FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Even though Arkansas just left for Omaha and the College World Series Wednesday morning, it doesn’t mean that coach Dave Van Horn isn’t looking forward to beyond this season.
The Razorbacks picked up their first commitment of the transfer portal cycle. Jackson Wells, a graduate right-handed pitcher, who spent the last three seasons with the Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans, committed to the Hogs Wednesday night on Twitter/X.
Excited for this next chapter. #committed @RazorbackBSB pic.twitter.com/aQOxxoWRlq
— Jackson Wells (@jacksonbwells) June 12, 2025
Wells had a 5.36 ERA in 87 1/3 innings with 35 walks and 97 strikeouts in 2025. He also picked up valuable postseason experience as the Trojans won the Ohio Valley Conference despite having a losing record and won their first NCAA Tournament game in school history.
The newest Razorback pitched twice against LSU in the Baton Rouge Regional, as the Trojans came within one game of stunning the No. 6 overall seed on their home field in a decisive game in the regional final.
In the two appearances against LSU, Wells allowed six runs in 8 2/3 innings with three walks and seven strikeouts.
It’ll be a homecoming of sorts for Wells, who went to Rogers High School. He also spent his freshman year in junior college ball at Arkansas-Rich Mountain, where he compiled an 8-2 record with a 3.95 era in 68 1/3 innings with 89 strikeouts.
Wells’ best year came in 2023 when he led the team in almost every pitching category including: ERA (1.65), wins (7), games started (15), completed games (2), innings pitched (93), and strikeouts (80). He even beat out future No. 1 overall pick and current Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes for the national ERA title.
Skenes finished his historic season with LSU with an ERA 0.04 higher than Wells at 1.69.
Wells figures to be the first piece in what will almost certainly be a new-look pitching staff as players leave to begin their professional baseball pursuits after the Hogs are done playing in Omaha. Van Horn is getting a head start on rebuilding his stable of arms.
Starters Zach Root and Gage Wood are both Top 75 draft prospects and figure to be almost sure locks to sign in next month’s MLB Draft.
Aiden Jimenez, who has been used both as a starter and as a reliever, is also draft eligible and could sign with a team if the right offer comes up.
High leverage reliever arms like Parker Coil and Christian Foutch are also juniors and are likely to be drafted purely based off their stuff profile and stats.
It’s important to note that most players opt to sign with one year of eligibility remaining to keep leverage when negotiating signing bonuses with MLB teams.
Arkansas’ first opponent in the College World Series will be an opponent that both the Razorbacks and Wells are very familiar with, LSU. The Tigers took two out of three from the Hogs when the two teams met at Alex Box Stadium in early May.
First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday and will be broadcast on ESPN.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
