Arkansas women’s golf lands two WGCA All-America picks
The Women’s Golf Coaches Association had two Razorbacks on its All-America list this week, and neither one was a first-timer.
Maria Jose Marin and Reagan Zibilski both picked up national recognition Tuesday.
They’re now the 24th and 25th WGCA All-America selections in Arkansas women’s golf history.
Marin landed on the first team for the third year in a row. It wasn’t a surprise.
The junior from Cali, Colombia put together one of the best individual seasons in college golf this year, finishing inside the top 10 in 11 of her 12 tournaments.
That stretch included two runner-up finishes and a win at the Clemson Invitational in March.
She also closed out the NCAA Championship with a T5 result and two match play wins. By season’s end, Marin’s stroke average stood at 70.02, which led the whole Arkansas squad.
Marin’s record-breaking year goes well beyond the fairway
Her most talked-about moment came earlier this year when she won the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur with a record score of 14-under par.
The field included 75 of the world’s top female amateur golfers. That win made her the first Razorback, first SEC golfer and first South American to take the title.
The ANWA victory came with some big perks. Marin earned spots in this week’s U.S. Women’s Open, the 2026 Evian Championship and the 2026 Women’s Open.
She’s also ranked No. 2 in the Scoreboard by Clippd national player rankings and spent a lot of the season at the top spot.
She led the country in individual head-to-head wins at a .958 mark and recently broke the program record for career rounds at or below par with 72.
The honors didn’t stop there. Marin’s 2026 season also included a First Team All-SEC placement, a finalist nod for the ANNIKA Award and a spot representing Team International at this summer’s Arnold Palmer Cup.
Zibilski ends Razorback career with another All-America nod
Zibilski grabbed honorable mention for the second straight year. The senior from Springfield, Mo. wrapped up a solid final season with seven top-10 finishes.
Her T8 at the NCAA Championship last week helped the Hogs reach their first semifinal in program history.
She finished the year ranked No. 31 nationally and No. 11 in the SEC in the Scoreboard by Clippd rankings.
Her stroke average came in at 71.8, second-best on the team. She played every one of Arkansas’ 37 rounds and went 822-170-36 in head-to-head match play.
In April, she made the cut at Augusta National Women’s Amateur in her first try and finished 10th at 6-under.
Last month, she earned Second Team All-SEC honors and was named the Razorbacks’ female nominee for the SEC Brad Davis Community Service Award.
Zibilski won’t be in college golf much longer.
She’s set to turn professional on the Epson Tour later this month after earning status through the LPGA Collegiate Advancement Pathway program.
Democrat-Gazette’s Tom Murphy with final review of Razorback baseball
After being eliminated in NCAA Regional, Tom analyzes what all went wrong with Hogs during season where inconsistency finally caught up with them.
Big Nasty gets last laugh as Spurs send OKC’s ex-Razorbacks home
There’s a certain irony baked into the NBA Western Conference Finals that Razorback fans won’t soon forget.
Fort Smith natives Isaiah Joe and Jaylin Williams, former Arkansas teammates and reigning NBA champions with Oklahoma City. just spent seven games trying to knock the San Antonio Spurs out of the playoffs.
Instead, the Spurs punched their ticket to the NBA Finals.
And riding on that bus to the championship round is Corliss Williamson, the man they call Big Nasty, doing it all as an assistant on San Antonio’s bench.
It’s an Arkansas story with a twist. Two Hogs chased a repeat title. Another Hog helped end their run.
Williamson’s path from Fayetteville to the Finals
Williamson doesn’t exactly need an introduction in Arkansas.
The Russellville native played for the Razorbacks from 1992 to 1995, won a national championship in 1994 and started on the team that returned to the title game the following year.
After a decorated college career, Williamson was taken in the first round by the Sacramento Kings and spent 11 seasons in the league.
His biggest on-court moment came in 2004 when he won a championship ring with the Detroit Pistons, giving him championship experience from both sides of the bench heading into this series.
The ex-Hogs on the other sideline
Joe and Williams aren’t just casual connections to Arkansas.
They grew up in Fort Smith, won state titles at Northside High School and each suited up for the Razorbacks before reuniting in Oklahoma City.
Joe played for Arkansas from 2018 to 2020, Williams from 2020 to 2022. They weren’t college teammates, but the Thunder brought them back together and they’ve been there ever since.
Last June, both were part of Oklahoma City’s first NBA championship in franchise history, beating the Indiana Pacers in seven games.
