(October 7, 2025) Mena, Arkansas – UA Rich Mountain & Bucks Baseball will compete in the first Natural State JUCO Showcase this coming weekend at Dickey-Stephens Ballpark in North Little Rock. The showcase will feature all 9 NJCAA institutions that compete in baseball from the state of Arkansas. Dickey-Stephens Park is home of the Arkansas Travelers, who is the MLB AA affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.
The Natural State Showcase idea came from former UA Rich Mountain, then Rich Mountain Community College, Vice-President Dr. Steve Rook. Dr. Rook is now the Chancellor at ASU Three Rivers in Malvern, AR. This is a great chance to showcase the student-athletes from the 9 institutions at one of the best baseball venues in the state of Arkansas, thanks to the sponsoring partnership of the Arkansas Department of Education (ADHE) and the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery.
The format of the Natural State Showcase will feature each team playing a doubleheader on one day, October 10th – 11th, at CHI St. Vincent Field at Dickey-Stephens Park. The Bucks are scheduled to play on Friday, October 10th, at 11:30 am versus Southeast Arkansas College and again at 2 pm against South Arkansas College.
Head Baseball Coach Peyton Traywick is excited about the event to continue to help his student-athletes get recruited beyond their time at UA Rich Mountain, but he is also returning to a place where he once worked as a college student. "This is another great chance for us to showcase our athletes in front of NCAA DI and DII coaches, but this time at one of the best baseball venues the state has to offer. This weekend concludes the NCAA DI Baseball Contact Period, so it's the last chance for our current players to be seen in person until the spring. Dickey-Stephens is a special place with a lot of baseball history. It will be great for our student-athletes to play on the same field as those who are now playing Major League Baseball."
UARM Athletic Director Jerod McCormick is coordinating the baseball aspects of the showcase. He also serves as the Region 2 Men's Director and Sport Information Director. Region 2 consist of junior colleges in Arkansas & Oklahoma. "This is a great opportunity to show that we have really good junior college athletics in the state of Arkansas. Some of these athletes will move on to the Division I level. While this is a baseball event, we are continuing to market our student-athletes, institutions, & teams from all our athletic programs. We've had numerous student-athletes move on to the NCAA DI level in the last 5 years in cross country, soccer, baseball, & softball, with one former UARM Baseball athlete signing a professional baseball contract with the Houston Astros."
UA Rich Mountain Chancellor Dr. Phillip Wilson added, "I'd like to thank Dr. Steve Rook for his vision, leadership, and coordination of the event. Also a big 'Thank You' goes out to ADHE and the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery for sponsoring this event to make it possible for the showcase to be held at Dickey-Stephens Park. We are continuing to push to get our student-athletes in front of bigger markets within the State, and this is a great step forward in doing so."
Admissions for the event is $5 per person at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock. Tickets can be purchase at https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2new/team.asp?sponsorid=19383. Dickey-Stephens Park does have a clear bag policy that will be enforced at the gate.
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