Dave Van Horn, the three-time SEC Coach of the Year, completed his 22nd season at the helm of the Arkansas baseball program in 2024.
Over his 22 seasons as Head Hog, Van Horn has elevated Arkansas into one of the nation’s premier programs. Van Horn, the second-winningest coach in Arkansas baseball history, has led the Razorbacks to seven College World Series appearances, including a runner-up finish (2018) and four top-five finishes (2009, 2012, 2018, 2022), 20 NCAA Tournament berths, three SEC overall titles, eight SEC Western Division championships, one SEC Tournament title and 883 overall wins, including 353 SEC victories. Van Horn, whose 1,468 career wins are the most among all active Division I head coaches, is one of only five head coaches in college baseball history with 300 or more SEC wins in their career.
Since returning to his alma mater to take over for retiring legendary Arkansas head baseball coach Norm DeBriyn, Van Horn has produced nationally competitive teams and developed elite-level student-athletes on and off the field, including two Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy winners in outfielder Andrew Benintendi (2015) and pitcher Kevin Kopps (2021), as well as numerous All-Americans, All-SEC performers and future professional baseball players. Under Van Horn’s guidance, 35 Razorbacks have earned All-America honors, 52 have garnered All-SEC recognition and 136 have heard their names called in the Major League Baseball draft.
The highly decorated coach has received numerous individual and team honors throughout his 35-year coaching resume, beginning at Texarkana Community College through the present. Individually, he has been named national coach of the year twice, regional coach of the year three times and conference coach of the year six times. His teams have made nine College World Series appearances, won seven outright conference championships, a Division II National Championship and made 23 trips to the NCAA Tournament in the last 26 years. Van Horn is one of only 11 coaches in NCAA history to lead two programs to the College World Series.
Entering the 2024 season, Van Horn is one of only 10 head coaches, and one of only five SEC head coaches along with Pat McMahon (Mississippi State & Florida), Paul Mainieri (Notre Dame & LSU), Jim Schlossnagle (TCU & Texas A&M) and Jay Johnson (Arizona & LSU), in NCAA history to lead two different programs to the College World Series. Not resting on his laurels, Van Horn has kept his competitive juices flowing as he seeks to bring a national championship to his alma mater.
One of the things that Van Horn is known for is recruiting fundamental players and molding them into the stars of tomorrow. In 2003, his first full season at Arkansas, only four Hogs were taken in the MLB draft. That number has grown significantly over the years, with a school-record 11 players being drafted in the 2013 MLB Draft.
Six former Arkansas stars under Van Horn — Nick Schmidt (2007), Logan Forsythe (2008), Zack Cox (2010), Ryne Stanek (2013), Benintendi (2015) and Heston Kjerstad (2020) — have been selected in the first round of the MLB draft. 59 of his players have been picked in the first 10 rounds since he took over at the helm, with Jaxon Wiggins (2nd-C round, Chicago Cubs), Hunter Hollan (3rd round, Cincinnati Reds), Tavian Josenberger (3rd round, Baltimore Orioles), Jace Bohrofen (6th round, Toronto Blue Jays) and Jared Wegner (9th round, New York Yankees) most recently hearing their names called in the first 10 rounds of the 2023 MLB Draft.
Sixty-five total former Razorbacks have played in the MLB, including 23 former standouts under Van Horn such as 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel and All-Stars Benintendi and James McCann. Three former Van Horn pupils — Isaiah Campbell (Seattle Mariners), Dominic Fletcher (Arizona Diamondbacks) and Kjerstad (Baltimore Orioles) — made their MLB debuts in 2023.
There were 13 former Hogs on an MLB roster in 2023, including Brian Anderson (Milwaukee Brewers), Jalen Beeks (Tampa Bay Rays), Benintendi (Chicago White Sox), Campbell (Seattle Mariners), Fletcher (Arizona Diamondbacks), Zach Jackson (Oakland Athletics), Keuchel (Minnesota Twins), Kjerstad (Baltimore Orioles), McCann (Baltimore Orioles), Matt Reynolds (Cincinnati Reds), Drew Smyly (Chicago Cubs), Stanek (Houston Astros) and Trevor Stephan (Cleveland Guardians). All 13 played under Van Horn during their time as Razorbacks.
