For Arkansas baseball coach Dave Van Horn, success started in KC
Freddie Patek and Frank White up the middle, John Mayberry at first, Amos Otis and Al Cowens in the outfield and George Brett as “the coolest thing ever.”
Such are the fond memories of Dave Van Horn, a Royals and Chiefs fan growing up in Kansas City in the 1970s, now Arkansas baseball's head coach.
“I can’t always remember my own players, but I can go through all those Royals,” Van Horn joked.
The Razorbacks have reached the College World Series final for the second time in school history and seek the program’s first NCAA baseball title. They take on Oregon State in a best of three series that begins Monday.
For Van Horn, it’s the pinnacle of a coaching career that started in the junior college ranks and continued with an NCAA Division II championship during his only season at Central Missouri, in 1994.
From there, he moved to Northwestern State and three years later took over at Nebraska, turning an also-ran Big 12 program into a College World Series participant in 2001 and 2002.
Arkansas, his alma mater, called after the 2002 season.
“There was only one place where I would go,” Van Horn said.
Success followed him to Fayetteville, Ark. Van Horn’s teams have held their own in the rugged SEC, playing in the NCAA Tournament 15 of his 16 years. This is his fifth College World Series as the Arkansas coach.
When the Razorbacks defeated top-seeded and defending national champion Florida on Friday behind a strong start from pitcher Isaiah Campbell of Olathe, they remained undefeated in the tournament. Arkansas has its starting pitching in place with a well-rested bullpen.
This is heady stuff for Van Horn, 57, a former three-sport star at two high schools, Grandview and as a senior at Winnetonka. He considered playing baseball at Missouri, but mostly he wanted to continue in a warm weather climate. Van Horn became an All-America at McLennan (Texas) Community College and then an all-conference infielder at Arkansas. He was drafted by the Braves and spent three years in the system before starting his coaching career.
Van Horn cashes in on his Kansas City connections to land recruits like Campbell from Olathe South and Ryne Stanek, the former Blue Valley High pitcher who made his major league debut last season, and he has seen an area talent pool grow deeper.
“Baseball in Kansas City has gotten much better over the years,” Van Horn said. “We used to go to St. Louis because that’s where all the players were. The last 10 to 15 years, I’m telling you, Kansas City has made a huge jump on both sides of the state lines. Kids are getting drafted and universities are fighting over them.”
Campbell could get a start in the final series, which matches teams that took different routes. Oregon State dropped its first game and battled back through the loser’s bracket, winning four straight elimination games.
Both teams are strong offensively. Oregon State ranks third in nation with a .323 team batting average. The Razorbacks are tied for third in home runs with 98.
Fan support is one area where Arkansas should have an edge. Van Horn hasn’t noticed a grudge from Nebraska fans, who have had plenty of opportunities to greet him at the College World Series.
“When we came here in 2004, I didn’t know what to expect,” Van Horn said. “I didn’t know if they were still mad at me for leaving because it was just a couple of years.”
With each visit, the reception has been warmer, Van Horn said. Also, the Arkansas campus is only about 400 miles from Omaha, with the highways slicing though Kansas City. Depending on the route, the drive could run past the shadow of the Truman Sports Complex and the teams of Van Horn’s youth.
This story was originally published June 24, 2018 at 2:39 PM with the headline "For Arkansas baseball coach Dave Van Horn, success started in KC."