FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas pitchers Hagen Smith and Brady Tygart have been invited to the 2023 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team training camp, it was announced Monday.
Fifty-six players who aren’t eligible for this year’s Major League Draft will attend the training camp in Cary, N.C., to compete for 26 roster spots on the Collegiate National Team.
After training camp, the team will represent the United States in 10 games against Chinese Taipei and Japan from June 30 through July 12. The first eight games will be played in North Carolina and the final two locations have yet to be announced.
Smith, a sophomore left-hander, earned All-America and All-SEC honors this season pitching as a starter and out of the bullpen. He had an 8-2 record and 2 saves with a 3.64 earned run average and 102 strikeouts in 71 2/3 innings.
In SEC games, Smith was 5-1 with a 3.07 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 44 innings, and held opponents to a .201 batting average.
Tygart, a sophomore right-hander, had a 3-1 record and 3.20 ERA in 25 1/3 innings.
Tygart began the season as the Razorbacks’ closer, then after missing eight weeks because of an elbow injury, he became a starter who slowly built up his innings.
Players invited to the Collegiate National Team tryouts will play four exhibition games June 25-28.
Smith and Tygart were invited to the camp for the second consecutive year. Both experienced fatigue following a run to the College World Series last season and did not play for Team USA.
Both have also been selected to play in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League this summer — Smith for the Orleans Firebirds and Tygart for the Falmouth Commodores.
Arkansas has had 21 players on the Collegiate National Team since 1979, with second baseman Robert Moore and pitcher Jaxon Wiggins most recently on the roster in 2021.
Matt Jones contributed
Arkansas Baseball Players on Summer League Rosters
Player, League, Team
RHP Ben Bybee, California Collegiate League, Santa Barbara Foresters
LHP Parker Coil, Cape Cod Baseball League, Falmouth Commodores
OF Kendall Diggs, Cape Cod Baseball League, Bourne Braves
RHP Cooper Dossett, Northwoods League, Green Bay Rockers
RHP Jake Faherty, Cape Cod Baseball League, Wareham Gatemen
LHP Sean Fitzpatrick, California Collegiate League, Walnut Creek Crawdads
RHP Christian Foutch, Northwoods League, Green Bay Rockers
LHP Nick Griffin, California Collegiate League, Santa Barbara Foresters
INF/OF Hunter Grimes, Northwoods League, Lakeshore Chinooks
INF Peyton Holt, Marucci Midwest Arkansas Collegiate League, Grey
LHP Jordan Huskey, Florida Collegiate Summer League, Winter Garden Squeeze
RHP Josh Hyneman, California Collegiate League, Santa Barbara Foresters
INF Jayson Jones, Northwoods League, Green Bay Rockers
C Cal Kilgore, Prospect League Cape Catish
RHP Austin Ledbetter, Cape Cod Baseball League, Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox
INF Ben McLaughlin, Marucci Midwest Arkansas Collegiate League, Grey
OF Mason Neville, Cape Cod Baseball League, Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox
C Hudson Polk, New England Collegiate Baseball League, North Adams SteepleCats
INF Reese Robinett, Coastal Plain League, Martinsville Mustangs
C Parker Rowland, New England Collegiate Baseball League, Ocean State Waves
*LHP Hagen Smith, Cape Cod Baseball League, Orleans Firebirds
*RHP Brady Tygart, Cape Cod Baseball League, Falmouth Commodores
RHP Gage Wood, California Collegiate League, Santa Barbara Foresters
* — Also invited to Team USA tryouts