After Smyly hoisted the Commissioner’s Trophy with the Atlanta Braves in 2021, Stanek became the sixth former Razorback, and the fourth Razorback to have played for Van Horn, to win an MLB title when he and the Houston Astros were crowned champions in 2022. Stanek joined Dick Hughes (St. Louis Cardinals, 1967), Eric Hinske (Boston Red Sox, 2007/New York Yankees, 2009), Keuchel (Houston Astros, 2017), Benintendi (Boston Red Sox, 2018) and Smyly (Atlanta Braves, 2021) as former Razorbacks with a World Series ring.
Van Horn has been successful from the moment he took over the program from DeBriyn in 2003. During his first season as Head Hog, Van Horn guided his inaugural squad to both the SEC and NCAA tournaments. His Razorbacks were ranked in all four major baseball polls throughout the year and picked up series wins at No. 6 South Carolina and No. 5 Auburn.
In 2023, Van Horn’s 21st and most recent season at the helm, the Razorbacks posted a 43-18 overall record, claiming their fourth overall SEC championship and their second in the last three seasons. The Hogs hit 92 home runs during the historic campaign, tying for fourth-most in a season in program history. Arkansas also became the only SEC program, and one of just two teams in the country along with Southern Miss, to record 40 or more victories in each of the last six full seasons.
The success of the program as well as Van Horn’s no-nonsense approach has endeared him to the Razorback faithful. The Arkansas fan base has grown steadily since Van Horn was given the reins to the program, and three renovations have been completed at Baum-Walker Stadium since his arrival to accommodate the rapid growth. The best college ballpark in America has grown with the addition of nearly 5,000 chair back seats, 32 luxury boxes and the construction of the JB and Johnelle Hunt Family Baseball Development Center, which opened in 2022. Prior to the 2016 season, a 71-by-25 square foot videoboard, one of the largest in the country, was installed to dramatically improve the in-game experience.
In 2023, Baum-Walker Stadium drew a record 370,940 total fans over 38 home dates, marking the 20th straight year that Arkansas ranked in the top five in the nation in attendance. The season before, the Hogs led the country in both total (363,153) and average attendance (10,376). 2022 was the second time in school history that Arkansas led the nation in both categories, also accomplishing the feat in 2007.
Baum-Walker Stadium was filled to the brim throughout the 2022 campaign for good reason. Arkansas posted a 46-21 overall record in 2022, highlighted by the program’s 11th trip to the College World Series and its third trip to Omaha since the 2018 season. At the time, the Razorbacks were the only team in the country with at least 45 wins in each of the last five full seasons.
In 2021, Arkansas won 50 games for only the fourth time in program history, claiming its first SEC overall title since 2004 and its first outright SEC crown since 1999. The Razorbacks became only the second team since the SEC expanded to 30 games to win all 10 of their conference series. Arkansas capped its regular-season SEC championship with the program’s first SEC Tournament championship, becoming only the third SEC team since league play expanded in 2012 to win both the regular season and tournament championship in the same season.
Kopps put together one of the most spectacular seasons in college baseball history under Van Horn’s watch in 2021, winning both the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy after posting a 12-1 record with 11 saves and logging a school-record and nation-best 0.90 ERA. Kopps struck out 131 batters, third-most for a single season in school history, while walking just 18 and allowing only nine runs all year.
The Razorbacks were on their way to another strong showing in 2020, posting an 11-5 record before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Arkansas started the season on a 7-0 run, sweeping its first two opponents over the first two weeks of play. Van Horn had arguably the best hitter in college baseball in 2020 in Kjerstad, who led the team in seven offensive categories while also leading the SEC in hits (30), total bases (53) and slugging percentage (.791).
Kjerstad, recognized as the SEC’s best hitter by D1Baseball following the shortened season, was ultimately selected by the Baltimore Orioles with the second overall pick of the 2020 MLB Draft, becoming the Razorbacks’ highest draft pick since Jeff King was taken first overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1986 MLB Draft.
