More reaction pouring in to the Arkansas Athletic Director’s request to speak to a manager at ESPN.
Zach is mentioned in an article with his take on why TV is in charge, much like the mafia.
Lebron is not better than Jordan.
Jordan could be the same mega star in today’s basketball.
Hogs catcher may not just be the best player on Arkansas’ team going into first round of NCAA Tournament, Ryder Helfrick best overall.
After Razorbacks athletic director Hunter Yurachek fired off a public complaint on social media after first times set for football, he might want to consider what other conferences deal with regularly.
The Lawrence Regional is here, and Dave Van Horn didn’t leave anyone hanging long on the pitcher Thursday.
“We’re going to go with Gaeckle,” he told reporters, naming right-hander Gabe Gaeckle his starter for Friday’s NCAA Tournament opener against Missouri State in Lawrence, Kansas.
A lot of Hog fans were probably penciling in Hunter Dietz, but the situation shifted during the SEC Tournament. First pitch is 5 p.m. on ESPNU.
Van Horn said the thinking behind the decision, and it came down to two things — a close competition between two capable pitchers and concern for Dietz’s health.
“We have two guys who have kind of fought for that position,” Van Horn said. “We just feel like anytime we can get Dietz a little more rest after he took that liner on the leg last week, another 24 hours might be a good thing.”
Dietz took a hard liner off his leg in Hoover, and that kind of injury doesn’t always cooperate with a tight postseason timeline.
Van Horn’s not going to push a guy back before he’s ready, especially when the other option in that competition’s already running hot.
That option is Gaeckle, and the California native’s given Van Horn every reason to hand him the ball for an opener this important.
In the SEC Tournament quarterfinals against Texas, he was dominant with six scoreless innings, three hits allowed, one walk and nine strikeouts in an 8-1 Arkansas win.
It wasn’t just one outing either. Gaeckle’s been building toward this kind of performance over his last several appearances.
When a starter’s trending upward heading into the NCAA Tournament, most coaches will ride that momentum.
Van Horn’s doing exactly that.
On the full season, Gaeckle’s logged 67⅔ innings with a 3.99 ERA, 80 strikeouts and 75 hits allowed.
He’s walked 32 batters on the year, but the Texas start showed he can command the zone when the lights are brightest. Nine strikeouts against one walk in a postseason-caliber setting is a performance that earns trust.
The Razorbacks know Missouri State well at this point. This’ll be the third meeting between these two programs this season.
The Bears took the first one in a chaotic extra-inning slugfest, 15-14. Arkansas responded convincingly in the rematch, winning 12-4 less than a month later.
Now it’s a tiebreaker, and it’s at the NCAA Tournament.
The Hogs enter as the No. 2 seed in the regional. Missouri State comes in seeded third.
That 15-14 loss earlier in the year is a useful reminder the Bears can put up runs in bunches, which makes Gaeckle’s ability to miss bats especially valuable in this matchup.
Dietz’s injury creates a short-term adjustment, but it also opens a door for Gaeckle to step into a bigger role than he might’ve otherwise gotten.
Sometimes a change forced by circumstance turns out to be the right call for reasons that go beyond the injury itself.
If Dietz heals up enough to contribute later in the weekend, Van Horn still has that card to play.
Starting Gaeckle on Friday keeps both possibilities alive without rushing anyone back before they’re physically ready.
Winning the first game makes everything that follows far more manageable, and Van Horn’s betting that a pitcher who just dominated in the SEC Tournament is the right man to make sure that happens.
We’ll find out tomorrow evening if it was the right one.
Nobody was going to bet against this one.
Meleek Thomas officially staying in the 2026 NBA Draft became official when Wednesday night’s withdrawal deadline passed without so much as a whisper from his camp. Multiple media outlets reported the news.
The Pittsburgh native isn’t coming back to Fayetteville, and frankly, it’s hard to argue with the direction the evidence was pointing.
Thomas arrived at Arkansas as a consensus five-star recruit — the No. 13 overall prospect and No. 3 rated shooting guard in the 2025 class.
He’s listed as the fifth-highest rated Razorbacks recruit in the modern era. After what he did in his lone season with the Hogs, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that he’s betting on himself at the next level.
The numbers Thomas put up as a freshman were hard to ignore. He averaged 15.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 43.5% from the field.
Even better, he shot 48.7% from three-point range in SEC-only games, which is a school record at Arkansas.
Thomas also handled big moments. He scored at least 17 points in each of the Hogs’ NCAA Tournament games and put up 29 points on 4-of-7 shooting from deep against Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament.
He was named SEC Freshman of the Week in the final week of the regular season after averaging 21.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in wins over Texas and Missouri.
He probably would have had a few more of those if it wasn’t for fellow freshman Darius Acuff Jr. grabbing them seemingly every week.
Thomas was part of the top-scoring freshman duo in Division I since 2019-20. The two combined for 1,424 points and became the first freshman duo each to post at least 20 points and five assists in an NCAA Tournament game.
