Van Horn returns to Waco with UA
Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn may feel like he’s fallen into a Southwest Conference Hot Tub Time Machine.
Last weekend, his baseball team played at Rice in the NCAA Houston Regional, and the Razorbacks open super regional play today against Baylor in Waco, Texas.
Van Horn was an AllSWC second baseman for Arkansas in 1982 and graduate assistant coach in 19851988 when the Razorbacks were in the same conference as Rice and Baylor. He also faced Baylor in the Big 12 Conference as Nebraska’s coach and began his head coaching career in Texas at Texarkana Community College in 1989. “I don’t need a map too much when I’m driving around the state of Texas,” Van Horn said. “I can get where I need to go. I’m comfortable there. Hopefully, the players will feel comfortable and we’ll play well.”
Van Horn is especially familiar with Waco, where
he played at McLennan Junior College for two years before signing with the Razorbacks.
Arkansas was traveling to the 1981 SWC Tournament in College Station, Texas, when the team bus stopped at a McDonald’s in Waco so Coach Norm DeBriyn could talk with Van Horn, who had narrowed his recruiting choices to the Razorbacks and Texas A&M.
“We were worried we were going to lose him to A&M because we had a field and they had a stadium,” said DeBriyn, Arkansas’ coach for 33 seasons (1970-2002) who is now an associate director with the Razorback Foundation. “We really wanted him to sign when we met him in Waco, but he wasn’t sure.”
Van Horn said he thought he’d be meeting with the Arkansas coaching staff that day, but the entire team got off the bus and surrounded the table where he was sitting.
It wasn’t the most comfortable situation for Van Horn.
“Our chemistry on that team wasn’t the best,” DeBriyn said. “We had some talent, but I don’t think I did a very good job of keeping them with the proper outlook on everything.
“I think as our bus pulled away that day, some of our players were hollering out of the window, ‘Don’t come to Arkansas!’ ”
Van Horn said it was a crazy scene.
“There were a couple smart-alecks in the group,” Van Horn said. “I still showed up, though, didn’t I? I must have wanted to be here.”
Van Horn batted .367 with 33 RBI for the 1982 Razorbacks, who finished 40-15-2.
“Dave was a great competitor, and he could really handle the bat,” DeBriyn said. “He’d fake a bunt to get the field moving around, then pull the bat back and drive the ball through. You could hit-and-run with him or squeeze bunt.
“Defensively, he had sure hands, good feet, and he was always in good position.”
Van Horn played at Arkansas just one season before signing with the Atlanta Braves as a 10th-round pick. After two years playing in the minor leagues, he returned to Arkansas to finish his degree and begin a coaching career.
As DeBriyn’s successor, Van Horn has led Arkansas to a 401-220 record and 10 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and four super regionals.
“There’s no question Dave’s taken the program to another level with the fan support we’ve got now,” DeBriyn said. “He’s gotten it to the point where he has to keep feeding the monster.”