FAYETTEVILLE — The next year of Arkansas athletics will be defined by figureheads and change.
John Calipari is the new men’s basketball coach, while Bobby Petrino has returned to Fayetteville for a second stint with the football program, this time as the Hogs’ offensive coordinator. The baseball and women’s basketball teams will be replacing nearly all of their starters while the softball program and the entire SEC must welcome perennial powers Texas and Oklahoma into the league.
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Before the new begins, let’s take a look back at the year that was for Arkansas athletics.
Here’s how we graded the on-field performance of the Razorbacks’ major teams during the 2023-24 academic calendar.
Football: F
Not even the most pessimistic of Hog fans could have foreseen the disaster that was 2023. A six-game losing streak with five losses by one possession eventually spiraled into embarrassing home losses to Auburn and Missouri.
KJ Jefferson and Rocket Sanders — two faces of the program — had the worst seasons of their careers behind an abysmal offensive line. The defense let go of the rope in the final month of the season when bowl eligibility became increasingly doomed.
The final result was a 4-8 record, the firing of offensive coordinator Dan Enos and a boiling hot seat for Sam Pittman entering 2024.
Jan 6, 2024; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Eric Musselman during the first half against the Auburn Tigers at Bud Walton Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Men’s Basketball: D
The men’s struggles inside Bud Walton Arena were a shock. The Hogs were a consensus top-15 team in the preseason yet failed to reach the NCAA Tournament and finished with a losing record for the first time since 2010.
The campaign under Eric Musselman avoids an ‘F’ because there were still moments worth cherishing. Upsetting Duke at home in front of a national audience was the highlight of the year, and Tramon Mark’s buzzer-beater against Texas A&M also reignited some optimism.
But in the end, a team that never found the right balance between offense and defense fell short of March altogether, paving the way for a new exciting journey under Calipari.
Mar 3, 2023; Greenville, SC, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Mike Neighbors on the side line in the first half against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports
Women’s Basketball: D-
Mike Neighbors didn’t shy away from his goals of making the NCAA Tournament in the preseason, but the Hogs fell well short of their expectations.
A talented team on paper never gelled, and Arkansas missed out on the big dance after finishing 10th in the SEC. The Razorbacks won just two of their final 10 games, and the grade gets a slight knock due to all of the offseason turnover.
Starters and highly-touted recruits like Taliah Scott, Saylor Poffenbarger, Maryam Dauda and Samara Spencer all transferred out of the program.
Arkansas baseball’s Peyton Stovall gets ready in the on-deck circle during a win over McNeese State earlier this season.
Baseball: B+
The goal was Omaha, and Arkansas fell well short by not even reaching the championship of its own regional. Another home defeat in the postseason, this time to Southeast Missouri State, has fans craving more in the immediate future.
Still, the Razorbacks won 44 games, clinched another SEC West Title, locked up a national seed and produced Hagen Smith, the best pitcher in the country.
There isn’t much more that can be accomplished in the regular season, but in order for this program to receive an ‘A,’ it must qualify for the College World Series.
Softball: B
The Razorbacks won six of their eight SEC series and finished fourth in the league. Courtney Deifel continues to build through consistency, and Arkansas hosted a regional for the fourth straight season.
However, the Hogs went 1-2 at the regional and were eliminated inside Bogle Park for a second consecutive year. The bats couldn’t get going in the postseason, leaving a disappointing cloud hanging over an otherwise successful season.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Grading Arkansas athletics 2023-24: Sam Pittman, football earn F
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/grading-arkansas-athletics-2023-24-080150544.html
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Publish date : 2024-06-28 03:00:00
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