COVID Set Off First Domino In Davalan's Long Journey to Arkansas

Plan was good until it wasn't for Razorbacks' new lead-off man

Outfielder Charles Davalan at the plate during Arkansas' spring intrasquad scrimmages on February 2. | Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In less than a week, Paula Davalan will drive 26 hours from Montreal, Quebec, Canada to Baum-Walker Stadium to watch her son Charles hopefully debut for Arkansas.

Lucien Davalan, Charles' father, will fly in from Paris. Both are here to see their son most likely take the first at-bat of the 2025 season for the No. 5 Razorbacks. They can still hardly believe it's happening before their eyes.

The Davalans always had a mantra: If you're going to make it, you're going to make it. Charles came home at the tender age of 11 with an invitation from Ray Callari, a San Francisco Giants scout who just so happened to also run a fall ball team in Quebec. The family's reaction had more than a hint of incredulousness.

Charles Davalan on a baseball field in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 2016 | Paula Davalan

"My husband and I are laughing," Paula said. "We slap him on the back. 'OK, sweetheart, like go off the baseball, have fun.' The next day he comes back with Ray's card and we're like, 'OK, what is this?'"

Davalan would always pretend to swing a bat at a young age, and the choice to join Callari's team was easy, even if it meant eventually giving up the much more popular Canadian sport of hockey. He also wanted to go to a sports school just for baseball at 12, but the Davalans always saw athletics second to academics at that age.

It wasn't until three years later that he got his wish. Plenty of good players are found in Canada.

Although the baseball scene in Canada isn't as vibrant as it is here in the United States, there is an alternative universe where Davalan finishes high school in Canada and never makes the jump to the states. After all, a scout for an MLB team had noticed him years earlier, even if it didn't have a professional baseball invitation attached to it.

Charles Davalan with his high school baseball team "De Mortagne" in the summer of 2019 | Paula Davalan

Then in the summer of 2021, COVID was raging and Canada shut down. His parents always told Charles before the pandemic that they had a plan for him.

Even they were starting to realize that whatever plan they did have, extended lockdowns and home plate umpires standing behind the pitcher's mound calling balls and strikes wasn't part of the script.

Charles was right, sitting at home trying to wait out a global pandemic probably wasn't the right move. Hoping that a college or professional team would find him in a dead period for baseball in Canada would likely be a fruitless endeavor.

"A lot of stuff got shut down," Charles said. "I wasn't able to travel with the team [in Canada]. It was the best decision to move."

Enter Brian Martinez, a former college baseball player turned founder of TNXL Academy in Ocoee, Fla. TNXL Academy "is a high school baseball alternative for the player looking to be prepared for the next level," according to its website.

Davalan first appeared on Martinez's radar when he saw his swing on Twitter and liked what he saw, so he just went for it.

"I just reached out to him on Twitter and said 'Hey, I like what I see,'" Martinez said. "'Is there a possibility you wanna come down and play?"

Looking for a way out of being unable to play because of COVID, Paula and Charles (Lucien stayed behind for work) packed a bag to make the move from Montreal to Florida. Paula was in for quite the baseball culture shock.

"We kind of had our eyes opened," Paula said. "Just meeting parents that were so into baseball, kids that were so into baseball. The facilities, the talent, it just blew our mind."

Charles also grew exponentially under the tutelage of Martinez. There he was converted from an infielder to a speedy outfielder and garnered a lot of the traits that make him the player he is today.

"He was just an unbelievable worker," Martinez said. "He put on a lot of good weight, got a little bit taller, a little stronger, and got way faster."

With his mom by his side the entire time, Charles finished two years at TNXL and left with no regrets, fully content with the leap of faith that the family took in 2021 looking for an escape plan from COVID restrictions.

"Brian's the man," Charles said. "He took me aboard and it's been one of my best decisions."

Charles Davalan at the plate with Canes Baseball in the summer of 2022 | Paula Davalan

The plan paid off. The family's move eventually led to Charles playing his freshman year at Florida Gulf Coast University, where hit .290 with 17 doubles and 10 home runs.

He also stole 13 bases and picked up 29 walks, with just 35 strikeouts.

"If I could have anybody represent TNXL in a really good light, it's that that young man right there, and I think he'll do the same for Arkansas," Martinez said.

There was just one more step, Davalan's numbers and talent warranted a step up to a big-time school, but the path to landing at Arkansas, like so many other steps in his journey, was not linear. The interest was immense, surprising both parents.

For a two-day period, Charles' phone was constantly "blowing up".

"We laughed," Paula said. "After every visit he would talk to his agent 'I'm going here. I love it,' Then he'd go to the next school and he's like, 'I'm going here.' Then he got to Arkansas and he calls his agent and his agent's like, 'OK, last night you were like doing cartwheels, Charles. I think you need to sleep on this and get back to me.'"

He did sleep on it, and Arkansas it was. So roughly six months after he committed, people from all corners of America and the world will watch the next chapter of the most unlikely journey, one all kickstarted by the pandemic.

"It's the SEC," Charles said. "The biggest conference and probably the best too. It's gonna be fun. I'm just excited to compete with my guys. It's going to be tough, but we've got a good team."

A good team which Davalan will play a key role. Other than missing a few scrimmages with a minor hamstring injury, he has been a fixture both in the outfield and the leadoff spot with the starters in spring scrimmages.

"He had an incredible fall," coach Dave Van Horn said on Jan. 15. "Then he got big and strong in the weight room. Lot of personality. Great attitude,"

As an added bonus, not only will Lucien get to be in Fayetteville for Opening Day, he, like Paula the three years prior, will get to follow Charles and the rest of the Razorbacks around the country and the SEC as the Hogs chase the elusive national championship.

How excited are the Davalans to follow their son across America and each SEC ballpark? Paula's joie de vivre could hardly be contained.

"Now you're gonna get me emotional," Paula said. "We are so excited. We just can't wait. We cannot wait. We are so looking forward to becoming Razorbacks."

The long-awaited Razorback season opener is scheduled for 3 p.m. Feb. 14 against Washington State inside Baum-Walker Stadium. The game will be streamed on SEC+.

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