Arkansas Opens 2026 NCAA Run at 5 p.m. in Lawrence — Ku Baseball Game Today
No. 14 Arkansas opened its ku baseball game today against Missouri State at 5 p.m. Friday, May 29, at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, Kan. The Razorbacks entered the Lawrence Regional as the No. 2 seed with a 39-20 record, starting postseason play on the road for the first time since 2022.
Arkansas Missouri State Lawrence
Dave Van Horn took Arkansas into the NCAA Tournament for the 37th time in program history, and the Razorbacks carried a 110-81 overall NCAA Tournament record into the opener. Their regional record stood at 72-47, while Van Horn's teams had gone 79-50 in the tournament and 49-26 in regional play.
Gabe Gaeckle was scheduled to pitch for Arkansas, with Max Knight set for Missouri State. Arkansas and Missouri State met for the eighth time in NCAA Tournament play, and the Bears held a 4-3 edge in those postseason meetings. Across all games, Arkansas led the series 60-32.
Hoglund Ballpark Coverage
The game aired on ESPNU, with Victor Rojas and Connor Wanhanen on the call. On the Razorback Sports Network, Phil Elson handled play-by-play and Bubba Carpenter served as analyst, giving fans two ways to follow the opener from Lawrence.
Kansas entered the regional as the No. 15 national seed and the host, which made Arkansas's first game the opening step in a bracket built around a Saturday second round. The winner of Arkansas and Missouri State advanced to play at 5 p.m. Saturday, May 30, against the winner of Kansas and Northeastern, while Friday's losers met in an elimination game at noon Saturday.
Dave Van Horn and the Bears
Arkansas's history with Missouri State added weight to the first-round meeting. The teams had split recent postseason trips in Fayetteville, with Arkansas losing in 1999, going 2-1 in the 2015 Fayetteville Super Regional, and dropping a 1-2 series in the 2017 Fayetteville Regional.
That track record left the regional opener with an immediate edge: one team moved into Saturday's winner's bracket, and the other was forced into the noon elimination game. For Arkansas, the first pitch at 5 p.m. was the start of a path that could put it one win from the super regional round.
