Dave Van Horn praises freshman Peyton Stovall's progress, postseason success

Peyton Stovall was a highly touted prospect coming out of high school. Not just for college programs around the country but also in the MLB Draft. Stovall was still available near the end of the first round and heading into the second round of last year’s draft but opted out and stayed true to his commitment to Arkansas.

Expectations were always going to be high for the Louisiana native but during the regular season, there were struggles at the plate. Stovall came into the NCAA Tournament hitting just .250 and not being a huge contributor offensively.

Since then, Stovall has seen his average rise above .300 and has been a huge reason why Arkansas is in the Final Four of the College World Series. Head coach Dave Van Horn recently praised his freshman infielder, saying even when Stovall is not swinging the bat, he has looked good.

“He had unrealistic expectations of him because he was a guy that turned down a lot of money,” Van Horn said. “He didn’t even get drafted he was going to go before the first round possibly. He wanted to go to college. And he just felt a lot of pressure. Social media and everything else and you read everything and preseason this, preseason that. It’s hard putting that on kids that haven’t even seen a college arm yet. And he’s been really good the last month.

“And like Michael said, even his takes are good. He was out front. He’s not an out-front type hitter. He’s pretty balanced. Stays back, and he’s doing it now. He’s starting to hit for power, hit for average, taking his walks. And we’ve really been able to see the future the last month. It’s been fun.”

In three College World Series games alone, Stovall has a home run and 10 RBIs. He is batting .563 while in Omaha and has undoubtedly been the Razorbacks’ top offensive threat. Getting used to college pitching may have taken away but Stovall has really grown into the player MLB scouts thought was worthy of a late first, early second-round pick.

There is still more work for Stovall and Arkansas as they now face Ole Miss in an elimination game on Wednesday. Two wins will be required to get back to the College World Series championship round, a place the Razorbacks have come oh so close to hoisting their sought-after trophy.