In 2019, Van Horn’s Hogs put together another stellar campaign, ending in a 46-20 overall record with a whopping 33 wins coming at Baum-Walker Stadium. The Razorbacks went 20-10 in conference action, claiming a share of the SEC West Division title and the No. 2 overall seed in the SEC Tournament. Arkansas was selected as one of eight national seeds to host throughout the NCAA Regionals and NCAA Super Regionals, slotted at fifth for the second consecutive season.
It was the eighth time that Baum-Walker Stadium was chosen as a postseason host site, and the first time in program history to be selected in three straight seasons.
The Razorbacks blew through regional action with a win over Central Connecticut, followed by a pair of victories over TCU for a sweep of opening weekend of postseason play. Arkansas faced a familiar foe in the Super Regional round, taking on Ole Miss in Fayetteville, rolling in game one, 11-2. After falling in game two, the Razorbacks pounced on the Rebels early in the winner-take-all game three, finishing off Ole Miss to clinch a berth to the College World Series.
Van Horn made his eighth overall appearance in Omaha, his sixth with the Hogs, to give Arkansas its 10th trip in its illustrious history. It was the first time Arkansas had made the College World Series in back-to-back years.
The 2019 squad was led by a program-high nine All-SEC honorees, with six earning second-team honors — Trevor Ezell (1B), Casey Martin (SS), Fletcher (OF), Kjerstad (OF), Matt Goodheart (DH), Cronin (RP) — and three earning all-freshman praise — Patrick Wicklander (SP), Connor Noland (SP), Christian Franklin (OF). Campbell (SP), meanwhile, was a consensus All-American, earning first-team honors from the ABCA to go with his five second-team accolades.
The 2018 season was one of Van Horn’s best as the Razorback skipper, winning 48 games and reaching the College World Series finals for the first time in his career and for the second time in program history (1979). The 48 wins was, at the time, the most for any Van Horn-led team in Arkansas history, and the Hogs made a near-impeccable run through the NCAA Tournament. The Razorbacks, the No. 5 overall seed, went a perfect 3-0 in the NCAA Fayetteville Regional, defeating Oral Roberts, Southern Miss, and Dallas Baptist to reach their seventh Super Regional in school history. The Hogs went on to secure a spot in Omaha for the ninth time in school history, winning a three-game series against SEC-foe South Carolina.
In Omaha, Arkansas barreled through the winner’s bracket, defeating Texas, Texas Tech and defending national-champion Florida for a spot in the finals. Arkansas won the first game of the finals against Oregon State, but the Beavers came out on top in games two and three. Nonetheless, the state of Arkansas was well-represented on the national stage as the Razorbacks became one of only 13 teams with five or more College World Series appearances since the year 2000.
Seven different Razorbacks earned either All-America or All-SEC status at the end of the season, including infielder Carson Shaddy, who was named a third-team All-American by D1Baseball and garnered first-team All-SEC accolades. Pitcher Blaine Knight was named a first-team All-American by D1Baseball and second-team All-American by the NCBWA. Kjerstad and Martin both turned in one of the best seasons by a freshman duo in the nation as they were named consensus All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball, the NCBWA, and D1Baseball.
Along with the numerous postseason honors, Kjerstad was named the SEC Freshman of the Year after hitting .332 over 69 games with an Arkansas freshman record 87 hits, 14 home runs, and 145 total bases. Martin turned in nearly identical numbers, leading the team with a .345 average over 67 games and matching Kjerstad with 87 hits of his own. He hit 13 home runs and drove in 49 RBI while stealing eight bases.
A year after missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since becoming head coach at Arkansas, Van Horn was determined to not only right the ship in 2017 but return to the high level of success that the Razorbacks have enjoyed for decades.
A 19-game turnaround translated to a 45-win season for the Razorbacks, their seventh 40-win season in the last 10 years. Arkansas also hosted an NCAA Regional for the first time since 2010, reaching the final game against Missouri State in what was the sixth regional ever played at Baum Stadium.
