FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — For the sixth time in the last seven seasons, Arkansas (43-14) will host an NCAA regional to kick off its road to the College World Series in Omaha.
On Monday, the Razorbacks were selected as the No. 5 national seed in the NCAA Tournament, which means they will have home-field advantage through the super regionals if they were to punch their ticket.
The NCAA Fayetteville Regional, comprising Arkansas, Ohio Valley Conference champion Southeast Missouri State (34-25), Kansas State (32-24) and Louisiana Tech (45-17), begins May 31 with a win-or-go-home game on June 3, if necessary.
Arkansas, hosting a regional for the 11th time in program history, will open play against Southeast Missouri State on Friday at 2 p.m. on ESPN+. Suppose the Razorbacks make it out of the four-team double-elimination regional. In that case, they'll host the winner of the Charlottesville Regional in a best-of-three series for one of eight spots in the College World Series.
The Charlottesville Regional consists of host Virginia (41-15), Penn (24-23), St. John's (37-16-1) and Mississippi State (38-21).
Arkansas vs. the field
Head coach Dave Van Horn and the Razorbacks enter the NCAA Fayetteville Regional on a three-game losing streak, their longest since April 2023. While the Hogs' pitching ranks first nationally in ERA (3.66), WHIP (1.21) and K/9 (12.1), they haven't been as productive at the plate.
Arkansas sits last among its regional opponents in batting average (.268) and second to last in on-base percentage (.380) and slugging percentage (.442), only above Kansas State.
Senior fielder Peyton Holt leads the Razorbacks at the dish, hitting a .349 in 186 appearances this season. Arkansas will need Holt's spark to get the bats going and produce runs. On the mound, junior starting pitcher Hagen Smith is having a historic season and needs just six more strikeouts to pass David Walling's single-season strikeout record of 155, set in 1999.
Smith, a projected top-five pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, already passed Nick Schmidt's milestone of 345 career strikeouts from 2005-07. Van Horn hasn't revealed who will start for the Hogs in Friday's opener against Southeast Missouri State, but there's a good chance it will either be Smith or sophomore Gage Wood.
That decision will be made Thursday night, according to Van Horn.
Whoever gets the nod will most likely toe the rubber against Haden Dow, the Redhawks' top pitcher who has allowed four runs or less in 11 of his 15 starts this season.
Arkansas holds a 68-45 overall record in regional play and is seeking its 11th super regional appearance in program history.
NCAA Fayetteville Regional schedule:
(Dates and times are subject to change; All times Central)
Friday, May 31
Game 1 - Arkansas vs. SEMO (2 p.m. on ESPN+)
Game 2 - Louisiana Tech vs. Kansas State (7 p.m. on ESPN+)
Saturday, June 1
Game 3 - Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser (2 p.m.)
Game 4 - Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner (8 p.m.)
Sunday, June 2
Game 5 - Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser (1 p.m.)
Game 6 - Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner (6 p.m.)
Monday, June 3 (if necessary)
Game 7 - if the Game 5 winner wins Game 6 (TBA)