Dave Van Horn expresses frustration with date of the MLB Draft, roster construction issues

Now the NCAA baseball season is finally wrapped up, just across the country focusing on this offseason and retooling their teams in preparation for the 2024 campaign. But getting a picture of what their rosters will look like is difficult around this time of year, especially with the MLB Draft right around the corner. Recently Arkansas Razorbacks skipper Dave Van Horn addressed his issue with the draft date along with how it impacts how he builds his roster.

“Yeah, the draft — I’m done complaining about it. I think every Division I coach, we talk about it until we’re blue in the face,” said Van Horn. “The draft should have been two weeks ago at the very latest; so at least, we can move on and figure this thing out. We don’t know what’s going on with Aiden Miller, (or) Walker Martin. I could go on and on.”

Unlike the other three major American sports leagues, the NBA, NFL, and NHL, the MLB Draft is held in the middle of the season during the All-Star break. Still, given the proximity to the end of the college baseball season and when the draft is held, the time spent in limbo, courtesy of the uncertainty caused by the culmination of the draft and transfer portal movement, is a lot closer for baseball than either of the other three sports mentioned. But that does not mean that it is still not a headache for coaches at the collegiate level.

Van Horn on dealing with the transfer portal

Van Horn and the Razorbacks still have to deal with the uncertainty surrounding the NCAA transfer portal. And for him, that can be difficult to navigate while trying to bring in incoming players from the high school level.

“And then you throw in the transfer portal, and they kind of tie into each other. You might not want to get too many guys out of the portal if you find out you’re gonna lose some of your incoming class. But you have to be smart about it; we’ve tried to handle some things, take care of some things. And hoping we can maybe sneak one of those three or four position players that are going to sign through.

“We’ve got some other guys that are going to be really good that are not going to be drafted, or they’re gonna be drafted low. And they’re probably gonna make it to school. Pitching-wise, with the high school kids, we’re gonna get some of these guys. We may lose a couple, but we’re going to get a lot though. And there’s gonna be a really good pitching class. For the position players, it might be a little more difficult to get some of these high-end hitters, unfortunately. But we’re doing everything we can to figure it out.”

If Arkansas is going to remain competitive in the gauntlet that is known as the SEC conference, Van Horn understands that he needs to be proficient at acquiring players from both the transfer portal and recruiting while balancing that with players exiting the program. But as far as when he believes he will have a better idea of what his roster will look like for the 2024 season, the Razorbacks skipper says he won’t have a clear picture of that until later in the month.

“We won’t know where we’re at, honestly, for maybe another three or four weeks.”