Razorbacks, Volunteers forced to deal with portal while on Omaha run

It's not a big deal within the context of this year's team. All three did not pitch this year and were likely going to have a hard time cracking the pitching staff next year.

Felder did show flashes in the spring before the start of the season, holding his own against the starting line-up in intrasquad games and striking out seven in 5 1/3 innings, according to unofficial stats kept by the media.

He even played the outfield for a few innings when things got weird.

But losing three players on an active roster is a product of college athletics in 2025 and something coach Dave Van Horn must deal with.

Arkansas is hardly the only school having to deal with this. Tennessee also has had three players leave and three Division I commits, according to Mike Wilson of the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Tennessee also picked up a Top 15 JUCO transfer in Tyler Myatt.

This makes baseball the latest sport to deal with moving roster parts while in the middle of an actual season.

East Carolina coach Cliff Godwin publicly called for change to the system, claiming that he has proof that other teams were texting players who were not even in the portal. Godwin did not specify a specific instance or say which team could be at fault.

A perennial participant in the NCAA Tournament, East Carolina was knocked out in the regionals by Coastal Carolina in the Conway Regional.

Baseball's situation draws at least some parallels to football, in which teams are at risk of losing players after spring practice. Baseball has plenty of movement after fall ball for players who missed out on the roster at a school like Arkansas.

A similar situation happened in during the College Football Playoff when back-up Penn State quarterback Beau Pribula left the team for the transfer portal as the Nittany Lions were trying to win a national title.

Under no other sporting context would that make any logical sense. The two teams in the NBA Finals aren't at risk of any of their players leaving the team in the middle of the series, regardless if they've played at all the entire season.

While none of the key pieces for either team is in the portal, there are no guardrails for any player just to jump ship during an active season. In this case, a season in which Arkansas is still hunting for an elusive national title.

Any player, including a starter, can suddenly bail. All it takes is one for Pandora's box to open and absolute chaos to reign supreme, if it hasn't already.

First pitch between Tennessee and Arkansas is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday and will be broadcast on ESPN.