Arkansas pitcher Hagen Smith was selected as the fifth overall pick by the Chicago White Sox in the 2024 MLB Draft. He is the Razorbacks’ fifth first-round pick, following Heston Kjerstad, who was drafted second overall by the Baltimore Orioles in 2020.
In his final season at Arkansas, Smith delivered one of the program’s most historic pitching performances. He became the school’s all-time strikeout leader with 360 career strikeouts and set a single-season record with 161 strikeouts in 2024. Consequently, the junior was named National Pitcher of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings, the College Baseball Foundation, and Perfect Game USA. He also became the first Razorback to achieve unanimous first-team All-America status since Kevin Kopps in 2021.
The Bullard, Texas native drew significant attention with his 17-strikeout game against Oregon State in the 2024 Kubota College Baseball Series in February. Over the season, the left-hander achieved a 9-2 record, a 2.04 ERA, and 161 strikeouts in 84.0 innings of work.
