Gaeckle, Root Add D1Baseball Preseason All-America Honors

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas right-handed pitcher Gabe Gaeckle and left-handed pitcher Zach Root added more accolades to their collection, garnering preseason All-America honors from D1Baseball.

Gaeckle earned second-team recognition, while Root secured third-team praise. Arkansas is one of 10 schools with multiple D1Baseball preseason All-Americans, and one of five schools with multiple preseason All-America pitchers.

Gaeckle, already named the preseason SEC Pitcher of the Year by Baseball America and a preseason All-American by Perfect Game, enters 2025 looking to build upon his historic rookie campaign in which he was named a unanimous first-team Freshman All-American after emerging as the Hogs’ most dependable bullpen arm. The Aptos, Calif., native made 22 relief appearances, posting a 3-3 record with a 2.32 ERA, 57 strikeouts and a team-leading seven saves in 42.2 innings of work to become the fifth Arkansas freshman pitcher since 2003 to record five or more saves in a season.

Root, also named a preseason All-American by Perfect Game, went 6-2 with a 3.56 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 68.1 innings across 13 appearances, including 12 starts, on the mound during his stellar sophomore campaign at ECU, earning a spot on the midseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Award. The Fort Myers, Fla., native recorded four quality starts on the year, punctuated by a career-best 10-strikeout performance against Cal State Fullerton (March 2, 2024).

The Hogs, ranked No. 5 in D1Baseball’s preseason top 25, open the year with a four-game series against Washington State on Feb. 14-17 at Baum-Walker Stadium. Arkansas, the winningest program in the country since 2017 with 333 total victories, is one of only two schools in the country to win 40 or more games in each of the last seven full seasons.

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