On January 8, Whole Hog Sports reported that Arkansas junior infielder Nolan Souza is officially cleared from a shoulder injury, which was deemed to be a torn labrum. He is ready to play baseball for the Razorbacks during the 2026 season.
Souza suffered this shoulder injury last season in a game against Georgia on April 11 while sliding into third base. Arkansas won that game 13-3 in Athens.
Souza and his Career with Arkansas
Despite missing a significant portion of the 2025 season, Souza has played good baseball when healthy.
In 2024, he was a part of the Southeastern Conference’s All-Freshman team with 28 hits. Half of his hits that season were doubles and home runs. He had seven doubles and seven home runs that season, which led to 28 RBI.
In 2025, before his injury, he had 24 hits, five doubles, four home runs, and 22 RBI.
Souza has also scored 45 runs himself and has stolen 12 bases during his first two seasons in Fayetteville.
Dave Van Horn Talks About Souza Before the 2026 Season
With Souza officially cleared to play, Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn talked about where he can play along the infield this upcoming season.
“He’s just got to get his arm back to play second,” Van Horn said to members of the media. “I don’t know if he’ll have enough arm this year to play short. I think if he didn’t get hurt, he might end up being our shortstop this year. We’ll see how that turns out.”
Arkansas to Begin 2026 Season in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown
The Arkansas Razorbacks will begin the 2026 season in Arlington, Texas, at Globe Life Field. This is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers.
They will play in the 2026 Shriners Children’s College Showdown. On February 13, they will begin the event playing the Oklahoma State Cowboys at 8 p.m. EST.
Then, on February 14, they will play the TCU Horned Frogs at 8 p.m. EST. Their final game of the event will be against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on February 15 at 3:30 p.m. EST.
NCAA news: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
PHOTO: Arkansas Nolan Souza (3) gets ready to hit against Washington State during an NCAA baseball game on Friday, Feb. 15, 2025, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)
