I’ve yammered negatively about the 2023-24 Razorback athletics season generally in “Pearls” the past few months, but here’s the epitaph:
What a complete, disheartening and frustrating disaster.
The slog of an academic year is enough for students to endure without the sports programs suffering. But I’ve got some unique sympathies for current attendees of the University of Arkansas, because the hype machine broke down all year long and likely dampened school spirit the last 10 months or so.
It’s pointless to rehash the lost football season and the tumultuous campaigns of both basketball squads. It may also be folly to opine on Arkansas’s softball and baseball teams making shocking, quick exits from Fayetteville Regionals.
Even though Courtney Deifel and Dave Van Horn remain first-class coaches, they couldn’t capitalize on the talent or tradition this year. Both teams’ season-long weaknesses came back to haunt them in the final legs of their schedules.
NIL and portal noise being what it is these days, I guess we still had to hope that the relative prestige and consistency of the diamond sports would win out. As it has of late, the regular seasons were right on target as far as Deifel’s and Van Horn’s performance history.
On the baseball side, this was likely the best returning roster Van Horn had. With Hagen Smith and Brady Tygart coming back to lead the rotation, and with Kendall Diggs, Peyton Stovall, and Ben McLaughlin in the lineup, how could this go wrong? Arkansas hauled in a batch of fine-looking transfers, and some promising freshmen made it to campus instead of Rookie League ball.
The bag of results was decidedly mixed at the end. Arkansas spent weeks atop the rankings, and despite some missteps, stayed entrenched in the Top 3 for nearly the whole season. But Diggs and Tygart had less than stellar years overall, and there just wasn’t anyone who could be consistently counted upon for a clutch knock.
What spoiled the vibes in the final seven games, in which the Hogs went 1-6? Basically, the same old woes of June: too much reliance on Smith’s brilliance and not enough situational hitting. Texas A&M took two of three at College Station and Arkansas lost both in Hoover in the SEC Tournament before having two listless defeats at home in the Regional.
Now the College World Series field is set and half of it will be SEC teams. The ACC is the only other league represented. And Arkansas isn’t around for it because of the same woes that kept them from getting to Omaha, much less leaving there with the elusive title.
Deifel’s team had another really strong regular season and seemed poised to have a noteworthy postseason. Then essentially the same woes that befell Van Horn’s lineup took hold for her team. Arkansas lost two of three to Ole Miss in the last series, got beat 3-1 by Missouri in the SEC Tourney, and then scored only six runs in three games at Bogle Park in the opening round of the NCAAs.
And all of that just kind of fit with the narrative of this tough nine-month stretch. Look, I get that there are Hogs zealots and haters around these parts in ample supply, but there’s no denying that Arkansas generally thrives as a state when the athletic programs are doing well. Feel free to disclaim any rooting interest if you like, but accept that it’s a boost to the state economy and morale if the teams simply don’t suck.
In 2023-24, they mostly did. It happens. And if the diamond sports aren’t hitting their usual high marks, it is cause for some concern even if you’re hyped about Bobby Petrino and John Calipari being in the building. Sam Pittman enters 2024 in a precarious spot, and Calipari, Mike Neighbors, Van Horn, and Deifel all have rebuilding jobs on their hands.
Months ago, as the basketball season meandered off a cliff, I noted the baseball and softball programs needed a successful 2024. By most objective standards, that did not occur, even if the baseball team won another SEC West crown outright and the softballers sported a dominant arsenal of arms inside the circle.
Those disappointments notwithstanding, good news keeps trickling forth from the transfer portal. Trevon Brazile, polarizing as he may be, decided to reinvest in Arkansas for another year and, in my humble view, will likely excel again with undue pressure and distractions at bay.
I also think, for what it’s worth, that this football season ahead won’t be a failure. I’ll get into the whys and wherefores of that later in the summer, but I have this weird suspicion that the marriage of Petrino and Pittman will work alright, and that Taylen Green has superstar potential.
At least that’s what I’m running with for now. Humor me for a few more weeks.