Robinett, Kozeal return with Razorbacks more comfortable in new season

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Second baseman Camden Kozeal and first baseman Reese Robinett were in similar positions a year ago.

Neither hit particularly well in the fall of 2024 and found themselves on the outside looking in for playing time. Kozeal, a new transfer from Vanderbilt, found himself squeezed out of a crowded infield battle and had to learn first base to initially crack the Hogs line-up.

Robinett's road was even more curved and full of obstacles. After redshirting in 2024, he didn't get real playing time until an injury to Nolan Souza forced the infield to reshuffle again. When Robinett got his first start of the season on April 15, his last hit in a game was over two years ago.

"Am I ever going to get this first hit out of the way?” Robinett asked in April. “Then I finally got it tonight and I was like, all right, now I can kind of relax a little bit and just play,”

Fast forward ahead to the 2026 season, both Kozeal and Robinett are heavy favorites to play somewhere on coach Dave Van Horn's infield in his 24th season, While neither outwardly changed, being back for another season adds a new level of familiarity for both.

"It's fun to be back for a second year," Kozeal said. "You're just more comfortable in general. Comfortable with the coaching staff, comfortable with the kids, comfortable with the area, comfortable with classes. It's going to be a great year."

Fishing took on a life of its own with last year's team, spearheaded by Kozeal, and it's back as a team tradition for a second straight season. He has a YouTube channel featuring fishing adventures with his fellow Hogs' teammates that took off last year and will continue to grow with a new group this season as it also ventures off into golf and dove hunting.

Thousands of fans showed up at Baum-Walker to meet the new team in the annual Fall Classic. For the players, it was a nice change of pace to compete with each other in a more structured setting.

It didn't hurt that both Kozeal and Robinett homered and the game came down to the bottom of the final inning. The intrasquad teams were split into the "Black" and "Cardinal" roughly evenly, with the Black team winning 7-6.

"We had a good amount of fans come out," Robinett said after the scrimmage. "It was good to see them supporting us, and then other guys like Cam and Ryder [Helfrick] and all the other guys on the Black team, being competitive, made it fun."

Arkansas has two weeks remaining in fall ball. They'll return to close out fall against Little Rock and Dallas Baptist Oct 10-11.

"I want to see us continue to getting better every day," Van Horn said. "That's what I told the guys We're so much better now than we were three weeks ago. They're coming together. It's tough when you, all of a sudden, you're only playing nine or ten guys."

All scrimmages are free and open to the public

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