FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said volunteer Josh Elander has been certified to go on the road recruiting until he hires a replacement for Tony Vitello, the Hogs’ recruiting coordinator and hitting coach who accepted the head coaching job at Tennessee this week.
Van Horn indicated that Elander, a 2016 graduate of TCU, could be in the running for a full-time job soon “because Josh is really good. … He’s getting close to gaining the experience for this type of position.
More from WholeHogSports
http://www.wholehog…">Elander helped HR surge
“This position is — the way we’re set up with coach [Wes] Johnson and myself — really someone that can work with hitters, which Josh can do, but we need someone who has a little more experience out on the road that can really grind it out recruiting. It’s a huge commitment, the recruiting part of it.”
Van Horn said Elander had given a two-year commitment as a volunteer coach.
“It’s hard to get them to stay longer than that,” he said. “Josh could probably get a job right now at a smaller school, a junior college, a mid-major. Next year it’ll be the same, but it’ll be better because his resume will be better.
“His wife is a school teacher here. They love it here. He wants to stay here another year. Obviously he would like to be the full-time assistant, but we’ve had two different conversations and they’ve gone well. He has a bright future in coaching. He’s going to be fine.”
Elander was a key player on TCU’s 2010 College World Series team as a freshman and he spent four years in professional baseball after finishing with the Horned Frogs in 2012.
Catcher Grant Koch said Elander, who works with the catchers, has been a strong influence.
“For me, he kind of put it all together,” Koch said. “He worked with me the most and so I’m probably pretty biased. But it’s just having him as somebody you can relate to. He’s younger and he’s kind of been through it all and he’s been in our shoes.”