A pivotal part of the season that led to that regional host came in the final month at the SEC Tournament. After multiple delays led to Arkansas not even playing its first game until two days after the scheduled date, the Hogs battled back from a first round loss to Mississippi State to run the table and reach the tournament final for the first time since 2007 and fourth time in school history.
The tournament turned out to be the Chad Spanberger show as he earned tournament MVP honors with a pair of multi-home run games and a pair of SEC Tournament single-game records for home runs (three vs. Auburn) and runs batted in (seven vs. Auburn). In the five games of the tournament, Spanberger led all players with 10 runs batted in, three doubles, five home runs, and 26 total bases.
Arkansas led all SEC teams during the season and finished tied for ninth in the nation with 83 home runs. Spanberger led the team with 20 home runs, good for second in the SEC and ninth in the nation. He was just the sixth player in program history to hit 20 or more home runs in a single season.
Across the board, Arkansas’ hitters were among the best in the country in 2017. Joining Spanberger, Grant Koch (13), and Fletcher (12) also hit 10 or more home runs making Arkansas one of two teams in the SEC to have three players with 10 or more home runs. For Fletcher, his 12 home runs were just one less than the Arkansas freshman record for home runs in a season as he not only earned an SEC All-Freshman Team nod but was also named a Freshman All-American by the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Baseball America.
With the monstrous final month performance by Spanberger, he joined five other Razorbacks that were drafted in the 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Stephan (3rd round, New York Yankees) led the class, followed by Spanberger (6th round, Colorado Rockies), Cannon Chadwick (9th round, New York Mets), Dominic Taccolini (10th round, San Diego Padres), Knight (29th round, Texas Rangers), and Josh Alberius (36th round, Miami Marlins). Knight opted to return for his junior season.
The 2015 season might have been one of the most memorable in Razorback history. Arkansas rebounded from a 15-15 record on April 4 to win 18 of their final 25 regular season games and surge into postseason play. After going 2-2 in the SEC Tournament, the Razorbacks became one of five teams in the country to advance to 14 consecutive NCAA tournaments, claiming the No. 2 seed in the Stillwater Regional hosted by Oklahoma State.
In one of Van Horn’s best coaching jobs of his lengthy career, the Razorbacks went 3-0 in the Stillwater Regional and came back home to host the second Super Regional in program history, knocking off Missouri State in three games for the most improbable College World Series appearance in Arkansas’ storied history. Van Horn made his sixth trip to Omaha, including his fourth as the Razorback skipper.
During the run to Omaha, Benintendi put together one of the finest seasons in Razorback history. Benintendi became the first Arkansas player to win the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the nation’s best amateur player. He also won the Dick Howser Trophy and was named Baseball America Player of the Year and Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year as the nation’s best collegiate player.
Benintendi became just the third player in SEC history to lead the league in home runs and batting average as he joined Rafael Palmeiro (Mississippi State, 1984) and Jeff Abbott (Kentucky, 1994) as the only players in conference history to accomplish the feat. He became the first player in school history to lead the nation in home runs (20) and became the first Division I player since 2009 to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases in one season.
His historic season was capped with his No. 7 overall selection by the Boston Red Sox in the 2015 MLB Draft, the highest a Razorback has been drafted since King went No. 1 overall to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1986 MLB Draft.
The 2015 Razorbacks finished 40-25, the sixth time in the past seven seasons that Arkansas won 40 or more games. Four players were selected in the MLB Draft, including Benintendi, and four Razorbacks earned conference honors. Benintendi was named the SEC Player of the Year while pitcher Zach Jackson was named First Team All-SEC, third baseman Bobby Wernes earned SEC All-Defensive Team honors and pitcher Keaton McKinney was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.
The Razorbacks finished 2015 at No. 2 in the country in average attendance for the third straight year with 8,290 fans per game. The 12,167 fans that attended the June 6 Super Regional game against Missouri State was the largest crowd in stadium history and the third-largest Super Regional crowd in NCAA history.
In 2014, Van Horn led Arkansas to its 13th consecutive NCAA Tournament, making the program one of seven teams in the country to advance to the NCAA Tournament each of the last 13 seasons. Arkansas surged into the SEC Tournament as the No. 7 seed after winning six of its final seven regular-season games. The Razorbacks made plenty of noise in Hoover, defeating Texas A&M in the opening round, before knocking off No. 10 Ole Miss twice and advancing to the semifinals against LSU.
