FAYETTEVILLE - Sophomore outfielder Dominic Fletcher is set to have what should be an outstanding sophomore season with Dave Van Horn's Razorbacks. Fletcher is expected to be one of the top outfielders in the SEC following a very good freshman campaign.

Arkansas sophomore OF Dominic Fletcher.

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As a true freshman, Fletcher played in 59 games with 56 starts. He hit 12 home runs, knocked in 37 runs and hit .291. In center field, Fletcher had three assists showing off an extremely strong arm. Fletcher is excited about the 2018 baseball season.

"I mean it's awesome," Fletcher said. "Obviously we have a great team coming back. You don't need to look at the rankings to know that just come out to one of our scrimmages and watch our guys. We have about 15 guys that could start at any school. When you have a team like that it's exciting to be back and get the season going."

Van Horn likes what he has seen from Fletcher in the fall and preseason.

"He's doing real well," Van Horn said. "He's impressive. Defensively, he's better than ever. He is really strong. I'm just glad he's not draft eligible like (Andrew) Benintendi was. let's put it that way.

"I could hit him in the 2-hole, 3-hole. I might hit him in the 2-hole just to get it rolling sooner. But he's ready to have a good year."

Fletcher talked about what he did to get stronger.

"We have a new strength coach Blaine (Kinsley) and we've been doing a lot more legs," Fletcher said. "Lifting on my own too, but that's a big factor Blaine coming in here with a workout plan and the things we're doing."

Considering you hit 12 home runs last year as a true freshman, do you have a goal for this season?

"I don't really set a goal for that because you can't really control that too much," Fletcher said. "Whatever happens happens, but I would like to hit more than I did last year. I want to get better and improve each year."

Van Horn praised Fletcher for his attitude following a freshman season that would be considered outstanding for most players.

"A lot of times, the freshmen that play a lot, sophomore year is just okay," Van Horn said. "He’s a different kid. He had a good freshman year, but it wasn’t great. He didn’t hit for the average that he wanted to. He hit 12 home runs.

"I wouldn’t be surprised if he hits a lot of home runs and hits a lot of doubles. He’s learned how to go the other way a little bit and he’s going to have to take some walks because they’re going to pitch around him a little bit."

While Van Horn feels that teams will pitch around, Fletcher points out one reason it may not happen as much as maybe expected.

"Probably not too much when we have this loaded lineup," Fletcher said. "All these guys in it. Not really anyone who will pitch around because the guy behind you can do just as much damage. So I really trust the guys behind me and know that I will get good pitches to hit because they're gonna come behind me."

The Razorbacks return three seniors with two of them coming to Arkansas as true freshmen. Second baseman Carson Shaddy and left fielder-designated hitter Luke Bonfield started every game they played last season and are set to begin their fourth season with the Hogs. Bonfield started 64 games and Shaddy 62 missing a couple of games. Jared Gates is the other senior and he came to Arkansas last season from Iowa Western Community College. He started 35 of the 37 games he played. The trio combined to hit 23 home runs. What does it mean to have particularly Bonfield and Shaddy return for their fourth season with the Hogs?

"We're definitely excited to have them back," Fletcher said. "Experience and all that leadership they have. It's just really good for the team. They've been there before and they've both been to Omaha. So I'm really excited to have them back and have them with us."

Many experts forecast this team to be in Omaha at the end of the season. How good can this team actually be if things fall in place?

"There's really no limit with this team," Fletcher said. "Even the rankings don't show how good we are. If you would come out and watch us, see our lineup and hitters. We have guys that probably won't even get a 100 at bats this year, but at another school would play the full season every game, every day game-in and game-out."

Arkansas has Bonfield and Eric Cole returning in the outfield along with Fletcher. Have any of the younger outfielders caught your eye thus far?

"Heston Kjerstad is a freshman who will get a lot of AB's this year and will be big-time for us," Fletcher said. "Him and Cole Turney is just coming off injury and is getting a lot of swings. He has got a lot of pop off his bat and we'll see what he does this year."

Also, has any of the pitchers other than the obvious ones like Blaine Knight and Isaiah Campbell stood out to you?

"If you really look into our bullpen you will see a lot of guys coming back that are gonna be better than last year," Fletcher said. "Everyone talks about Blaine and Isaiah, but when you look at the bullpen they're gonna be really good for us."

Redshirt junior Keaton McKinney came to Arkansas as a highly-touted pitcher rated in the Top 50 recruits in the nation. He has been good when healthy, but has battled injuries. How good would it be if he could stay healthy and have a big year for you guys?

"It would be huge for us," Fletcher said. "We need every guy we can get out there. He came out and threw yesterday and threw pretty well. He's just getting back into the swing of things. We'll see how it goes."

In the summer, Fletcher played well. He was an all-star in the California Collegiate League. He played for the Orange County Riptide and hit .386 with 10 doubles, six home runs, 30 RBIs and eight stolen bases.

Fletcher's father, Tim, is an avid baseball fan. Fletcher smiled when asked how his father is doing.

"He's doing good," Fletcher said.

Is he pretty excited for the Razorbacks this season?

"He loves it," Fletcher said. "He will be out here a couple of times this year. He will probably follow us throughout the playoffs. He's really excited."

Fletcher's older brother, David, played against Arkansas when he was at Loyola Marymount and Dominic was still in high school.

"He's in Triple-A baseball with Salt Lake City with the Angels," Fletcher said. "He has a chance to jump up to the big leagues from Triple-A this year so we'll see how that goes."

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