Razorbacks Duo Cashes In Preseason Respect From Perfect Game

Before the first pitch of the 2026 season has a chance to dent a glove, Arkansas baseball is already stacking up another round of preseason respect. That’s just how this sport works now.

January brings lists, rankings, and opinions, and the Razorbacks keep showing up on all of them whether anyone asked or not.

This time, it’s Gabe Gaeckle and Maika Niu getting the nod from Perfect Game, which handed out more preseason All-American honors and found room for two Hogs who’ve already built résumés sturdy enough to survive early scrutiny.

Our @PerfectGameUSA Preseason All-SEC Team honorees 🐗 pic.twitter.com/BNhU1XJFiA
— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) January 22, 2026

These are not the first honors of the preseason for either as preparations continue with the season opening Feb. 13-16 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The Razorbacks will face Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech and Tarleton State.

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn isn't waiting around to just ease into the season.

Gaeckle’s name on the list feels earned the old-fashioned way. He took the ball. A lot.

The right-hander logged 71.1 innings last season and struck out 92 batters, numbers that don’t scream for attention, but do demand respect.

Perfect Game rewarded that consistency with a second-team preseason All-American spot, a quiet compliment that usually goes to pitchers coaches trust when games stop being theoretical.

There’s nothing flashy about that kind of praise, but it’s the sort Arkansas has leaned on for years. Eat innings. Compete. Let the strikeouts stack up. Gaeckle did all three, and now he enters another season with expectations that feel earned rather than borrowed.

Niu’s path to preseason honors looks a little different and a little more traveled. The outfielder arrived at Arkansas after stops at New Orleans and Marshall, bringing production with him.

At Marshall, he hit .276 with 15 home runs and 52 RBIs in 58 games, leading the team in power and making it clear his bat could handle the jump.

Then came the summer, where Niu didn’t just blend in. He dominated. Playing in the Cape Cod League, he earned MVP honors while facing some of the best collegiate pitching in the country.

Arkansas was VERY lucky to get Marshall transfer CF Maika Niu the summer. Real interest from teams in the draft. He decided to roll the dice on his stock as a senior in 2026.

Not a bad start with a 462-foot homer today.

🎥:@emkamikow

pic.twitter.com/PxxN18D5RX
— Over-Slot Baseball (@OverSlot_) January 17, 2026

That performance carried weight with evaluators and helped land him third-team preseason All-American recognition from Perfect Game.

That combination — college production paired with summer-league credibility — is exactly what these preseason lists are built on. They reward proof, not projection, and Niu’s bat has already passed multiple tests.

Arkansas wasn’t alone in collecting multiple preseason honors. Several SEC programs landed more than one player on Perfect Game’s list, a reminder that nothing about the league has softened.

If anything, the Razorbacks being part of that group is simply the price of admission now.

These honors don’t promise wins. They don’t guarantee Omaha trips.

They don’t even lock down starting roles. What they do is confirm that Arkansas has players who’ve already earned national attention before the season even starts, which is usually a decent place to begin.

When February arrives, the Razorbacks won’t be measured by preseason lists or January praise. They’ll be judged by innings pitched, runs driven in, and whether talent shows up consistently when the calendar stops being friendly.

For now, though, Gaeckle and Niu have done enough to keep Arkansas in the preseason conversation.

And in a league that rarely gives anything away, that alone says plenty.

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