Arkansas then received an at-large bid to the NCAA Charlottesville Regional as the No. 2 seed and defeated Liberty and Bucknell to advance to the program’s sixth-straight regional final, but the Razorbacks saw their season come to an end against Virginia, who finished as the National Runner-up in Omaha.
Arkansas continued to push its best talent to the next level following the season, as six players were taken in the 2014 MLB Draft, with five signing professional deals.
Following the 2014 season, Van Horn’s coaching duties were far from finished as he became the manager of the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. Leading the best collegiate players in the country against some of the top teams in the world, Van Horn and Team USA battled Chinese Taipei in a five-game series, Japan in a three-game set and made trips to The Netherlands and Cuba.
The squad finished with an overall record of 18-8-2 and captured the Haarlem-Honkbal Week Championship in The Netherlands after defeating Japan, 6-3, in the title game. It was the second time Van Horn donned the Stars and Stripes in his coaching career, as he served as an assistant coach on the Collegiate National Team in the summer of 2011.
Arkansas finished the 2013 season with a 39-22 record and an 18-11 mark in SEC play. The Hogs’ 18 wins in league play were the most since 2010, and Arkansas won seven of 10 conference series for the first time since the 2004 season. The Razorbacks reached the regional final of the NCAA Manhattan Regional.
After dropping the opening game to Bryant, Arkansas bounced back with victories over Wichita State and Bryant before falling to host school Kansas State in the regional championship. Following the season, Arkansas set a school record with 11 players taken in the 2013 MLB Draft. The 11 players drafted also was the most in the country, and 10 of those Razorback draftees went on to sign professional contracts.
For the third time in his Arkansas tenure, Van Horn guided the Hogs to Omaha and the College World Series in 2012. Arkansas used a dominant pitching staff, timely hitting and strong defense to win the Houston Regional and Waco Super Regional to advance to the seventh College World Series in program history. The Razorbacks won their first two games of the College World Series and finished in a tie for third, equaling, what was at the time, the second-best finish to a season in school history.
Arkansas finished the season with a 46-22 record, which, at the time, was the most wins for Arkansas under Van Horn and the sixth-highest single-season win total in school history. The Hogs also won 40 games for the fourth straight season and for the 18th time in program history. Arkansas finished the season ranked in the top six in all four of the major college baseball polls, including a No. 3 national ranking in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, NCBWA poll and Collegiate Baseball poll.
Arkansas had a knack for winning the close games in 2012. The Razorbacks played 32 games decided by one or two runs and went 19-13 in those games. Arkansas was 14-9 in one-run games during the 2012 season and had a streak of seven straight one-run victories late in the season. Six of the Razorbacks’ seven wins in the NCAA Tournament were by one run, including a pair of 1-0 victories.
Van Horn reached a milestone as the Razorback head coach in 2012 as he earned his 400th win at Arkansas during UA’s NCAA Tournament run. Van Horn’s 400th win was a significant one as it came against Rice in the Houston Regional. The 1-0 victory over the eighth-ranked Owls put the Razorbacks in the driver’s seat of the regional, which they would eventually win with a 5-1 win over Sam Houston State.
In what many people saw as a rebuilding season in 2011, Van Horn guided the Hogs to the program’s fourth SEC Western Division championship and to the NCAA Tournament. After posting a 38-20 overall record through the SEC Tournament, Arkansas was sent to the NCAA Tempe Regional hosted by Arizona State.
After dropping its opening game of the regional, Arkansas rallied to reach the regional championship game before eventually falling to the Sun Devils. Arkansas finished the season with a 40-22 record and closed the season ranked in the top 25 of every major poll with an RPI of 14.
Van Horn led Arkansas to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth consecutive year in 2010. The Razorbacks also reached the Super Regional round in back-to-back years for the first time in program history. On the strength of a 40-18 record after the SEC Tournament, the Razorbacks were selected to host an NCAA Regional for the fifth time in school history.
