Arkansas has its first No. 1 overall recruiting class by Collegiate Baseball for the 2023 signing class.
The ranking is only for prospects who signed letters of intent with a school and does not include signees who were drafted and went pro following this year's MLB Draft.
Arkansas’ class includes 14 freshmen, nine 4-year transfers and a junior college transfer.
UCLA, Tennessee, Florida, LSU, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Texas A&M, Texas and Mississippi State round out this year’s top 10 recruiting classes.
The SEC has dominated college baseball with 11 of the top classes since 2010. LSU has four No. 1 classes since during the period, while Vanderbilt has three and Florida has twice recorded top classes.
“Our 2023 class features seven Perfect Game top 100 prospects plus two other players who were listed in MLB Pipeline’s top 250 prospects for the draft,” Arkansas recruiting coordinator and hitting coach Nate Thompson told Collegiate Baseball. “That’s a new record for Perfect Game top 100 prospects to make it to campus.”
Perfect Game top 100 players who made it to Arkansas are catcher Ryder Helfrick (46) of Discovery Bay (Calif.) Clayton Valley; right-handed pitcher Gabe Gaeckle (51) of Aptos, Calif.; left-handed pitcher Hunter Dietz (57) of Calvary Christian and Trinity, Fla.; left-handed pitcher Adam Hachman (58) of Wentzville, Mo.; infielder Nolan Souza (70) of Honolulu Punahou; left-handed pitcher Tucker Holland (87) of The Burlington (N.C.) School; and catcher/infielder Ty Waid (90) of Arkansas High in Texarkana.
UCLA has five top 100 Perfect Game recruits on campus. Florida, Florida State and Texas Tech have three each.