Arkansas Opens Season at Rebel Kickoff

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 6 Arkansas Razorbacks head west to open the 2023 campaign on Feb. 10-12 at the Rebel Kickoff in Las Vegas. Arkansas will face Weber State in its season opener at 4 p.m. CT Friday, Feb. 10 at Eller Media Stadium. The Hogs will take on UNLV in Friday’s nightcap scheduled to begin at 9 p.m.

Back-to-back SEC Coach of the Year Courtney Deifel’s squad will take on Weber State (twice), UNLV, Southern Utah and Baylor in Las Vegas before heading to the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational on Feb. 17-19. All five games this weekend will be available to stream on UNLV’s YouTube account. Only Friday’s game against UNLV will feature play-by-play announcers.

Rebel Kickoff Schedule (CT)

Friday, Feb. 10 – Weber State – 4 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 10 – UNLV – 9 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 11 – 11 a.m.

Saturday, Feb. 11 – 1:30 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 12 – 11 a.m.

Need to Know

• The back-to-back Southeastern Conference Champions are coming off the program’s first Southeastern Conference regular season title and tournament double in program history.
• Winning the SEC regular season crown in 2021 and 2022, Arkansas added the program’s first tournament title in 2022 after downing the Missouri Tigers, 4-0, in Gainesville, Fla. The Razorbacks were the only power five program last season to win their conference’s regular season and tournament championships.
• Arkansas is one of four SEC program’s to win back-to-back regular season crowns, joining Alabama, Florida and LSU. After winning the league’s regular season in 2021, Arkansas became the first team not named Florida or Alabama to win the conference’s regular season title since Tennessee did in 2007.
• The Hogs posted a 48-11 overall record, recording the most single-season wins in program history.
• In the NCAA Tournament, Arkansas achieved the program’s highest overall seed (No. 4) and swept the Fayetteville Regional before hosting the program’s second consecutive Super Regional and garnering the program’s first victory in Super Regionals while taking down the Texas Longhorns, 7-1, in game one of the Fayetteville Super Regional.

Delce Back for 2023

SEC Pitcher of the Year Chenise Delce is back for her final collegiate season, pitching to a 19-3 record with three saves and a team-best 2.12 ERA over 151.2 innings pitched. She struck out 188 hitters compared to just 35 walks issued. Putting together one of the most decorated seasons ever by a Razorback spinner and earning the program’s second straight SEC Pitcher of the Year accolade, Delce collected an abundance of honors, including NFCA Second Team All-American, SEC Tournament MVP, All-SEC First Team, NFCA All-South Region First Team, Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week and Softball America Third Team All-American. The righthander notched 11 wins and two saves against opponents ranked inside ESPN.com/USA Softball’s Top 25. Her 8.70 strikeouts per 7.0/IP rank second in single-season program history.

Back-to-Back Coach of the Year

Back-to-back SEC Coach of the Year Courtney Deifel returns for her eighth season at the helm. In seven seasons in Fayetteville, Deifel has orchestrated the Razorbacks’ return to postseason play and guided the program to two SEC regular season championships, one SEC Tournament crown and five NCAA Tournament appearances, which includes five consecutive berths from 2017-22. The Hogs have qualified for the national tournament every year it has been held since 2017. Deifel led the program to its first NCAA Tournament Super Regional appearances in 2018, 2021 and 2022. Since her first season in 2016, the Razorbacks have been ranked 69 times in the NFCA Coaches’ Poll after being previously ranked only once in program history. Nine of the program’s 10 NFCA All-American nods and 78 Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete awards have been accumulated under Deifel. Sitting at 238 career wins at Arkansas, Deifel is just SEVEN wins away from becoming the program’s winningest head coach. Additionally, Coach Deifel’s 2022 staff was named NFCA South Region Coaching Staff of the Year.

Deifel’s Chase to Become Arkansas Softball’s Winningest Head Coach

Head coach Courtney Deifel is on track to become Arkansas’ all-time winningest head coach sooner rather than later. Heading into the Rebel Kickoff, Deifel needs just seven wins to become the program’s all-time winningest head coach. While the Hogs only play five in Vegas, the accomplishment could very well happen in week two of the season at the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational on Feb. 17-19 where the Razorback play another five-game slate.

An All-American Duo

Arkansas is one of three DI softball programs to return multiple 2022 NFCA All-Americans. Hannah Gammill was named an NFCA First Team All-American and Chenise Delce was tabbed a Second Team All-American after sensational 2022 campaigns.

Freshmen Hogs Named Nation’s No. 1 Recruiting Class

Arkansas welcomes nine freshmen to the fold this season. After signing with the Hogs back in 2021, the class was tabbed as the No. 2 recruiting class in the nation by Extra Inning Softball. The decorated freshman class consists of Hannah Camenzind, Lauren Camenzind, Rylee Cloud, Kiki Estrada, Nyjah Fontenot, Robyn Herron, Reagan Johnson, Nikki McGaffin and Atalyia Rijo. Eight commits were nationally ranked inside the top 30 of Extra Inning Softball’s Extra Elite 100. The class also hails from seven different states (California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Nebraska, New York and Texas).

The Portal Delivers

Arkansas dipped into the transfer portal this offseason and came away with three athletes who are expected to contribute this season: Kristina Foreman, Cylie Halvorson and Tymber Riley.

• Graduate infielder Kristina Former joins the Razorbacks from Duke. Foreman was a staple in the Blue Devil’s lineup over the last four years, starting 165 games in her career. An All-ACC selection in 2022, she started all 48 games she played in and hit .398 with 15 home runs and a Duke single-season program record 56 RBIs. The Tampa product had one of the best games of
• Junior infielder Cylie Halvorson joins the Hogs from South Dakota State where she was named Summit League Player of the Year in 2021 after averaging .352 at the plate and shattering the school’s home run record with 19. In 2022, Halvorson started 54 games while hitting .311 with 19 home runs, 55 hits, 46 RBIs and 40 runs scored.
• Graduate utility Tymber Riley, an Arkansas native, joins the Razorbacks from DII Arkansas Tech where she was one of the best players in program history. Riley, who also participated in volleyball at Arkansas Tech, was named GAC Female Athlete of the Year and GAC Player of the Year in softball in 2022. Riley led the GAC conference in batting average (.432), on-base percentage (.529), slugging percentage (.840), home runs (15), hits (73), runs scored (58), doubles (22) and total bases (142).
• Coach Deifel has made splashes in the portal over recent years. Notable transfers Deifel has picked up includes Chenise Delce, Callie Turner, Danielle Gibson, KB Sides, Taylor Ellsworth and Braxton Burnside.

Up next, the Razorbacks trek to the Sunshine State for the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational on Feb. 17-19. Arkansas opens the tournament at noon Friday, Feb. 10 against No. 4 Florida State on ESPNU. Arkansas rounds out day one with a 5 p.m. contest against No. 19 Duke on ESPN+. Arkansas will tangle with Indiana and No. 24 Louisiana on Saturday, Feb. 18 before closing out the weekend at 8:30 a.m. Sunday vs. Nebraska on SEC Network.