FAYETTEVILLE -- Austin Ledbetter will throw a different ball in 2024.
Ledbetter, a 6-1, 200-pound pitcher for the University of Arkansas baseball team the past two seasons, will transition to a walk-on quarterback for the Razorbacks' football team during the spring semester. Ledbetter is a junior who has two seasons of eligibility remaining. He will no longer play baseball.
Ledbetter was a three-time state champion quarterback in Arkansas' largest classification while playing at Bryant High School from 2018-20. As a senior, he won the 2020 Landers Award as the state's best high school football player after he passed for 3,086 yards and 41 touchdowns.
He said he was recruited to play football by the likes of Mississippi State, Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech and other schools, but was never offered a scholarship because he was committed to play baseball at Arkansas. His cousins, DJ Baxendale and Blake Baxendale, also played baseball for the Razorbacks before him. The Baxendale brothers worked in support staff roles his freshman season and DJ is still on staff.
"I didn't want to go through college wondering what if I would have played football," Ledbetter said. "I'm really excited about this opportunity and ready to get to work and learn and get back in the groove of things.
"I always wanted to try to do both, but I knew that once I committed to baseball, that was my commitment and that was what I was going to do at the time. I think that now once I've come to the realization that I need to do football ... I think it's time to make that transition."
Ledbetter said he first spoke with Arkansas football Coach Sam Pittman on Dec. 2 about the possibility of changing sports.
"He was actually in Bryant talking to my old high school coaches," Ledbetter said. "As soon as he left he offered me a spot. It was super awesome."
As a right-handed pitcher, Ledbetter had a 7.09 earned-run average in 33 innings as a sophomore last season. He had a 2.84 ERA in 12 2/3 innings as a freshman, including 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief at the 2022 College World Series.
Ledbetter said Arkansas baseball Coach Dave Van Horn was "super-pumped" about the opportunity.
"He is very supportive and he has my back," Ledbetter said. "He told me, 'Don't be a stranger.' He knows I love football and he knows that's my passion. Everybody in the baseball facility is super-excited for me and I'm super-grateful for that.
"I feel like this time in my life, I need to move to football before it's too late. I [pitched] this fall and I definitely felt like I got better. I added a new pitch and my stuff was better."
Ledbetter also said he hopes to coach after college and thinks playing two sports will diversify his options.
"From the baseball point of view, I've been coached by one of the best pitching coaches [Matt Hobbs] and head coaches in the country. I've learned a lot from them," he said. "Getting to learn from [offensive coordinator Bobby] Petrino and other coaches will be a great experience."
Ledbetter will join a quarterback room at Arkansas that is expected to include at least four scholarship players during the spring. Jacolby Criswell and Malachi Singleton are expected to return from the 2023 team, Taylen Green will transfer from Boise State and high school senior KJ Jackson from Montgomery, Ala., signed with the Razorbacks on Wednesday.
Ledbetter is one of four players who went through fall baseball practice who will not return to the team in the spring. Left-handed pitcher Jordan Huskey and right-hander Jonah Conradt are expected to transfer to junior colleges, and outfielder Lincoln Riley is not expected to play again due to injury.
Neither Riley, Huskey nor Conradt appeared in a game for the Razorbacks last season. Riley transferred to Arkansas from Eastern Illinois during the summer, Huskey redshirted his true freshman season in 2023 and Conradt is a true freshman.