Arkansas advanced to the Super Regionals with a 7-2 victory over Washington State in a winner-take-all regional championship game. In the Super Regionals, the Razorbacks went toe-to-toe with the tournament’s top seed, Arizona State, on its home field. Arkansas lost a pair of 12-inning heartbreakers to finish the season with a 43-21 overall record.
Van Horn achieved three coaching milestones during the 2010 regular season. The Razorback skipper picked up his 300th win at Arkansas on April 9 in an 8-3 win over Mississippi State. On Feb. 27 in a 10-8 win over Troy, Van Horn earned his 600th win as a Division I head coach. He recorded career win No. 900 on May 21 in a 4-3 victory at Vanderbilt.
For the second time in his Razorback coaching career, Van Horn and his team made the ultimate postseason push and collected the program’s sixth trip to Omaha for the 2009 College World Series. Rebounding from a late-season slump, Arkansas advanced to the semifinals of the SEC Baseball Tournament, before earning its eighth-consecutive berth into an NCAA Regional.
Supported by their fans, the Razorbacks hit the road and swept their way through the Norman Regional and Tallahassee Super Regional, besting Washington State and national seeds Oklahoma and Florida State along the way. In Omaha, Arkansas won two games and tied for a third-place national finish, equaling the 1985 team for, what was at the time, the second-best finish in program history.
The 2009 regular season had its share of highlights, too. The Hogs jumped out to an 8-0 start in SEC play for the first time in program history. The club achieved another first when Collegiate Baseball released its April 6 poll with Arkansas ranked No. 1, the first top ranking by any publication in program history.
Arizona State was also ranked No. 1 the same week in a different poll and were coming to Fayetteville for a pair of midweek games, marking the first No. 1 vs. No. 1 matchup at Baum Stadium. Arkansas solidified its top billing by knocking off the Sun Devils in both games.
In the finale against Arizona State, the Razorbacks drew a then-stadium-record 11,014 fans. That number is a significant reminder of the traditionally strong attendance figures for the Arkansas baseball team. In 2009, the Hogs finished No. 2 in national attendance with an average of 7,906 fans per game.
Hitting has been the focal point in some seasons, and pitching has dominated in others, but Van Horn knows that to accomplish the ultimate goal it takes a total team effort. In 2007, Arkansas won the program’s third SEC Western Division title, when they went 18-12 in league play. The Razorbacks were 43-21 overall, hosted their fourth NCAA Regional and finished the season No. 18 in the final Collegiate Baseball rankings.
That team was one of Van Horn’s best in terms of individual pitching prospects. Schmidt, a two-time first-team All-American, was taken by the San Diego Padres in the first round of the MLB Draft (No. 23 overall). Right-handers Jess Todd and Duke Welker were each taken in the second round by St. Louis and Pittsburgh, respectively. Todd also earned second-team All-America honors that year.
Schmidt’s success on the mound was a continuation of his 2006 season, when the lefty was named the SEC Pitcher of the Year by the league coaches. The Razorbacks went 39-21 that season and hosted another NCAA Regional.
A hot start to the 2005 season had the Razorbacks ranked as high as No. 5 nationally as they opened the year 20-2, but a rash of bad luck sidetracked what was shaping up to be a magical year. Despite the setbacks, the Hogs came just a breath away from pulling off one of the nation’s biggest upsets as it won its first two games at the NCAA Austin Regional. Arkansas would go all the way to the final game of the regional before losing to eventual national champion Texas.
Arkansas’ 2004 season was one for the history books as the Razorbacks won 45 games, shared the SEC regular-season title, hosted NCAA Regional and Super Regional games and made its fifth appearance at the College World Series. The following all came true despite the Razorbacks getting picked to finish last in the SEC’s Western Division by the league coaches.
Along the way, Arkansas won 19 SEC games, swept a weekend series in Baton Rouge, Louisiana against No. 2 LSU and dispatched a tough Florida State team in the Super Regional in two games. The Razorbacks’ sweep of LSU was the first time since 1988 that the Tigers had been swept at home by a conference opponent. The Razorbacks’ accomplishments led to a top 10 finish in all four major collegiate baseball polls, including a No. 6 ranking by Baseball America.
