Thompson with an offer to go play baseball for the Hogs. More importantly, it was a chance to play ball in the SEC.

“So my recruiting happened pretty late,” Mclaughlin recalled. “playing at a place like Arkansas has always been a dream for me… SEC baseball. So towards I decided to say no to some of those schools and I waited it out.”

The first baseman had to wait a little bit longer to see the field consistently. When McLaughlin got to the Hill, there were already established first baseman in Brady Slavens and Jace Bohrofen on the team. However, the logjam at first allowed McLaughlin to take in the sights of what SEC baseball would be.

“I feel like right off the bat last year in Arlington, I was like, almost like a little relief to not be on the field,” McLaughlin said. “. Like, you can watch it on TV, but being in person is a whole different story. So I feel like I got to see what the game was like, slow the game down a little bit, even when I’m not playing.”

Despite his family being in Colorado, Mclaughlin relies on them heavily when it came to turning his patient mentality into a strength of his game. He learned it from his brother, Jack, who played baseball at both Towson and Central Arkansas.

With family on his side and a solid work ethic behind him, McLaughlin seized his opportunity in 2024 becoming one of the most consistent bats in the Arkansas. More importantly, he’s enjoying what he has waited so long to do…

Playing baseball in the SEC.