Arkansas Baseball: The All-90s Team

Arkansas moved from George Cole Field to Baum-Walker Stadium during the 1990s.

Arkansas Razorbacks baseball had a successful decade in the 1990s under Norm DeBriyn.

DeBriyn, who had been at the helm since 1970, led the Diamond Hogs to three straight trips to College World Series to end the 1980s. In the 1990s the success wasn’t quite the same, but the team did make five NCAA tournaments and won the SEC for the first time in 1999.

Despite some ups and downs, including a few seasons with losing records, the Razorbacks remained a competitive and respected program throughout the 1990s.

Their success laid the foundation for future achievements, including a national runner-up in 2018 under coach Dave Van Horn.

Arkansas Baseball: The All-80s Team

The 1980s laid the groundwork for what Arkansas baseball has become today. Here’s a look at the best Razorbacks from that important decade of baseball.

The rich history of [autotag]Arkansas baseball[/autotag] really didn’t start until the 1980s. Legendary Razorback head coach [autotag]Norm DeBriyn[/autotag] put the program on the map during this decade.

The program’s first trip to the College World Series happened in 1979, where they finished runner-up to Cal State Fullerton. That success carried over into the 1980 and ushered in a new era of Razorback baseball under DeBriyn.

During this decade, Arkansas would have seven NCAA Tournament appearances – 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989. They would advance to the College World Series in 1985, 1987 and 1989.

Arkansas was still in the Southwest Conference (SWC) back in those days and, ironically, have as many conference tournament championships from the SWC as they do since joining the SEC – one. The Razorbacks won the 1985 SWC Tournament championship and it was the program’s only conference tournament title until 2021.

The 1980s laid the foundation for what Arkansas baseball is today, and there were a lot of talented players that Norm DeBriyn counted on to accomplish that feat.

We took the best players from that decade and put together to form one fictional super-team. Here’s a look at Arkansas baseball’s All-80s team.

After Wednesday win, only six coaches have more wins than Arkansas’ Dave Van Horn

Arkansas baseball coach Dave Van Horn crossed the 1,100-win threshold at the Division I level Wednesday.

The legend of [autotag]Dave Van Horn[/autotag] is still growing.

Arkansas’ baseball coach, in his 28 seasons overall, including 20 with the Diamond Hogs, reached the 1,100-win mark in Division I with Wednesday’s win over Arkansas State.

Van Horn is 1,100-568 for his career at the NCAA’s highest level. Before Arkansas, he spent five seasons at the helm of Nebraska and three seasons before that at Northwestern State. Van Horn started his head coaching career at Central Missouri in 1994 where he won the 1994 Division II national title. Including there, Van Horn has 1,151 career NCAA wins.

Those 1,151 wins are 36th most in NCAA history and sixth-most among active coaches. John Anderson (Minnesota), Keith Guttin (Missouri State), Danny Hall (Georgia Tech), Gary Gilmore (Coastal Carolina) and Elliott Avent (North Carolina State) have also reached the 1,100-win mark at the Division I level.

Former Arkansas coach [autotag]Norm DeBriyn[/autotag] has 1,161 career wins. Eleven Arkansas wins this season would allow Van Horn to pass his mentor. The Diamond Hogs have 17 regular-season games remaining, plus the SEC Tournament and likely the NCAA Tournament.

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