In 2003, Van Horn’s first season, Arkansas advanced to both the SEC and NCAA tournaments. The Hogs were ranked in all four major baseball polls throughout the year and picked up series wins at No. 6 South Carolina and No. 5 Auburn.
Head Coach, Nebraska (1998-2002)
Prior to taking the helm of the Arkansas program on June 21, 2002, Van Horn enjoyed a very successful five-year run as the head coach at Nebraska. In a short period of time, he built a once-fledgling program into a national powerhouse.
Before his arrival, the Cornhuskers had made just four postseason appearances in 108 years of baseball history. With their new skipper on the bench, Nebraska made four NCAA tournament appearances and two College World Series trips.
During his stint with Nebraska, Van Horn amassed a 214-92 (.699) record, won three consecutive Big 12 Tournament titles and earned Nebraska’s first regular-season conference title in 51 years. He was twice named the American Baseball Coaches Association’s Midwest Region Coach of the Year and posted back-to-back 50-win seasons in 2000 and 2001. In his second season at Nebraska, Van Horn guided his club to its first NCAA Tournament berth in 18 years after it won the Big 12 Tournament, its first title of any kind in nearly 50 years.
Similar to what he has done at Arkansas, Nebraska’s players shined with Van Horn at the helm. The Cornhuskers had at least one player named a finalist for national player of the year honors in three seasons, including a pair of Dick Howser Award finalists. Seven players were named first-team All-Americans and 26 earned All-Big 12 accolades, including a school-record nine in 2000. The Cornhuskers also excelled in the classroom with 30 Academic All-Big 12 selections (21 first teamers) and seven players named academic all-district.
Head Coach, Northwestern State (1995-97)
Prior to his move to Nebraska, Van Horn coached three seasons at Northwestern State, his first foray as a head coach at the Division I level. He went 106-65 (.620) in three seasons, winning two Southland Conference regular-season titles (1995 and 1997). Each title also earned him Southland Coach of the Year honors.
Head Coach, Central Missouri State (1994)
Van Horn spent one season at the Division II level as the head coach at Central Missouri State in 1994. Taking the reins of the program with just six weeks of preparation before the season, the Mules got off to a quick start by winning 12 of their first 13 games and eventually put together a 21-game winning streak.
Central Missouri State won the MIAA Conference Championship and the tournament title before eventually dominating at the NCAA Championships to win the school’s first national championship. In 2000, Central Missouri State honored Van Horn and his 1994 team by inducting them into the Central Missouri State Hall of Fame.
Head Coach, Texarkana Community College (1989-93)
The storied head coaching career of Van Horn began with a humble start at Texarkana (Texas) Community College. In five seasons with the Bulldogs, Van Horn guided Texarkana to a 214-72 (.748) record. He set records for single-season wins in four of his five seasons, beginning with his first, and guided his 1992 squad to the NJCAA Texas Eastern Conference Championships.
Graduate Assistant, Arkansas (1985-88)
Prior to his first stint as a head coach, Van Horn worked with the man he replaced at Arkansas, DeBriyn, for four seasons as a graduate assistant, assisting the Razorbacks to a pair of College World Series. Arkansas was 184-71-1 (.721) while he was a graduate assistant on DeBriyn’s staff, advancing to the NCAA Regionals in each of his four seasons.
Playing Career (1980-84)
Van Horn played two seasons at McLennan (Texas) Community College, earning All-America, Region 5 Player of the Year, all-conference and all-region honors during his time there. A standout defensive third baseman, Van Horn was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 10th round of the 1981 MLB draft but opted to transfer to Arkansas instead.
In his one year with the Razorbacks, Van Horn earned All-Southwest Conference honors as well as the team’s Most Valuable Player and SWC Newcomer of the Year accolades. Following his junior year, the Atlanta Braves selected Van Horn in the 10th round of the 1982 MLB Draft.
Van Horn spent three seasons in the Braves organization before returning to Fayetteville to begin his coaching career.
Personal
Van Horn is married to the former Karen Lee. The couple has two daughters, Hollan and Mariel.
