All-name team for Dave Van Horn era at Arkansas
Over Dave Van Horn’s 21 seasons with Arkansas, he has had some interesting names walk through his program, some staying longer than others.
Without wasting much time, here’s the all-name team for the Van Horn era in Fayetteville, decided based solely on name and not their statistics.
First Base: Haas Pratt (2003-2004)
A Rancho Bernardo, California, native, Pratt spent two seasons with the Razorbacks after two seasons with the Miami Hurricanes and played in 124 games. He batted .310 in his career and until 2018 held the record for most games played in a season with 68 (tied with Casey Rowlett). In April of 2004, Pratt hit .351 with 27 hits, nine doubles and 21 RBIs to spark Arkansas’ run to the College World Series. Pratt was drafted in 2004 by the Oakland Athletics in the 30th round.
Backup: Willie Schwanke (2013)
Second Base: Ben Tschepikow (2005-2009)
Tschepikow was a hometown recruit from Fayetteville High School and he spent five seasons with the Razorbacks. He played four seasons in full with his 2006 season being cut short by a back injury. Tschepikow batted .302 in his career and led the team in doubles in 2008 with 15. He had a decorated 2009 season, when he was named to the NCAA Norman Regional All-Tournament Team and the SEC All-Tournament Team. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 17th round of the 2009 MLB Draft.
Backup: John Henry Marquardt (2005-2006)
Shortstop: Scott Hode (2002-2005)
A Crystal Lake, Illinois, native, Hode spent all four seasons in Fayetteville and played in 207 career games. In 2004, Hode batted .297, hit seven homers and recorded a team-high 53 RBIs on Van Horn’s first College World Series team. Hode ranks in the top 10 in career sacrifice hits and sacrifice flies in program history. He also had one of the all-time great walk-up songs, “Minnine the Moocher” by Cab Calloway. Baum Stadium would ring with “Hidee hidee hidee hidee hidee hidee hi” and “Hodee hodee hodee hodee hodee oh” before every Hode at-bat. Hode was drafted by Chicago Cubs in the 24th round of the 2005 MLB Draft.
Backup: Brett McAfee (2013-2015)
Third Base: Bobby Wernes (2014-2015)
Bobby Wernes spent one season at Neosho Community College before transferring to Arkansas. In his two seasons with the Razorbacks, Wernes started 119 games, all at third base. He batted .252 in his career and in 2015, Wernes was selected to the All-SEC Defensive Team. Wernes hit six triples in 2015, the most by a Razorback since 2002. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 30th round of the 2015 MLB Draft. Wernes is currently in his third season as a volunteer assistant on Arkansas’ staff.
Backup: Andy Wilkins (2008-2010)
Left Field: Bubbs Merrill (2004)
Merrill spent just his senior season with the Razorbacks and played in just 24 games. He played at Texarkana College in 2001 and 2002 before transferring to Nebraska for 2003. Most of Merrill’s playing time was at second base but he played in left field when needed.
"If he doesn’t start at second, he could be a great utility player or defensive substitute late in games. He can play either middle infield position as well as in the outfield," said former Nebraska head coach Mike Anderson before the 2003 season.
Backup: Casey Coon (2007-2008)
Centerfield: Andrew Benintendi (2014-2015)
A Madeira, Ohio, native, Benintendi was with the Razorbacks for two seasons. In 2014, he split time between center and right field but was center fielder for every game in 2015. Benintendi became the first Razorback to win the Golden Spikes Award for his record-setting season that propelled Arkansas to the College World Series. He was also SEC Player of the Year with offensive numbers not seen in five seasons. Benintendi was drafted by the Boston Red Sox with the seventh overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft — the earliest a Razorback had been drafted since 1986.
Backup: Brett Eibner (2008-2010)
Right Field: Heston Kjerstad (2018-2020)
Kjerstad is another player with a book full of accolades and had one of the biggest what-if seasons in school history with the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He led the team in home runs in each of his three seasons and set freshman records for games played (69), home runs (14), hit by pitches (18) and many more. Kjerstad batted .343 in his career, which is good for 10th all-time and tied with Scott Loseke. He was drafted No. 2 overall in the 2020 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles, the highest a Razorback had been drafted since Jeff King went No. 1 overall in 1986.
Backup: Tyler Spoon (2013-2015)
Catcher: Monk Kreder (2010)
Monk Kreder played just one season at Arkansas after playing a year each at TCU, Texas Tech, Howard Junior College. Kreder played three positions in 2010 — catcher, first base, and designated hitter. The 2010 Arkansas media guide states that Kreder was a “big, strong player that can hit, hard to strike out, good teammate.” Kreder started in 57 of the 58 games he played in 2010 and batted .284 with 14 doubles and four home runs.
Backup: Jeff Nutt (2007-2008)
Starting Pitcher: Colin Poche (2013-2014)
A Flower Mound, Texas, native, Poche started his career at Arkansas. He played two seasons with the Razorbacks but after the 2014 season, Poche was forced to have Tommy John surgery. He did not pitch in 2015 and transferred from Arkansas to Dallas Baptist for the 2016 season. Coming out of high school, Poche was drafted by the Orioles in the fifth round of the 2012 MLB Draft but opted to go to Arkansas. He was drafted again in 2016 by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 14th round.
Backup: Daryl Maday (2004-2006)
Relief Pitcher: Zebulon Vermillion (2018-2022)
Zebulon Vermillion spent five seasons at Arkansas and made 71 total appearances. He struck out 100 batters in 105 ⅔ innings. Vermillion was one of two players in Razorback history to compete in three College World Series — Kole Ramage being the other. Vermillion and Ramage are also the only two players to play five full seasons with the Razorbacks. He was drafted in the 10th round of the 2022 MLB Drafted by the New York Mets.
Backup: Jacob Kostyshock (2017-2019)
Designated Hitter: Knox McCorquodale (2005)
McCorquodale spent one season at Arkansas playing mostly at designated hitter before transferring to Northwestern State, where he played two seasons at catcher. He redshirted in 2004 and in 2005 he batted .357 with just 14 at-bats. McCorquodale had just one extra-base hit in his time with the Razorbacks.
Backup: Krisjon Wilkerson (2014-2015)