FAYETTEVILLE -- Once again, Arkansas is hosting the Fayetteville Regional with Louisiana Tech, Kansas State and Southeast Missouri (SEMO) trying to pull off an upset.
The visiting teams have familiarity with Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn with Louisiana Tech head coach Lane Burroughs, SEMO head coach Andy Sawyers and associate head coach Trevor Ezell all having played or coached for Van Horn at Nebraska, Arkansas or Northwestern (La.) State.
"Yeah, you know, Lane and Andy, both really good people. Not only outstanding coaches, but good human beings and good dads. It’s been fun watching those guys’ careers grow. We’ve played against them a few times. Just happy that they’re having success. Not excited about having to play them. Just happy for them and their families and their baseball programs."
Tony Vitello is the head coach of No. 1 Tennessee. He is one of many former Van Horn assistants also having success.
"Well, I mean obviously I’ve been very blessed to have such great coaches," Van Horn said. "And they’ve gone off and done their thing and had a lot of success and it hasn’t surprised me a bit. So, happy for all those guys. That’s what you want. When you coach with guys and you’re the head coach and they’re the assistants on and done their thing. If you’re the HC and they’re your assistants you want them to do well when they leave and have a great career. It just makes things a little bit better down the road."
SEMO (34-25) enters the tournament having won 12 of its last 14 games. They are 1-0 against the SEC having defeated Missouri 8-3 on Feb. 27. They are 15-12 away from home. They face the Hogs at 2 p.m. Friday on ESPN+. Arkansas is 1-4 in its last five games.
Sawyers was a catcher in 1998 and graduate assistant in 2020 for Van Horn at Nebraska whole Ezell played at Arkansas.
“We’ve played there like three times in the last five years,” Sawyers said at his team’s party on Monday. “Coach Ezell played there, that’s my college head coach – Coach Van Horn of the Razorbacks. So there is a lot of familiarity there.
“Certainly it is a place we are comfortable in and we have played there before. While as a four seed you are going to have to play somebody really good, it is a spot we are comfortable playing.”
SEMO is led by a pair of first-team All-OVC selections in outfielder Josh Cameron (.306, 14 HR, 52 RBI) and right hander closer Kyle Miller (4-3, 4.88 ERA, seven saves).
Second-team OVC choices included and designated hitter Ty Strauss (.320, 8 HR, 51 RBI), shortstop Ben Palmer (.285, 17 HR, 48 RBI) and second baseman Brooks Kettering (.305, 8 HR, 37 RBI).
The three main starting pitchers this for the Redhawks have been senior LHP Haden Dow (4-2, 4.89 ERA), sophomore RHP Sam Heyman (5-3, 5.43) and junior RHP Brian Strange (5.99), who have combined to open 46 games this season.
Louisiana Tech will enter this weekend having won 10 of its last 12 contests.
Dallas Baptist used as nine-run first inning explosion en route to downing Louisiana Tech 17-10 last Sunday in the Conference USA championship game in Ruston, La.
“It’s a good draw and by that I mean good teams,” Burroughs said. “I don’t want to give anybody any bulletin board material. They are all really good teams and our fans can get there because it is not that long of a drive.
“We are excited to just still being playing baseball. There are only 64 teams getting on a bus and playing and we are proud to be one of them.”
Kansas State started 6-1 in Big 12 action, but lost 14 of its last 23 league games to finish 15-15.
It is the Wildcats’ first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2013 and comes in Pete Hughes’ first season as head coach.
Hughes said there were some anxious moments waiting for his team’s name to be called during Monday’s NCAA Tournament selection show.
“I just kept going to the body of work, the strength of the schedule, the intent of the schedule hoping that would carry us,” Hughes said. “We did play the most difficult schedule in league and we played one of the most difficult schedules out of conference and overall schedules.
“I just kept leaning on that and hoping the committee would do the same and they did. We were sixth place in the third-best conference in the country. That’s tournament resume.”
Kansas State (32-24) and Louisiana Tech (45-17) will play at 7 p.m. Friday night in the second game of the regional. Arkansas is 33-3 at Baum-Walker Stadium this season.