SEMO Coach Seeks First Tournament NCAA Win Against Former Coach, Hogs

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — One of coach Dave Van Horn's former players and assistants is back to try and check off a key milestone for his personal coaching career, Andy Sawyers, the coach for Southeast Missouri State Redhawks is looking to pick up his first career NCAA Tournament win as a head coach.

Sawyers, who played for Van Horn at Nebraska from 1997-1998 before becoming a volunteer assistant in 2000, talked about being on one of Van Horn's early teams as a player.

"He and Rob Childress [pitching coach] arrived at Christmas Break at Nebraska my senior year," Sawyers said. "Coach Van Horn rode me like a rented mule, was hard on me."

But when Sawyers went into Van Horn's office at the end of the year, the coach had a surprise for Sawyers, a coaching job.

"I felt like he was trying to make a example of me every day in practice," Sawyers said. "He was very hard on me. He was a little more demonstrative when he was younger. At the end of the year, I walked in for my meeting and he said 'Andy, I was harder on you than you deserved, but I knew you were tough enough to take it. I'm trying to change the culture and I needed someone that could wear it for me."

Van Horn then set up a coaching position for Sawyers at Northwestern State, thus beginning his coaching career that has spanned nearly a quarter century.

Now over 25 years since Sawyers last played under Van Horn, he's back to try and achieve a landmark day in his own coaching career against his former mentor. Sawyers took over at SEMO in 2017 and is coaching in his third NCAA regional but went 0-2 both times in 2021 and 2022.

Both coaches played coy about announcing a starter for the opening game of the regional, both waiting for the other to make the first move.

"I’m going to wait until the teams have all practiced," Van Horn said. "Bottom line. Let them practice without knowing who they’re facing."

Sawyers gave it right back. Vowing to let Van Horn blink first.

"I'll say 'Coach. It's good to see you,'" Sawyers said. "I will let him tell me what he wants to do."

The game between SEMO and Arkansas is set for 2 p.m. Friday and will be streamed on ESPN+. The other game of the regional will follow between Kansas State and Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m.

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