FAYETTEVILLE — Dave Van Horn had made reaching the NCAA Tournament almost an afterthought entering his 13th season as the coach at Arkansas.
That is, until nearly midway through the season when the Razorbacks — tournament participants in each of Van Horn's first 12 seasons — were struggling to remain over .500 and were just 1-5 in the Southeastern Conference.
After a remarkable turnaround led by SEC Player of the Year Andrew Benintendi, second-seeded Arkansas (38-22) is two wins away from its fourth College World Series appearance.
Van Horn has enjoyed this run more than most, given the bounce back this season as well as the fact the Razorbacks don't have to leave home for this weekend's best-of-three super regional against top seed Missouri State.