Tag: Dave Van Horn

Perhaps the circumstances have more to do with the timing, but the future of Arkansas baseball has spent a lot more on mind than Arkansas football did in the fall or Arkansas basketball did pre-John Calipari.

The Razorbacks’ football and basketball programs are not on the level of Arkansas baseball. Neither are as year-in, year-out competitive as baseball has been under coach Dave Van Horn. What he has done with the Diamond Hogs in his 20-plus years is (baseball) godlike.

It’s awfully dismaying, then, to see the same band of n’er-do-wells come after Van Horn as they went after Eric Musselman and as they have gone after (and will go after) Sam Pittman. Remarking that it’s time for the university to move on or it’s time for Van Horn to call it a career.

Bollocks, as they say across the pond.

Norm DeBriyn brought Arkansas baseball into consideration, going to four College World Series from 1979 to 1989 then another six NCAA Tournaments until he exited in 2002. Van Horn has been to Omaha six times since 2004 with one appearance in the national championships, heights never before seen in Fayetteville.

There are no signs of slowing, either. Arkansas consistently earns top-5 recruiting classes when it comes to freshmen and the transfer portal has been kind to the Razorbacks, too, in its short usage. Barring offseason exodus, Arkansas will be a top-25 team in the preseason again next academic year and is very likely to be even higher than that, par standard.

The national championship remains elusive. No doubt about that. But go ask Florida State fans if they wished Mike Martin would have been shown the door. He never won a title in Tallahassee and is considered one of the 10 best coaches the game has ever seen.

Sure, Van Horn might say he’s had enough. He has grandchildren and family and the intricacies of the transfer portal, NIL and the NCAA are so nebulous that they could drive any coach wacky. Nothing Van Horn has said or done suggests that will be the case, though, and it’s more people talking.

If it happens, sadness will overtake Razorbacks Nation, a sadness greater than the one that has manifest itself since late November when the disappointment of Arkansas athletics 2023-24 began.

Don’t be so hasty, haters.

This one was ugly, but the Hogs have a long season to go.

Arkansas lost its first game of the season to James Madison, 7-3, on Sunday. The game marked the first time in over 20 years that the Dukes pulled off a win against a Top-10 opponent.

Aside from a promising first inning, the Razorbacks floundered one good opportunity after another over the next eight innings. Arkansas finished with 10 hits, six walks, and a hit batter, but only scored three runs. Nearly every inning ended with runners stranded on base.

Pitching was still excellent for the Hogs, despite a four-run, seventh implosion that happened to be the difference in the game. Even then, freshman Gabe Gaeckle—the pitcher that allowed three of the four runs—showed flashes of dominance, throwing just 22 pitches against seven batters in innings five and six.

But let’s give credit where it’s due; JMU’s Joe Vogatsky pitched a great game. The Warrenton, Virginia, native was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 14th round last year but decided to stay at the collegiate level for one more year. Vogatsky pitched 4 1/3 innings with a stat line of four strikeouts, three walks and one earned run.

Coach Dave Van Horn’s Razorbacks tend to be anemic at the plate following big performances, such as yesterday’s dominant 15-5 win over the Dukes. Hitting production comes and goes, but the Hogs have one of the deepest pitching staffs in the nation. It should be enough to pull the Hogs out of sticky situations the rest of the season.

The Razorbacks have a chance to take the series vs JMU in their final game tomorrow. The first pitch is scheduled for Monday, February 19 at noon.