By: Zac Bottoms
Arkansas Scouting Director

With NJCAA and NCAA signing periods opening over the last month, it has been great to see so many players officially signing their National Letters of Intent—an accomplishment they and their family have spent years working to achieve. 

As commitments have rolled in and everything has become official, I began to look at the distances players will be traveling from their home. Using this data, I’ve put together a guide on how far players in our state travel to play college baseball. 

Farthest from Home:

Paxton Wallace, 3B/RHP from Greenbrier High School—will be attending Wichita State University, which is 429 miles apart. Wallace is 5^th ranked player in the state of Arkansas and the 185^th ranked player nationally.

Closest to Home:

Parker Ribble, MIF Magnolia High School—will be attending Southern Arkansas University, which is 2 miles apart. Ribble is 27^th in the 2017 class from the state of Arkansas.

Average Distance: 

Out of the 45 players that have signed letters of intent the average distance traveled to college is 163. 4 miles. 

Take Away: 
College recruiting budgets: Outside of NCAA Division I, most college’s baseball programs do not have the recruiting budgets to spend much time outside their regions (or state’s).

Out of State Tuition: The average cost of in-state tuition is $9,410 and out-of-state tuition is $23,893 (excluding the price of Room & Board). With NCAA Division I institution splitting 11.7 scholarships and NCAA Division II schools splitting 9 scholarships, most players are receiving scholarship offers between 30-40 % of overall cost.  

Players seem to like to play with other players they are familiar with. 18 of the players that are committed are going to a school with either a high school or summer team mate, the number would be much higher if you looked at players attending colleges, with players on campus from their high school or summer program. 

Family matters; for most players they have played most games with a family member or multiple family members in attendance, the closer to home, the easier it is for this to continue. 

Overall, I believe that players will maximize their time and efforts playing regionally. Regionally to me is play within the states that border Arkansas, plus Kansas. Historically players from Arkansas are going to attend college, in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Sporadically into Louisiana, Mississippi and Northeastern Texas and Tennessee. In Mississippi, player’s options are limited due to the NJCAA rules only allowing 4 out of state players per roster. 

Name	High School	Pos	College	Distance
Adrian Hannah	Searcy	3B	Central Arkansas	52 mi
Andrew Lannon	Armorel	C	Arkansas State	59 mi
Andrew Roach	Springdale	RHP	Cowley County CC	226 mi
Andrew Swaim	Ouchita High School	RHP	Henderson State	12 mi
Austin Kelly	Bryant	RHP	Arkansas	201 mi
Brett Brockington	Cabot	RHP	Crowder JC	253 mi
Bryson Haskins	Ashdown	2B	Henderson State	86 mi
Cade Tucker	Conway	3B	Eastern Ok State JC	174 mi
Caleb Kimbel	Har-Ber High School	OF	Central Arkansas	168 mi
Cameron Tissue	Catholic	SS	Central Arkansas	30 mi
Casey Martin	Lonoke	SS	Arkansas	208 mi
Chase Freeman	North Little Rock	OF	Coffeyville CC	332 mi
Chase Hutson	Greene County Tech	RHP	Williams Baptist	33 mi
Cooper Van Kooten	Greenwood	2B	Arkansas-Little Rock	175 mi
David Rainwater	Sheridan	RHP	Ouachita Baptist Universi	52 mi
David Vilches	Sheridan	3B	Eastern Oklahoma State JC	210 mi
Denver Mullins	Cabot	C	Crowder JC	253 mi
Eric Groom	Arkadelphia	OF	Henderson State	3 mi
Ethan Holmes	Van Buren	RHP	Oklahoma Wesleyan	166 mi
Evan Hooper	Cabot	OF	Arkansas	188 mi
Hayden Arnold	Watson Chapel	RHP	Arkansas-Little Rock	47 mi
Hayes Cox	Fayetteville	SS	Arkansas Tech	114 mi
Hunter Milligan	Greenbrier	LHP	Arkansas	168 mi
Jaylen Deshazier	Pine Bluff	RHP	Arkansas State	174 mi
Kinner Brasher	Southside	OF	Arkansas-Little Rock	161 mi
Korey Wasson	Hot Springs	RHP	Arkansas State	187 mi
Kyle McKeowen	Alma	RHP	Ottawa University	268 mi
Lance Bonvillain	Bryant	LHP	Central Arkansas	42 mi
Logan Easley	Heritage	3B	Wichita State	251 mi
Logan Gilbertson	Cabot	RHP	Central Arkansas	31 mi
Mathew Goodheart	Magnolia	2B	San Jacinto JC	326 mi
Nick Butler	North Little Rock	OF	Eastern Oklahoma State JC	222 mi
Nick Whitley	Sheridan	SS	Henderson State	52 mi
Parker Ribble	Magnolia	SS	Southern Arkansas	2 mi
Paxton Wallace	Greenbrier	3B	Wichita State	429 mi
Pierce Mitchum	Heber Springs	OF	Arkansas State	111 mi
Quinn Cherry	Harrison	C	Crowder JC	102 mi
Reed Shepherd	North Little Rock	3B	Eastern Oklahoma State JC	222 mi
River Hunt	Sylvan Hills	RHP	Three Rivers CC	194 mi
Ross Carver	Benton High School	RHP	Crowder JC	270 mi
Ryan Flake	Greenbrier	SS	Eastern Oklahoma State JC	208 mi
Tajhnick Bishop	Ashdown	SS	Louisiana-Monroe	191 mi
Tyler Gregg	Farmington	RHP	Crowder JC	68 mi
Tyler Moreland	Genoa Central	RHP	Arkansas State	279 mi
Zac Freeman	North Little Rock	SS	Coffeyville CC	332 mi

Related Content

ARKANSAS INSIDER: UNSIGNED SENIOR INFIELDERS

Five infielders from the 2017 class that have not made their college commitments...>>

ARKANSAS INSIDER: UNSIGNED SENIOR CATCHERS

5 unsigned senior catcher ...>>

THE HOTLIST: TOP 2018S BY POSITION

Breaking down the top prospects at each position...>>

ON THE HUNT: A FEAST OF UNCOMMITTED INFIELDERS, PITCHERS, AND A CATCHER

High ceilings, young power, and athletic two-way players...>>

UPDATED 2018 OVERALL RANKINGS RELEASED

Big shakeups in Top 400 list, but Kelenic and Siani remain at the top...>>