Three Arkansas storylines after intrasquad scrimmages

Razorbacks' backstop gears up for his own Golden Spikes Award Run

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Dave Van Horn in fall scrimmage at Baum-Walker Stadium. | Nilsen Roman-allHOGS Images

Arkansas will finally play another team when they welcome Arkansas-Little Rock and Dallas Baptist roll into town Friday and Saturday for a pair of intersquad exhibitions. After a month worth of intrasquad scrimmages, here are three storylines to watch as fall ball winds down.

Ryder Helfrick ready to be middle of the order bat:

A lot can happen in 7 months. It's quite unfathomable to think that on a weekend game against Charlotte on March 2, catcher Ryder Helfrick was hitting ninth in the order. By the end of the season, he was hitting in the cleanup spot and carried the Razorbacks at points in the postseason.

Arkansas catcher Ryder Helfrick during intrasquad scrimmages | Nilsen Roman -Hogs on SI Images

Much of his protection from the 2024 lineup is gone. Charles Davalan, Wehiwa Aloy and Logan Maxwell all moved on to start their professional career. Opposing pitching staffs will pay more attention to the former top-50 recruit than ever before, but Helfrick has come out swinging in the fall.

After finishing the year hitting .305 with 15 homers last year, Helfrick's been terrorizing his teammates in the intrasquad games, going 13-for-28 (.464) with four homers, according to unofficial stats. He also has a 20 RBIs to go along with four doubles, no one else has crossed the double-digit mark in RBIs.

Helfrick's been hitting second in most of the scrimmages this fall, a spot the order that was exclusively occupied by Wehiwa Aloy, starting all 65 games out of the No. 2 spot in 2025. Aloy would go on to win the Golden Spikes Award.

No school has ever had back-to-back winners in the nearly 5 decades of the award's history, but Helfrick has a realistic shot at breaking the glass celling. Competition for the award will be fierce and only five winners have ever come from the catching position (Jason Varitek, Buster Posey, Bryce Harper, Mike Zunino and Adley Rutschman), but Helfrick is primed for his best season yet before he is eligible for the 2026 MLB Draft.

UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky is the frontrunner for the award and the early clubhouse leader for No. 1 overall pick.

Christian Turner Continues to Hit... and Hit Some More

Every fall a new unexpected player comes out swinging in the fall and complicates matters for coach Dave Van Horn when filling out an ideal lineup card. Outfielder Christian Turner is the winner of that award so far. Turner was a key piece of the 2025 recruiting class, but by no means the most heralded in the rankings.

11 of his fellow freshmen that made it to campus were ranked higher than him in the Perfect Game national rankings. Turner, from Haughton, La., went to the same high school as former Razorback Peyton Stovall. After starting the fall 1-for-7, Turner is 10 for his last 16 with a homer and two doubles.

Turner also has 11 strikeouts. Outfielder Brenton Clark hit at the same torrid pace in 2024 before struggling in the spring and ultimately redshirting anyway. Turner will have to beat out Clark and a whole host of others, including Zack Stewart and Tyler Holland for the third outfield spot. Clark has been getting

Kuhio Aloy has also been seeing time in right field since his return after a hand injury sidelined him for the first two weekends.

There's still a long road ahead for Turner to see significant playing time as a true freshman. He'll likely have to put up similar numbers in the spring, but coming out all guns blazing doesn't hurt.

Steele Eaves Taking the Next Step:

Eaves signature moment so far comes away from the diamond, jumping into the pond after Arkansas punched its ticket to Omaha in 2025, but Eaves might be on the mound the next time they punch their ticket.

One time through the wash and it’s clean. pic.twitter.com/A9d7L8u0Ds

— Mark Taylor (@mdt1021) June 9, 2025

Eaves built on a strong summer in the California Collegiate League with eight scoreless innings in the fall. He also struck out the side in his most recent outing, taking his total to 11.

"He gets a lot of ground balls," Van Horn said. [He] usually throws a lot of strikes. He fields his position well, so. Just development from the freshman year, early to late his freshman year, and now he's better. 
He's right on track."

First pitch between Little Rock and Arkansas is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday. Admission is free.