Thomas entered the draft process back on April 13 and has been working through it ever since.
He participated in the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago and measured at 6-foot-2, 185.8 pounds with a 6-foot-7 wingspan and an 8-foot-2.5 standing reach. He didn’t participate in combine scrimmages, which drew some notice.
His combine shooting drill results were mixed. In the side-mid-side drill, he finished 9 of 25 and ranked 63rd among 71 participants. That stat made some rounds.
According to multiple media reports, Thomas’s private workouts told a much different story and the feedback he received pointed clearly toward a first-round selection.
Most recently, he worked out with the New York Knicks, who are currently in the NBA Finals and hold both the No. 24 and No. 31 picks in next month’s draft.
Current mock drafts have Thomas projected as high as No. 26 to Denver, with most landing him somewhere in the late first round.
Thomas’s decision means the Razorbacks are looking at a realistic scenario where two freshman guards from the same team get taken in the first round of the same NBA Draft.
Acuff declared for the draft back on April 22, and mock drafts have him projected in the first round lottery picks.
It’s a remarkable outcome for a John Calipari recruiting class. Both players committed to Calipari and helped power one of the more productive freshman backcourts in recent college basketball history in their single season together in Fayetteville.
Meanwhile, former teammate Billy Richmond ultimately chose the opposite path.
Richmond announced his decision to withdraw from the draft and return to the Razorbacks early Wednesday evening, giving Arkansas a key piece back for 2026-27.
That leaves three Hogs currently projected to be selected in this year’s NBA Draft.
Thomas was named to the 2026 First Team NABC All-Southeast District and to the SEC All-Freshman Team.
He led Arkansas in free throw percentage at 84.3% and steals with 57 on the season. He also started 21 of the 37 games he played.
Some decisions age overnight. Billy Richmond III’s didn’t even make it to dinner.
On the final day prospects could withdraw from the NBA Draft and keep their college eligibility, the Arkansas wing’s status flipped from confirmed entrant to confirmed returnee in less time than it takes to watch a halftime show.
Less than half an hour was all it took on Wednesday for Richmond’s NBA Draft status to flip from done deal to gone deal.
Razorback fans who lived and died with every tick of that clock are breathing a lot easier tonight.
CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein broke the first wave of news at 5:31 p.m. on May 27, reporting that the Memphis native was staying in the draft.
Hog fans started doing the math on what it meant to lose him. Then, at 5:54 p.m., Rothstein was back with an update that changed everything.
Richmond’s agent, Bill Duffy of WME, told Rothstein his client had switched course and would return to Fayetteville for his junior season. Twenty-three minutes.
That’s the entire shelf life of Billy Richmond as a projected NBA Draft entrant.
UPDATE: Billy Richmond has just switched course and will return to Arkansas next season, per his agent Bill Duffy of WME. https://t.co/nLhxOxGIuv
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 27, 2026
May 27 was the final day prospects could pull their name from draft consideration and preserve their college eligibility.
Richmond waited until the clock was nearly out before his camp made the call public, first on one side of the fence, then quickly on the other.
It’s the kind of news cycle that makes your phone battery drop 10 percent just refreshing the app. First the gut punch, then the relief.
That’s a rough few minutes to be a Hogs fan and it’s a fascinating few minutes to be a college basketball observer.
The timing wasn’t accidental. Prospects and their representation often use deadline day to gather final feedback from NBA front offices before committing to a path.
When Richmond’s agent stepped in with the reversal, it was the clearest possible signal about where things stood professionally and what the right move looked like for his development.
You gotta quit making my heart skip a beat Jon‼️❤️🔥 Woo Damn Pig! 🐗 pic.twitter.com/QL2KCMPpT5
— Klayton (@Brian10529302) May 27, 2026
There’s no question Richmond gave the league a good look at what he can do.
At the NBA Combine, the 6-foot-5¾ wing checked in at 195.4 pounds with a 6-foot-8 wingspan and an 8-foot-5 standing reach. His hands measured 9 inches in length and 9.25 inches in width, scouts notice those things.
He then went out and shot 17-of-25 from three-point range in the Star Drill. That’s 68 percent. Among the four Razorbacks at the combine, nobody touched it.
He also converted 13-of-25 on spot-up threes and went 19-of-30 on off-the-dribble jumpers. He posted the best Pro Lane Drill time and tied for the top mark in the 3/4 Court Sprint.
The kid can play. The NBA knew it. He knew it. And he’s coming back to Fayetteville anyway.
Richmond’s sophomore campaign wasn’t sneaking up on anyone who watched closely.
He averaged 11.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals across all 37 games — 19 of them starts. He shot 56.3 percent from the floor.
Richmond shot 78.4 percent from the free-throw line. In SEC play alone, he ranked second in the conference in field-goal percentage at 57.4 percent.
He recorded 21 double-figure scoring games on the season after posting just six as a freshman.
