Arkansas Head Coach is Ready to Face the LSU Tigers originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
In 2018, Arkansas nearly clinched a College World Series Championship. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, a catchable pop fly in foul territory was mishandled, allowing Oregon State to stay in the game. They went on to win that game 2 and subsequently game 3, ultimately defeating the Razorbacks. Although the Hogs have yet to clinch a World Series title, this year’s team definitely has a shot.
In 23 years leading the team, Dave Van Horn has seen it all. He was asked the balance this team has offensively and shutting down opposing teams.
“Statistically, it’s been good all year in a lot of different categories. The last couple of years, we’ve fielded well and we pitched pretty good and the hitting has been up and down. The difference is we’re just more balanced. We have a better lineup. Guys are having good seasons. And great job by Coach Thompson and Coach Wernes…When you get guys that keep getting better, it’s a good feeling as a coach. Feels like you’re doing something right. It’s been a good feeling know that some games you just gotta outscore people by a lot. You’ve got to hit your way to a win, and we can do that,” said Van Horn.
The head coach was also asked about just how strong the pitching staffs are for his team and LSU. “Yeah, I’ve said it all year. The arms in our league have been amazing. I mean, the arm strength, I just remember the week down at LSU, they kept running guys at us throwing 99, 100 miles an hour. I think a guy hit 102 that weekend. It was something else. We’ve got a few guys who can bring it. So does everybody else. Thinking about playing down in Georgia and I could go on and on, right-handers and left-handers with big arms. Kids are bigger, stronger. They train better. I see it staying the same. And I think 97 is going to be normal in five years and maybe even more. It’s tough to hit it. They’ve got to throw it over the plate, too. When you learn to lay off of it is pretty key…Yeah, it’s been amazing. We could talk about it for a long time. It’s not just the SEC. It’s all them. All the leagues have guys with really good arms.”
Van Horn discussed the confidence his team has had during this run to Omaha. “We came in second in the SEC. Texas won the league. We swept Texas at our place seventh or eighth weekend of the 10 weeks. But we still couldn’t catch them because they had such a big lead…We just played at Georgia, at Florida, at LSU. Tennessee was coming in. That’s the way we finished. It’s, like, we just kept going, whoo, here we go. I think it made us tougher. It made us stronger.
I don’t know. These guys, I wouldn’t say so much have a chip-on-their-shoulder-type team but just a really determined team to play and not have the season end because they like playing man. They want to play, they want to win. It’s been fun,” said Van Horn
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 14, 2025, where it first appeared.