State of the Hogs: Meet the man behind Arkansas' power surge

Arkansas volunteer coach Josh Elander watches warmups prior to a game against Mississippi State on Thursday, May 25, 2017, at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala.

— It was a beautiful, warm winter day in January. Players were not back on campus. For the most part, Baum Stadium was empty.

Interviews with coaches were scheduled for the Hawgs Illustrated baseball preview and I was headed through the top levels of Baum Stadium for interviews in coaches' offices.

I noticed through a window two figures in and around the batting cages picking up baseballs. I later learned it was new volunteer assistant coach Josh Elander and a manager. They were taking turns pitching to each other.

Elander's batting practice blasts were already legendary around Baum. I was early so something told me to stop and watch. Boy, I was glad I did.

The manager, not great at throwing BP strikes, wasn't giving Elander altogether hittable pitches. In fact, Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn later told me from his office that it's those kinds of soft all-over-the-place tosses that lead to horrible BP.

“You can't hardly hit those out,” Van Horn said.

Yeah, right. Elander was blasting them almost out of sight. They were soaring over the chair-back seats behind the UA bullpen in left field. Those to left center were landing well past the permanent grills in the grassy Hog Pen. Others were bouncing high off the batting eye in straight away center.

Wow.

“It's something to see, isn't it?” said Tony Vitello, the UA recruiting coordinator and hitting coach. “There is one guy in our league who is must-see in batting practice and that's our Chad Spanberger. You stop to watch him. But he's not the best in our club house. It's Josh Elander.

“I think it also helps when our players see him take batting practice every now and then. He's not even in the cage much, but it's spectacular. They see what he can do. It resonates. They want to listen. It's pretty impressive.”

Elander is done with his playing career. He gave professional baseball a four-year try before two shoulder injuries pushed him on to what he always knew would be his next career: college coaching. He'd been preparing for that since high school at Round Rock, Texas, then again in a spectacular three-year career at TCU where he was part of a College World Series team as a freshman All-America catcher.

“Even when I was a young player, I knew I wanted to be a coach,” Elander said. “Honestly, I didn't think it would be this soon. I thought I'd play a long time in the major leagues.

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Elander, right, was a standout hitter at TCU from 2010-12. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

“But I was always preparing to coach. I remember my dad telling me that when Major Applewhite was playing (quarterback) at Texas, he saved everything and was building a file that he'd later use as a coach; every drill, every workout.

“So I did it, too. I kept everything - batting practice plans, scouting reports, motivational material. I knew I'd use it some day.”

That's why Van Horn is quick to say Elander is “much more advanced” than most volunteer assistants starting out in Division I baseball. Elander served as a graduate assistant last year at TCU, earning his degree. Van Horn was quick to hire him.

Vitello coached Elander his last two seasons at TCU, but Van Horn had been around him, too. Elander played for Team USA when Van Horn was an assistant coach in 2011.

“So when I suggested Josh, Coach Van Horn was on board quickly,” Vitello said. “He had coached him, saw his work ethic, toughness and character. Honestly, it was a perfect fit because he had minor league experience as a catcher and we needed someone to work with Grant Koch.

“If you want to know the truth, Grant didn't get in the lineup as much as a freshman because we didn't trust him behind the plate. Working with Josh in the fall changed that.”

There is little doubt that Elander has helped the Hogs at the plate, too. He knows hitting, perhaps at a higher level than Vitello. He hit for power and average at TCU. He was successful in minor league baseball and was named the Braves' minor league player of the year.

It's not a coincidence that the Hogs are leading the SEC in home runs. They've hit 74 through two games at the SEC Tournament, including a record three from Spanberger in Thursday's run-rule win over Auburn.

It's been obvious that players trust his coaching. There have been dozens of times this season when a player had a game-winning hit or a big home run and the questions asked by reporters were answered with, “What Coach Elander told me to expect turned out to be what I got.”

When there's a pitching change during an inning, Elander trots from his position as the first base coach to the on-deck circle to go over the scouting report with the next couple of batters.

