Helfrick, Dietz Recognized as All-Americans by Baseball America
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas’ Ryder Helfrick and Hunter Dietz have been named All-Americans by Baseball America.
Helfrick, who earned third-team honors at catcher, is the 42nd All-America selection in program history and 43rd overall All-America honoree in the Dave Van Horn era (2003-pres.) as well as the 13th hitter to garner an All-America accolade under the leadership of hitting coach Nate Thompson (2018-pres.). Dietz, meanwhile, secured third-team recognition as a starting pitcher from the publication, collecting his third All-America accolade of the postseason.
The Razorbacks’ SEC All-Defensive catcher, Helfrick graded out as college baseball’s best defender this season, leading the nation in defensive runs saved (27.00), framing runs saved (24.49), and defensive wins above replacement (1.99). A semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy, Helfrick slashed .283/.417/.562 with 18 home runs and 53 RBI while leading the Hogs in walks with 55, fourth on the program’s single-season top 10 list, across 62 games.
Helfrick is just the third Arkansas catcher in program history as well as the first catcher in the Van Horn era to achieve All-America status, joining Ronn Reynolds (1979) and Andy Skeels (1987) in elite company.
Dietz blossomed into Arkansas’ ace and one of the top pitchers in all of college baseball after injury-plagued seasons as a true freshman and redshirt freshman in 2024 and 2025, respectively. The left-hander, a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy, finished the campaign with a 7-4 record, 3.57 ERA and a team-leading 131 strikeouts, including an SEC-best 47 strikeouts looking, in 85.2 innings over 16 starts on the mound for the Hogs.
The Trinity, Florida, native, who earned All-SEC honors from the league’s 16 head coaches, turned in an SEC-leading nine quality starts on the year and was the first SEC pitcher to eclipse the 100-strikeout mark for the season. With his 131 strikeouts, Dietz finished his breakout year fourth on the program’s single-season top 10 list for strikeouts by a pitcher.
Helfrick and Dietz are two of four Razorbacks to pick up All-America recognition this postseason. Camden Kozeal was named an All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Perfect Game, while Ethan McElvain was named an All-American by the NCBWA and American Baseball Coaches Writers Association/Rawlings.
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