Richmond couldn’t crack 16 points in a game through his first 60 career appearances and then he went out and scored 20 or more in five straight. He earned a spot on the 2026 SEC All-Defensive Team and was named to the All-Glue Team by College Hoops Today.
He has an energy level coaches from John Calipari to assistants have talked about that really doesn’t have a line in the box score.
Richmond’s return is a huge development in the Arkansas offseason roster picture. He’s the first of the Razorbacks with draft considerations to announce he’s coming back.
Darius Acuff Jr. and Trevon Brazile remain in the draft. Meleek Thomas has not yet declared his intentions publicly.
That makes Richmond’s decision the kind of anchor move that gives a program something to build around. He’s a player who’s started at the 1, 2, 3 and 4 positions for Arkansas.
e’s one of three Razorbacks who played in all 37 games in both his freshman and sophomore seasons.
The Hogs get him back and they get him with another summer of development behind him after a combine showing that proved he is a legitimate NBA prospect.
It’s a real win.
After NCAA made decision to not let Hogs get an NCAA host, the path is open for a Super Regional and Dave Van Horn’s team had numbers to be hosting this weekend.
Hunter Yurachek would like to speak to a manager.
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That didn’t take long.
The moment Arkansas’ first three kickoff times for the 2026 season hit the wire Wednesday, athletic director Hunter Yurachek was already on social media making his feelings known.
He’s obviously not very happy about a couple of games.
The problem isn’t just one bad kickoff time. It’s two of them stacked back-to-back in a two-week stretch that Yurachek says could put his players’ health at risk and he’s jumping up and down like a shortstop that just won a World Series.
— Hunter Yurachek (@HunterYurachek) May 27, 2026
Here’s what the Hogs are looking at in early September.
Arkansas travels to Utah on Sept. 12 for a kickoff set at 9:15 p.m. — that’s 8:15 p.m. mountain time in Salt Lake City.
Then, just seven days later on Sept. 19, the Razorbacks are back home in Fayetteville hosting Georgia at 11 a.m.
Think about what that means for the players. They’d play a night game at altitude in Utah, travel back to Arkansas, have less than a week to recover and then turn right around for an early-morning kickoff against one of the toughest opponents on the schedule.
It’s a two-week combination that Yurachek clearly believes crosses a line.
Before those two games, the Ryan Silverfield era officially kicks off when the Hogs host North Alabama on Sept. 5 at 3:15 p.m. on the SEC Network, a perfectly normal kickoff time that nobody’s complaining about even though it will probably be blazing hot.
Yurachek didn’t make a quiet phone call behind closed doors.
He put his concerns directly on X for the world to see, saying he’s “extremely concerned and displeased” about the two kickoff times. His concern is what they’ll do to the well-being of his players in consecutive weeks.
He went further, saying he’s formally requested that the SEC office and ESPN actively pursue an alternative solution for one or both of the kickoff windows.
His message was pointed that the focus needs to be on the people playing the game and not the bottom line of the media partner.
That’s a direct shot at ESPN’s role in setting these times.
Yurachek isn’t blaming the SEC alone. He’s putting the media giant squarely in his sights too.
We’ll see how that plays out down the road because there is a feeling among some they throw the Hogs under the bus at every opportunity already.
Yurachek’s concern centers on what this schedule does to real human beings who have to suit up and play.
The Utah game presents two specific challenges that compound each other.
First, there’s the altitude.
Salt Lake City sits at roughly 4,200 feet above sea level and Rice-Eccles Stadium adds its own layer of physical strain on visiting players who aren’t accustomed to playing at elevation.
That alone is a legitimate physical factor coaches and medical staffs build recovery plans around.
Second, layer a 9:15 p.m. (Central time) kickoff on top of the altitude issue. The game won’t end until well after midnight central time.
The travel back to Fayetteville burns more hours. Players aren’t sleeping or recovering at any kind of reasonable hour and they’re doing all of this knowing they’ve got an 11 a.m. home game against Georgia in less than a week.
That’s not a schedule quirk. That may be a genuine player welfare issue and Yurachek is treating it as one.
This isn’t the first time an athletic director has pushed back on kickoff times that seem to prioritize television windows over the athletes competing in the games.
Yurachek doing it this publicly going straight to X with a formal statement means he’s serious about getting a change and wants public pressure behind his request.
The SEC and ESPN control these windows. They don’t have to listen.
But when an athletic director goes on the record with language like “displeased” and “formally requested,” it’s not just noise. It will probably at least force a conversation.
Whether the Razorbacks’ schedule actually changes remains to be seen. Yurachek’s made his move.
Now it’s the SEC office and ESPN’s turn to respond.
We’ll probably find out the result on X.
HitThatLine.com is the website for ESPN Arkansas. Listen at 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 FM in Fort Smith and the River Valley, 96.3 FM in Hot Springs and 104.3 FM in Harrison.
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