This season, the defending champion Thunder finished 64-18 and again earned the top seed in the West.
They swept Phoenix in the first round and dismantled the Los Angeles Lakers in the second before running into San Antonio and dropping a seven-game series.
Now they’re watching the Finals from home while Williamson’s coaching staff preps for New York.
From player to sideline — the long road back
Williamson’s coaching career is a study in persistence.
After his playing days ended, he took an assistant position at Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock and eventually became head coach there before taking over at Central Arkansas in 2010.
His NBA coaching career began in 2013 with the Kings, then continued under Frank Vogel in Orlando and Igor Kokoskov in Phoenix, each connection stemming from a former playing relationship.
After the Suns stint ended, he stepped away from the pro game and came home to coach Little Rock Christian while his son Creed was playing there.
“My main goal after I came back from Phoenix was to get both of my boys through high school, and then figure out what’s next,” Williamson told Best of Arkansas Sports in October 2022. “It’s hard to not go back, and over the last few years I’ve had plenty of opportunities to take jobs and go back, but I’m staying committed to finishing this process with my sons.”
One ring as a player, now chasing one as a coach
Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. on ABC, Williamson takes his spot on the Spurs bench for Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Knicks.
He already knows what a championship feels like. Now he’s got a shot at another, this time wearing a headset instead of a jersey.
Joe and Williams know that feeling too, having earned their rings just 12 months ago. The difference is they’re done for the season.
Big Nasty’s still playing, but just a different way.
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: 6-2-26
Tye and Tommy talk about the upcoming series with Arkansas and Arizona is basketball, famous Bubbas and Tye’s crumbly cookies.
Guests: Tom Murphy!
Arkansas locks up multi-year series with Arizona for Sweet 16 rematch
Arkansas isn’t waiting long to face Arizona again.
The two programs have verbally agreed to a multi-year series, with the opening act set for Dec. 19 in Phoenix.
The game will be played at Mortgage Matchup Center, the home of the Phoenix Suns, as part of the Naismith Hall of Fame Series. SMU and UNLV will follow in the nightcap.
It’s a matchup that carries some extra weight. Just a few months ago in San Jose, Arizona knocked out Arkansas in the Sweet 16 by a score of 109-88.
The Wildcats then advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. That lopsided margin gives the Razorbacks plenty of motivation heading into the 2026-27 season.
The overall history between the two programs still favors Arkansas. The Hogs hold a 6-3 advantage in the all-time series, though this’ll be just the 10th meeting between the two schools.
Series extends through Tucson with possible fourth game
The Phoenix matchup is only the first leg of what could be a four-game run. Arizona will make the trip to Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville during the 2027-28 season.
The following year, the Hogs head to McKale Center in Tucson.
There’s also an option for a fourth game in 2029-30 at a neutral site that’s geographically closer to Arkansas, though those details haven’t been worked out yet.
It’s a well-constructed series that gives fans on both sides multiple chances to see this rivalry grow.
Playing near Arizona’s home base this December while securing two future home-court advantages is a solid scheduling formula for the Razorbacks.
This game also isn’t the only notable non-conference date on Arkansas’ calendar.
The Hogs are scheduled to face Michigan State in Detroit on Thanksgiving, which is the second game in a separate multi-game series with the Spartans.
Both rosters are going to look different this December
Don’t expect either team to look much like it did in that Sweet 16 blowout.
Arkansas is nearly starting from scratch.
John Calipari’s Hogs are set to return just one key contributor from last season’s rotation in Billy Richmond.
That said, the Razorbacks hold the No. 2-ranked recruiting class in the country, featuring four five-star freshmen: Jordan Smith, JJ Andrews, Abdou Toure and Miikka Muurinen.
The Hogs also added former Georgia guard Jeremiah Wilkinson and former Furman center Cooper Bowser through the transfer portal.
Arizona isn’t rolling out the same lineup either.
Tommy Lloyd returns big man Motiejus Krivas and forward Ivan Kharchenkov from last year’s Final Four team.
Redshirt freshmen Bryce James, the son of LeBron James, and Mabil Mawut are back but likely won’t be counted on heavily.
The Wildcats brought in five-star guard Caleb Holt and four-star wing Cameron Holmes in the recruiting class, and added four transfer portal players including former North Carolina guard Derek Dixon and former Washington point guard JJ Mandaquit.
Arkansas faces transfer portal reality with 2027 roster rebuild underway
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.
