I went to Morrilton last night to hear Dave Van Horn speak. I could listen to that man talk baseball all night. His passion for it is obvious. He just has a genuine love for it that you can hear in his voice. I'll give you a quick recap.
He started off right away talking about the fan support and how incredible it has become. He kept going back to the scrimmage game against Oklahoma and how many people showed up for a fall scrimmage. The coaches brought 16 recruits in for that game and 12 have already committed. Support has always been good but the last several years are just on a different level.
Said even though we didn't hit during that scrimmage game, not to worry cause we are gonna hit. He referenced the injured left fielder and Goodhart being out. He really likes were Wicklander and Noland are right now and wants someone to set themselves apart as that ace. Hitting and fielding are going to be solid next year.
Regarding Martin, he said he was dealing with a lot of arm pain and that threw him off. Baseball is so mental and sounds like it got in his head. Said Martin was the last person cut from Team USA and that was largely because he couldn't really throw the ball.
SEC baseball is for grown men and he doesn't want anyone on the team that is afraid of that. A lot of times he will tell his players that to get a feel of their reaction. Does it intimidate them or do they get excited?
He is definitely excited about the 2 next recruiting classes and I don't think there is any doubt in his mind that we are gonna keep winning for a while.
He really thinks the 3rd assistant will pass and he is optimistic that the scholarship situation at 11.7 will be expanded one day even though it might be after he is done coaching.
Maybe the best part of the night was a story he told about recruiting Dom Fletcher. Fletcher flew in with his dad for his official and was blown away by the indoor facility. Then they rented a car and drove to Oxford to take the official there. A week later, Dom calls back, laying it on thick. Thanking Van Horn everything he had done for him in recruiting...then paused and said, I'm just kidding. I'm gonna be a Razorback!
Van Horn said, "that's great! Now don't ever do that to me again!"
Side note, my brother came away from that with a bat signed by Van Horn and Norm DeBriyn
He started off right away talking about the fan support and how incredible it has become. He kept going back to the scrimmage game against Oklahoma and how many people showed up for a fall scrimmage. The coaches brought 16 recruits in for that game and 12 have already committed. Support has always been good but the last several years are just on a different level.
Said even though we didn't hit during that scrimmage game, not to worry cause we are gonna hit. He referenced the injured left fielder and Goodhart being out. He really likes were Wicklander and Noland are right now and wants someone to set themselves apart as that ace. Hitting and fielding are going to be solid next year.
Regarding Martin, he said he was dealing with a lot of arm pain and that threw him off. Baseball is so mental and sounds like it got in his head. Said Martin was the last person cut from Team USA and that was largely because he couldn't really throw the ball.
SEC baseball is for grown men and he doesn't want anyone on the team that is afraid of that. A lot of times he will tell his players that to get a feel of their reaction. Does it intimidate them or do they get excited?
He is definitely excited about the 2 next recruiting classes and I don't think there is any doubt in his mind that we are gonna keep winning for a while.
He really thinks the 3rd assistant will pass and he is optimistic that the scholarship situation at 11.7 will be expanded one day even though it might be after he is done coaching.
Maybe the best part of the night was a story he told about recruiting Dom Fletcher. Fletcher flew in with his dad for his official and was blown away by the indoor facility. Then they rented a car and drove to Oxford to take the official there. A week later, Dom calls back, laying it on thick. Thanking Van Horn everything he had done for him in recruiting...then paused and said, I'm just kidding. I'm gonna be a Razorback!
Van Horn said, "that's great! Now don't ever do that to me again!"
Side note, my brother came away from that with a bat signed by Van Horn and Norm DeBriyn
