Eight Diamond Hogs slated to compete in the prestigious Cape Cod Summer League

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas’ baseball program will be well-represented at the nation’s premier summer baseball league as well as three other summer leagues.

Eight current Razorbacks are scheduled to play in the Massachusetts-based Cape Cod Baseball League, whose season begins Saturday with five games and runs through Aug. 4 with the playoffs happening from Aug. 6-12.

Those eight are shortstop Wehiwa Aloy, catcher Ryder Helfrick, outfielder Jayson Jones and five pitchers in Ben Bybee, Gage Wood, Parker Coil, Jake Faherty and Tate McGuire.

The Cape Cod League is starting a week later than normal and has reduced its regular season games down from 44 to 40.

The Cape Cod League was officially formed in 1923, but has roots dating back to 1885.

Gaeckle will play for two-time defending champion Bourne, which will also feature Vanderbilt players Alabama’s Zane Adams, Vanderbilt’s Miller Green, Braden Holcomb and Camden Kozeal, Wake Forest’s Marek Houston, Clemson’s Aiden Knaak and Rutgers’ Donvoan Zsak and Coastal Carolina teammates Blake Barthol and Caden Bodine.

Wood will pitch for the Falmouth Commodores, one of the four original teams in the league.

He will be teaming up with Texas A&M’s Gavin Grohovac, LSU’s Steve Milam,the Oregon State duo of Trent Caraway and Gavin Turley, Duke’s James Tallon and Chase Krewson, Air Force’s Chase Spencer and Louisville’s Zion Rose.

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There a total of 16 Razorbacks known to be playing summer baseball.

Arkansas pitcher Jack Smith and position players Ty Waid and Reese Robinette are all set to compete in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, which began in 1993 and boasts 13 teams playing in six different states.

Razorback infielder Kade Smith is playing for the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks in the Alaska Baseball League, which has five teams in four Alaska cities.

Smith, the former Harding Academy standout, is 3 of 5 so far in his team’s first two games.

There will also be four Razorbacks competing in the California Collegiate League with infielder Nolan Souza (Santa Barbara Foresters) and pitchers Tucker Holland, Diego Ramos (Santa Barbara Foresters) and Jaewoo Cho.

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According to 64Analytics, Arkansas is the only high major college baseball program and one of eight of 305 college teams overall to not have a player enter the NCAA’s Transfer Portal to this point.

The other seven programs are Army, Bucknell, Lehigh, Navy, Northwestern State, Rider and Valparaiso.

Photo by John D. James