Arkansas Razorbacks
Overall Rank: #23
Conference Rank: #8 SEC
Arkansas has had plenty of success under Coach Courtney Deifel. After a tough debut season in 2016, Coach Deifel has taken the Razorbacks to three straight NCAA Tournaments, including a trip to the Super Regionals in 2018. In 2019 the tournament went extremely quickly with losses to Tulsa and BYU, but it was still a nice stepping stone to bigger and better things to come in 2021. The Razorbacks return much of their lineup and will be looking for much more tournament success this season.
2019: 38-20, 12-12
2019 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Courtney Deifel
Key Departed Players:
Ashley Diaz, .372 BA, 10 HR, 48 RBI
Katie Warrick, .318 BA, 10 HR, 37 RBI
Sydney Parr, OF, .326 BA, 14 RBI
Key Returning Players:
Hannah McEwen, OF, .386 BA, 2 HR, 26 RBI
Danielle Gibson, IF, .349 BA, 12 HR, 45 RBI
Kayla Green, C, .214 BA, 5 HR, 25 RBI
Autumn Storms, P, 1.63 ERA, 20-9 W/L, 201.2 IP, 172 SO
Mary Haff, P, 1.88 ERA, 18-11 W/L, 160.1 IP, 180 SO
Projection:
Autumn Storms and Mary Haff form one of the best duos in the circle in the SEC. In 2019 Storms went 20-9 with a 1.63 ERA, while Haff went 18-11 with 1.88 ERA. Those are impressive numbers in the loaded SEC. It does not take too much offense to win games with pitching like that. Overall, Arkansas scored nearly five runs per game, but against the tougher competition they often struggled to put runs on the board. Ashley Diaz and Katie Warrick will be missed, but this group should be productive at the plate regardless. Danielle Gibson belted a dozen homeruns and added 45 RBIs. Hannah McEwen is a consistent hitter, but does not have the power that Gibson possesses. Transfers Braxton Burnside and Audrie LaValley will add something extra to the lineup. Burnside hit 15 homeruns during her two seasons at Missouri and LaValley is a speedster who spent one season at Oklahoma. Moving up the SEC pecking order will be difficult with so many talented teams in the conference, but Arkansas should be well equipped for a decent tournament run.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Softball Tournament
