Arkansas 2025 SEC Baseball Tournament Exit Interview

By Jake Mastroianni

SEC Tournament Results: L, 5-2 vs. Ole Miss

Record: 43-13

Coming into 2025, many were tabbing Arkansas as having the best pitching staff in all of college baseball. The concern was around whether or not they would score enough.

Early on, it looked like they would struggle at the plate once again. But when the bats got rolling, suddenly Arkansas had the best offense in the conference to go along with a dominant pitching staff.

Overall, Arkansas led the SEC in hitting with a .316 average and 491 runs scored. And they were third in the conference with 109 home runs.

Wehiwa Aloy took a big jump from 2024 to win the SEC Player of the Year by hitting .352 with 17 doubles and 18 home runs to go along with 73 runs scored and 58 RBI.

They had six players finish with double-digit doubles and homers. That list includes Charles Davalan, Kuhio Aloy, Cam Kozeal, Ryder Helfrick, Brent Iredale, and Wehiwa.

While the pitching was good, finishing fifth in the conference with a 4.12 ERA, it didn’t quite live up to the lofty expectations placed on them.

Gabe Gaeckle’s transition to the rotation didn’t work out, but once they moved him back to the bullpen, he got back to his dominant self.

Zach Root led the rotation with a 4.07 ERA in 79.2 innings with 106 strikeouts. Gage Wood missed most of the season, but delivered some big starts late in conference play.

There is a plethora of dominant arms in that bullpen, including Aiden Jimenez, Christian Foutch, and Carson Wiggins.

What’s next

The Razorbacks are a lock to be a national seed despite their early exit in Hoover. This is the most balanced team in the conference, but they have struggled with consistency at times.

It’s difficult to see this team not making a trip to Omaha, and perhaps this is the group that can bring head coach Dave Van Horn that elusive College World Series championship.

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