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Arkansas and coach Dave Van Horn continue to add prominent names out of the transfer portal in an attempt to reload after a run to the College World Series semifinals.

Outfielder Damian Ruiz announced his commitment on X to the Razorbacks after his junior season at Lamar.

Ruiz is coming off one of the most historic seasons in Lamar program history. He was named the Southland Conference Hitter of the Year after slashing .388/.511/.607 with 50 walks to just 27 strikeouts.

He also hit seven homers and stole 14 bases while only being caught once. Ruiz led a Lamar team that won 40 games with 130 total bases.

His season is imprinted all over the Lamar record books, he finished Top 5 in program history for a single season in runs (76, 1st), doubles (22, 5th) and batting average (.388, 5th). He also broke the program record for the longest hitting streak and on-base streak, lasting 32 and 49 games respectively.

Ruiz's hitting streak spanned nearly 2 months, lasting from March 12 to May 3. He recorded 25 multi-hit games, which included six three-hit performances.

He also got a taste of SEC competition in a pair of midweek games at Lamar against both Texas A&M and Texas. Ruiz got two hits in both games, finishing a combined 4-for-8 against SEC opponents.

Arkansas will be Ruiz's third school. A native of Livingston, Texas, Ruiz spent his first two seasons at Houston Christian University, where he appeared in 59 games across the 2 years.

He is also draft-eligible for next week's MLB Draft. Coming out of high school, Ruiz was ranked the No. 180 overall prospect in Texas for the Class of 2022, including Top 40 in the outfield, according to Perfect Game.

The majority of Ruiz's experience in the field comes in right field, with 92 games coming in right. He has also played left field sparingly and appeared in one game in center field. He made just two errors in 89 chances for a .978 fielding percentage.

Right field is a desperate position of need for Arkansas after Logan Maxwell, who started 37 of the team's 65 games in right field, is out of eligibility.

Kendall Diggs and Carson Boles, who were the two main backups in right, starting 26 of the other 28 games, are also out of eligibility. The only returning player for Arkansas who started a game in right last year is Kuhio Aloy, who spent all but one game as the team's designated hitter.

Ruiz is the third outfielder that Arkansas has added to its transfer class in the past 10 days, which now stands at eight players.

Portal Tracker (D1 Only):

Departures (9):
Tag Andrews & Luke Williams
Gabe Fraser
1B Michael Anderson
C Zane Becker
RHP Lance Davis
LHP Jackson Farrell
RHP Ross Felder
C Elliott Peterson

Incoming Players (8):
Jackson Wells, Little Rock
Ethan McElvain, Vanderbilt
Dylan Grego, Ball State
Jackson Kircher, Oklahoma
Zack Stewart, Missouri State
TJ Pompey, Texas Tech
Maika Niu, Marshall

HOGS FEED:


This article first appeared on Arkansas Razorbacks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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