Weekend success excites future Hog

Arkansas baseball signee, three-time state football champ and possible Razorback quarterback Austin Ledbetter of Bryant watched the recent College Baseball Showdown in Arlington, Texas, with a great deal of interest.

Ledbetter, who opens his senior diamond season today at Hot Springs Lakeside, watched Arkansas go 3-0 against Texas Tech, Texas and TCU at the Texas Rangers Globe Life Field.

Following in the footsteps of former Bryant players turned Razorbacks Blaine Knight and Evan Lee, Ledbetter committed to Arkansas as a freshman in high school and signed this past November.

"They (the Razorbacks) came in and did their thing," Ledbetter said. "They moved up in the rankings to where I think I saw them No. 2 today. That's really impressive to start off the year like that, but I am not surprised because we have a great program."

Former Arkansas Sticks summer baseball teammate Peyton Pallette fanned eight in his start against the Longhorns on Sunday night.

"I got to see Pallette pitch against Texas and he looked really good," Ledbetter said. "I'm proud of him. I played with him when we were younger and I am real excited about his progress.

"I also watched the game against TCU and they looked really good on the mound. The bullpen came in and really finished the job. They looked really good all weekend, but I am certainly not surprised."

Current Arkansas players Connor Noland, Blake Adams, Cason Tollett and Pallete are among the former Sticks teammates of Ledbetter as well as fellow 2021 signee Braylon Bishop.

"The Sticks organization that I have played for the last four years has done a great job sending guys to college," Ledbetter said. "Those guys are going to do big things. There are some of them that have got drafted in the second or third round these past few years.

"I am just blessed to be in the situation I am in and be able to play with these great players. They made me better and I tried to make them better."

Ledbetter, part of an Arkansas 2021 recruiting class that is ranked third nationally by Perfect Game, is anxious to get his high school season underway after not getting to play any games as a junior.

"I think it was three or four games we got to play (in 2020), but I was injured and didn't get to play in those games anyway," Ledbetter said.

"I have been practicing for about two months now. I am full force right now and we start our season on Thursday at Lakeside. I am looking forward to getting started.

"I will pitch and either play third or short. I might possibly catch due to some injuries we have, but that is just a situational thing."

Ledbetter, the cousin of former Razorback DJ Baxendale and someone who has touched 93 miles per hour on his fastball, thinks Bryant's baseball team has a chance to win a state title.

"I see a lot of grinders on the team and I see a lot of guys who just go after it, just a lot of blue collar guys," Ledbetter said. "We are real scrappy and we have a lot of arms. I think our pitching staff is probably the best in the state.

"We have two guys in basketball that are going to be a couple of our (pitching) dudes, a Three Rivers (Community College) commit, a Connors (Junior College) commit and a UALR (Arkansas-Little Rock) commit that is a junior that will be on the mound for us. We are going to be really strong on the mound and at the plate we have some bats that can go gap-to-gap and occasionally get one out of the yard."

Ledbetter passed for 6,420 yards, 84 touchdowns and only 14 interceptions over the past two seasons after taking over as the full-time starter at quarterback.

Bryant won the Class 7A state title this past December for a three-peat.

"It is hard to put one over the other," Ledbetter said. "Just as much hard work was put into each year. Each class came through and did a great job in buying in, just getting the job done and doing what we have done for the past three years."

Ledbetter is considering playing football for Arkansas in addition to baseball, but is delaying that decision.

"I have been really focused on this high school baseball season," Ledbetter said. "It (a decision) will probably happen or not happen after I get baseball season over."

The one certainty is that Ledbetter can't wait to be a Diamond Hog.

"I am excited to get there, I am excited to get to work and I am excited to progress," Ledbetter said. "I am excited all around for it."

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