The final out hadn’t even settled into a glove before the clock started ticking.
Arkansas lost to regional host Kansas 13-10 on Sunday night in the Lawrence Regional, and by Monday morning the transfer portal was open for business.
That’s college baseball these days. There’s no pause between the pain of elimination and the pressure of roster construction.
It wasn’t long ago that the transfer portal barely registered as a factor in college baseball.
Football coaches were scrambling to manage the chaos years before most baseball programs felt the real weight of it. Now it’s at the center to how every program in the SEC survives the offseason, and Van Horn knows it better than most.
“If you want to compete in the Southeastern Conference, it’s a full-grown man league,” Van Horn said Sunday night after the season-ending loss to Kansas. “It’s hard to win with three freshmen in the lineup and a couple of freshman pitchers that you depend on every weekend.
“It’s just not going to happen. You got to get guys that have some experience, and so we’ll be in the middle of it. It starts tomorrow. We all know it.”
Portal timing now competitive weapon
That last part hits differently when you look at what’s happening around the sport.
The Super Regional round tips off this weekend, and those programs that are still playing are already at a disadvantage in the portal.
It’s not a consolation prize to not be going to Omaha, even if you can start recruiting sooner. Like every other sport it never really stops.
Van Horn laid that reality out plainly.
“When you’re in Omaha, teams are getting a jump on you,” he said. “They’re getting kids in immediately. Kids are taking it, and that’s where they go, and when you play a couple weeks in on that thing, it’s late June, and a lot of the good ones are gone.”
He didn’t add he’d probably still rather be in Omaha playing games.
It’s a cruel irony of the modern game. The further you go in the postseason, the further behind you can fall in the portal cycle.
That dynamic didn’t exist five years ago. Now it shapes roster-building strategy for the rest of the year.
That point is reinforced by what happened across the sport in 2026. Every single team that reached Omaha last year watched their 2026 season end without reaching another College World Series.
UCLA, the No. 1 overall seed, got walked off by Saint Mary’s. LSU, last year’s national champion, didn’t qualify for the postseason at all. The talent drain through the portal and the draft cycles faster than ever.
Holes to fill before Fayetteville can compete again
For the Hogs, the math on the roster is hard to argue with.
With 23 players eligible to return and 12 incoming newcomers, the Razorbacks already sit at 35 before adding a single portal piece — and the roster this past year carried 39.
More departures are coming. Exit interviews started this week, and the list of players heading to the pros or exploring other programs will grow before it shrinks.
The losses at the top hurt. Shortstop Camden Kozeal hit for big power and drove in 70 runs this season.
Catcher Ryder Helfrick developed into one of the most complete offensive catchers in the conference. Lefty ace Hunter Dietz was the anchor of the rotation.
All three are widely expected to begin professional careers.
Van Horn didn’t hide the emotions after Sunday’s loss when discussing what Kozeal and Helfrick meant to the program.
He described Helfrick as the type of player who reminds him of former Razorbacks who’ve reached the big leagues, noting that his bat and his power came on in a big way.
Omaha, Nebraska native Kozeal earned his way to shortstop midseason and delivered as a leader both on and off the field.
Center fielder Maika Niu is out of eligibility, and third baseman TJ Pompey is projected to hear his name called in the MLB Draft, which runs July 11-13.
Infield depth is the most pressing need Van Horn’s staff must address through the portal.
Portal spending will define offseason
Newly named general manager DJ Baxendale takes the lead on the financial side of this roster rebuild.
Arkansas is believed to sit in the top 10 to 15 programs nationally in NIL and revenue sharing, but Van Horn wants more for his support staff and more for the players he’s trying to bring in.
Two players have already announced they’re headed to the portal in utility man Tyler Holland and infielder Cayden Mitchell. More will follow.
The coaching staff typically doesn’t lose many players who weren’t asked to consider other options, since every roster spot matters more than ever with the limit dropping to 34 for the 2027 season.
The freshman class coming in has some interesting pieces.
Catcher Max Holland is regarded inside the program as the backstop of the future, and the staff believes he’s more polished than the national recruiting rankings suggest.
Outfielder Judah Ota brings raw athleticism from Hawaii, and two-way player Ty Burnham gives Van Horn flexibility.
Counting on true freshmen to carry the load in the SEC is exactly the trap Van Horn described when he talked about why portal additions aren’t optional anymore, they’re essential.
The roster he puts together this summer will show whether Arkansas baseball got the resources to compete for a title next year.
Or whether it’s another year of building toward one.
