FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Razorback baseball program and head coach Dave Van Horn announced the signing of 20 student-athletes to National Letters of Intent for the 2019 season this week. Complementing the 12 pitchers that signed, eight position players bring some big time talent to Baum Stadium.
While continuing to keep some of the best players from Arkansas in-state, Van Horn and his staff was able to keep one of the best infielders in Bentonville High standout Tyler Johnson.
Johnson is the ninth-ranked player in the state according to Prep Baseball Report and has hit over .350 in each of the last two seasons to earn back-to-back 7A All-Conference distinctions, as well as being named a First Team All-USA Today player last year. Johnson also plays football for the Bentonville High Tigers where he has been teammates with another Razorback Baseball signee in Kam'ron Mays-Hunt.
Van Horn credits the work of his assistant coaches in being able to continue recruiting at a high level.
"Nate (Thompson) and Coach (Wes) Johnson have done a tremendous job recruiting for us," Van Horn said. "It’s definitely a team effort with all of us. Obviously, the 2017 class was really good and the 2018 class has ended up very strong. It should keep our program at a high level for many years to come.”
The region surrounding Fayetteville has seen an uptick in talent in recent years and the Arkansas staff has taken notice. Much of that talent has begun emanating from Kansas City where the top three players in the state of Missouri signed with the Razorbacks.
Hailing from talent-rich Kansas City or the surrounding area, the trio of outfielder Christian Franklin, lefty pitcher Liam Henry, and catcher Allante' Hall make up the three best players in the state, according to Prep Baseball Report.
Franklin is top-rated player and hit .361 over the last two seasons, while also participating in the 2016 WWBA Underclass World Championships and 2017 WWBA World Championships, which were both wood bat tournaments. Henry participated in the 2016 Perfect Game Underclass All-American Game and the 2017 Perfect Game National Showcase, while compiling a 2.02 ERA for Park Hill High School, striking out 47 in 34.2 innings.
Hall, one of two catchers in the signing class, was named a high honorable mention for the 2017 Perfect Game Preseason Underclassmen All-American Team and played in the 2017 Ban Johnson All-Star Game at Kauffman Stadium. He was selected to play in the 2017 Area Code Games for the White Sox and also named a 2017 First Team All-Suburban Gold Conference player.
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RAZORBACK BASEBALL POSITION PLAYER SIGNEES (8)