Grueling 2026 Campaign Begins With Baylor For Razorbacks, Hale

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Don't be fooled by the pink sash and the tiaras hanging behind him — Arkansas soccer coach Colby Hale means business.

The 50-year-old who took Arkansas' soccer program from an afterthought to national relevance will officially open his 15th season as the head coach at UA on Wednesday, when No. 10 Arkansas hosts Baylor at Razorback Field (7 p.m., SECN+).

Arkansas went 1-1 in its two exhibition matches, beating Kansas City 3-0 in Fayetteville on Aug. 5 before losing 2-0 on the road to No. 21 Memphis.

The ever-fiery Hale was, unsurprisingly, not too pleased with the Razorbacks' effort against the Tigers.

"He's very honest, very blunt," senior midfielder Kennedy Ball said of Hale. "Which honestly, I value that a lot and I like that a lot about him. I think hearing what we don't want to hear, but hearing what we need to hear is definitely something that I would try to explain in a post-game locker room. He did a good job of sorting out what's working, what not's working — 'This is how we're going to be successful, I'm not going to sugarcoat it' — that kind of thing."

"He's super blunt about it," senior forward Bella Field said. "We know when we don't perform because we can tell when in the score more times than not."

Suffice to say, Wednesday's game will be an all-out war between the Razorbacks and Bears.

Baylor, led by head coach Michelle Lenard, has six SEC transfers on its roster. The Bears made the Sweet 16 last season but enter 2026 with a completely rebuilt roster.

Hale emphasized that Arkansas can't play the way it did against Memphis if it wants to come out of its season opener with a win.

"We're kind of in the, build the foundation, build the framing," Hale said. "It's not always the fun, sexy part, but it's the most important. We have a very distinct culture. We're very clear in our expectations. [Baylor], I mean, very good team. That's a very good team, an elite goalkeeper (Azul Alvarez), very well balanced. They defend well. It could be a big challenge."

The entirety of Arkansas' non-conference slate is tough: the Razorbacks will travel to Loyola Maryland on Aug. 16 and will host North Carolina (Aug. 20), Clemson (Aug. 27), Little Rock (Aug. 30) and Jackson State (Sept. 4) before SEC play begins against Texas on Sept. 10. "

Hale said that building a tough non-con schedule is important with the gauntlet of conference competition looming, but you won't catch him looking ahead anytime soon.

"I care about one thing, and it's Baylor," Hale said. "When we play Baylor, we're not thinking about the league. We're thinking about Baylor. We gotta find a way to beat a really good Baylor team."

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