Another Year, Another Retooled Outfield for Van Horn's Hogs
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Another year, another brand new outfield for the Razorbacks. Jace Bohrofen, Jared Wegner, and Tavian Josenberger were all drafted and have started their pro careers. It was time for coach Dave Van Horn to reach into his bag of tricks through the portal again.
The first port of call was to move last year's designated hitter Kendall Diggs into a full-time outfield position. Diggs made 38 of his 57 starts as the designated hitter, only filling in in the outfield when one of the regulars was injured. The junior from Olathe, Kansas slashed .299/.436/.547 and led the team with 63 RBIs. He figures to take over right field. He gained valuable experience by playing in the Cape Cod League over the summer and Van Horn has lauded his improvement defensively throughout the fall.
"Kendall Diggs is our starting right fielder," Van Horn said. "He played longer than anybody this summer. He’s a guy, he’s earned it. Right field is his, until it isn’t. And I don’t think it’s going to be anybody else’s. I could probably DH him a little bit, but I plan on playing him in the field."
The rest of the outfield looks to be a combination of three transfers, two of which are from the same SEC rival. Ty Willmsmeyer and Ross Lovich come in from Mizzou with a combined 94 starts in the outfield last year. Wilmsmeyer started all 51 games in center field.
A Van Horn roster is not complete without a touted JUCO transfer. Will Edmunson transfers in from Hutchinson Community College hitting .454 with 33 extra-base hits. Those three look to split time between the remaining positions. Van Horn admits the other two outfield spots are far from set in stone.
"Outfield is still a work in progress," Van Horn said. "The other guys are new. You got Ty Wilmsmeyer from Missouri. He hit .300 at Missouri, did not hit this fall. Didn’t hit our pitching, played great defense. I think he’s a lot better hitter than he showed, and we hope he is, but he’s a really good defender. He’s the centerfielder. Will Edmunson, the centerfielder from junior college, he had a good fall. Got better and better as fall went on. Learned how to deal with the velocity he was seeing. Got better in the outfield, had a good fall."
Edmunson was the most impressive of the outfielders throughout fall ball, hitting .306 in 49 at-bats according to unofficial stats kept by Arkansas media members.
As with most transfers, Wilmsmeyer admits Fayetteville took some adjusting to after four seasons in Columbia.
"It's kind of like being a freshman all over again," Willmsmeyer said in September. "I'm plugging in all the restaurants on my maps trying to find my way around town. As an older guy with some SEC experience, I can take more of a leadership role and take this team where it wants to go."
The Razorbacks begin the season Feb. 16 inside Baum-Walker Stadium against James Madison.
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