Dave Van Horn named SEC Coach of the Year
Arkansas baseball head coach Dave Van Horn was voted SEC Coach of the Year by the league's coaches for the third time during his 21 seasons in Fayetteville on Monday.
Van Horn coached the 2023 injury-laden squad to a 39-15 overall record and a 20-10 conference record, which tied them with Florida for the SEC regular season championship — the third time Arkansas has clinched the title under Van Horn.
The 20 conference wins marks the third time in the last four full seasons (not including 2020 pandemic-shortened season) that Arkansas has had at least 20 wins in SEC play. Van Horn also coached the Hogs to a seventh SEC Western Division title under his leadership.
Arkansas won seven of its 10 SEC series this season and it posted a 30-4 record inside the confines of Baum-Walker Stadium. The Razorbacks had the league's second best team ERA (4.82) in SEC play despite losing three key arms to season-ending injuries.
An argument could be made that Van Horn put together his best regular season coaching job of his career in 2023 given all of the injuries that played a factor during another grueling schedule in the SEC.
"I’m so proud of our team and how they’ve played all season long with all the adversity and ups and downs of the injuries," Van Horn said last Wednesday.
Injuries haven't just factored into the pitching staff, but Van Horn was without his leadoff hitter Tavian Josenberger and standout Creighton transfer Jared Wegner — notably both starting outfielders — for a significant portion of the SEC schedule. Now, the Razorback skipper has that pair back, but second baseman Peyton Stovall is done for the year and shortstop John Bolton has an ankle issue.
Van Horn has been forced to move guys around, play freshmen in big-time situations and he's worked it to near perfection. Sure, not every move worked, but to win 39 games and a share of the SEC title is nothing short of incredible.
Not enough can be said about what Van Horn did with this year's squad during the regular season. There is still plenty of work to be done as a 'new season' has begun with postseason play in sight.
Also worth noting, Van Horn earned a $25,000 bonus for earning the SEC Coach of the Year award, which was part of the contract extension he signed in 2021.
We will just let Van Horn's numbers do the rest of the talking...
Van Horn By the Numbers
1 - Of seven active head coaches and the only SEC head coach with 1,100 or more wins at four-year schools
2 - Golden Spikes Award winners
5 - Straight seasons with at least 40 wins (six with just one more win this year)
6 - First round picks coached by Van Horn in Fayetteville
7 - College World Series appearances with Arkansas
18 - NCAA Tournament appearances with the Hogs
21 - Seasons as the head coach at Arkansas
36 - All-Americans coached by Van Horn at Arkansas
63 - Former Hogs coached by Van Horn have played in the MLB
65.6 - Career winning percentage with the Razorbacks
129 - Arkansas players drafted that were coached by Van Horn
835 - Total wins as the head coach at Arkansas
1982 - Van Horn was an All-Southwest Conference player at Arkansas
2003 - Van Horn's first year in Fayetteville
2004 - SEC Coach of the Year
2021 - SEC Coach of the Year
2023 - SEC Coach of the year