Dave Van Horn excited to see his former assistant, Wes Johnson, get opportunity at Georgia

Dave Van Horn is elated to see one of his former assistants in Wes Johnson taking over the Georgia Bulldogs.

Evidently, there’s a ton of respect between Van Horn and Johnson, who waxed poetic about his former colleague when speaking with the media.

“Well I’m happy for Wes and his family, and I you know, called him and also texted him after that came out. Congratulated him,” explained the Arkansas skipper. “Just happy for him, as a coach. Wanting to coach at the highest level. This league is definitely the highest level of Division I baseball.

“And do I think he’s ready? Yeah, I think he’s ready. You know, I think as a head coach, you just have to make sure you get the right people around you, and you feel comfortable with your staff. He knows what he’s doing, so he’ll be fine.”

While Johnson was Van Horn’s assistant in the past, he spend the last two seasons with the LSU Tigers, where he helped cultivate their impressive pitching staff. Future top-five draft pick Paul Skenes has given credit to Johnson for a lot of improvements this season, including adding a pitch to the arsenal. 

Additionally, Kendall Rogers of D1 Baseball reported Johnson was somebody Georgia targeted from the beginning. However, Justin Haire from Campbell may have been the first choice for athletic director Josh Brooks. Haire decided to stay put though, leaving the door open for Johnson.

“Johnson was a candidate for this job from the get-go, as was Campbell’s Justin Haire,” Rogers said. “Was told over the weekend that Haire had decided to remain at Campbell for the time being.”

Continuing, Georgia did not make the NCAA Tournament this year and has not advanced out of a regional since the 2008 season. Scott Stricklin was the head coach for the majority of that drought, spending 10 years with the Bulldogs. But a tough decision was made to move on from the program’s fourth-winningest head coach after this year’s shortcomings.

Wes Johnson is stepping in with the hopes of bringing consistent baseball postseason success back to Athens.

While Dave Van Horn may not want to see that, the respect remains between the freshly-minted Georgia leader and the veteran Arkansas head coach, and it’ll be a pleasure to watch them face off in 2024.