Dave van Horn

Playing career

Dave Van Horn played baseball at McLennan Community College in Texas for two years, earning all-conference and all-region honors as a freshman, while helping the Highlanders finish third in the NJCAA College World Series. His next season brought more individual and team success, as the team finished eighth in the nation and Van Horn earning All American and Region 5 Player of the Year accolades. Turning down the Chicago White Sox, who drafted him, he transferred to Arkansas for the 1982 season.

As a Razorback, Van Horn would earn All-Southwest Conference and SWC Newcomer of the Year awards for his performance. He was also recognized as team MVP. The Atlanta Braves selected van Horn in the 10th round, where he would spend his next three years in the minor leagues.

Family

Coach Van Horn met his wife, the former Karen Lee, while serving as a graduate assistant at Arkansas. The couple have two daughters, Hollan and Mariel.

Alma mater

Team accomplishments

Dave Van Horn's teams have had plenty of success, reaching the College World Series six times, four occurring at Arkansas (2004, 2009, 2012, 2015), the other two during his tenure at Nebraska (2001 and 2002). As a graduate assistant at Arkansas he has reached the CWS twice more, in 1985 and 1987. Coach Van Horn also led 17 straight teams to the NCAA tournament, from 1999–2015.

Arkansas reached the SEC Tournament every year under Van Horn as head coach from 2003–2007 and again in 2009. The 2008 team did not qualify for the SEC Tournament but qualified for the NCAA Tournament.

On April 5, 2015, Van Horn won his 500th game as the Arkansas coach.

2009

Arkansas went 34-22 in 2009, and set University records for single-game attendance (11,434) total season attendance, (269,216) and actual attendance (173,946). Despite beating #1 Arizona State twice, the Hogs faltered at the end of the season, losing their final eight SEC games.

2009 College World Series

Arkansas returned to Omaha in 2009. The team won the Norman regional by knocking off top-eight seed Oklahoma. The Hogs next defeated Florida State twice at Dick Howser Stadium to punch their ticket to the College World Series. The Razorbacks were not expected to do well at the Series, but defeated the favored Cal State Fullerton Titans. Next, the Hogs were defeated by LSU, but staved off elimination the next day by beating Virginia in twelve innings. The Hogs were eliminated by eventual national champion LSU in game 11.

2012

Arkansas went 46-22 in 2012, which was the most wins in the Van Horn era and the most for a Razorback team since 1990, but limped into the postseason at the Houston Regional having lost both games it played at the SEC Tournament. Once it got in, it defeated Rice and then defeated Baylor at the Waco Regional to advance to the College World Series.

2012 College World Series

Arkansas won its first game in Omaha, defeating Kent State 8-1. The Razorbacks then ended South Carolina's 22-game postseason win streak with a 2-1 victory. The Gamecocks got them back though, winning 2-0 and 3-2 in the next two games to advance to the final, only to lose to upstart Arizona in the best-of-three championship series.

2015

After an extremely slow start to the 2015 campaign, where the Razorbacks were .500 going into April, Van Horn rallied the troops and the team responded by winning seven of its last eight SEC series and finished fifth overall in the SEC, and third in the West behind No. 2 national seed LSU and Texas A&M. Arkansas won the Stillwater Regional by defeating Oral Roberts, host Oklahoma State and St. John's in succession. The Razorbacks then caught a break by getting to host the Fayetteville Super Regional at Baum Stadium because Missouri State, the No. 8 national seed, couldn't host because it shares Hammons Field with the Springfield Cardinals. It took all three games of the best-of-3 series, but Arkansas defeated the Bears to clinch Van Horn's sixth trip to Omaha overall and fourth with the Razorbacks, tying him with former coach Norm DeBriyn.

2015 College World Series

Arkansas lost both games it played in Omaha in 2015, which was the first time since 2004 that the Razorbacks did not win a game there. They fell to Virginia in the CWS opener, 5-3, and then fell to Miami in an elimination game, 4-3.