“He has credibility with our players,” Vitello said. “They trust him. He's seen things in the minor leagues as far as how pitchers sequence things that I haven't seen. They know he's just one year removed from pro ball. He can answer questions I can't answer.

“To get him in a volunteer position, really it's like cheating. He's going to be a star coach in the future.”

Elander said it's simple. He sees top SEC pitchers using the same sequences and same pitches against a Spanberger, Koch or Luke Bonfield that he faced at TCU or in pro ball.

“I know how they are going to try to get them out,” Elander said. “And I know the scouting report. I've been there. I think 90 percent of that is based off my past experiences. They are getting pitched the exact way I got pitched. They are going through the same battles I've faced.”

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Elander (catching) met Dave Van Horn when both were part of Team USA in 2011. (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)

It's fallen into place so many times, the UA batters believe in Elander. They seem to look to him first in key at bats.

“I've been lucky here,” Elander said. “Part of it I learned all of the things Coach Vitello preached at TCU. So, I can be another voice with a similar message. It helps to hear it from someone else.

“I've got routines I like and many are based on what I learned from him. We work well together.

“But the key is that Tony – and Coach Van Horn – have encouraged me to coach. Part of that goes back to my relationship with Tony and his attitude. He's selfless. I've been around a little bit and I've seen what goes on at other places. The volunteer coach is told to keep his mouth shut, just throw BP. That's not what has happened here.”

Without question a big key is Elander's relationship with Vitello.

“I've known Tony for a long time,” Elander said. “He recruited me when I was young in high school. He was at Missouri. Then, he came to TCU at the start of my sophomore year. We've always had a very good relationship.”

Whatever the message, it's paid big dividends for an Arkansas offense that has exploded in 2017. Elander said it's a combination of power, work ethic and ability to adjust.

“I got here and the first thing I noticed in fall practices, balls were leaving the yard nonstop,” he said. “The other thing, this is a great place to hit home runs. I was at TCU and you just couldn't hit them there, much tougher.

“The other thing I noticed, guys were spending a lot of time in the batting cages with Tony. There was a commitment from the players.”

Plus, Elander saw commitment from the school. The Fowler Family Indoor Facility is an unbelievable asset.

“I couldn't believe it when I saw it,” Elander said. “It's a full field, with the ability to divide into a ton of BP cages. We could have unlimited BP.

“So for a normal day, we can have two full BP practices going at the same time. Say, Tony has half the team on the field, I've got the rest inside. So we each get a full hour, then we come together to work on our infield and outfield drills. So that's a three-hour practice put together in two hours.

“It just took my breath away when I saw it. I kept asking is it real. Who else works here – football or what? What it means is that you never have to cut your reps. We keep finding new ways to expand what we are doing to get more reps.”

The atmosphere is great with a tight coaching staff.

“I think you start with Coach Van Horn, a legend,” Elander said. “He's been to Omaha more times than anyone in our league. I got to know him with Team USA. I knew Coach (Wes) Johnson when he was pitching coach at Dallas Baptist. So we all know each other. When I got this opportunity, my wife and I were both fired up.”

Elander thinks Vitello does great things as far as the mental aspect of the game.

“He's got the uncanny ability to loosen players up when they are tight, or tighten things up when they are a little loose,” Elander said. “He's relentless with positive encouragement. Baseball is a game full of struggles. You have to maintain positive approach. He does that. He helped me with that when I was a player and I see that here.”

The mental approach was important with the strides Spanberger has made while smacking 17 home runs this season.

“What I saw when I got here, Chad wasn't completely confident,” Elander said. “I think it was just a matter of getting more at bats. But what's happening is more about just maturing. Tony and I popped in some tape about one month ago of Chad when he was a freshman. He was so skinny.

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Elander has become a trusted voice among Arkansas hitters, who lead the SEC in home runs. (Photo by Ben Goff)

“Now, I tell him he looks like (New England Patriots tight end) Rob Gronkowski. He's had the at bats and now he's confident and strong. He's done the work in the weight room and in the batting cages. He's a testament to all of the things that were provided for him here, the weight room, the coaching and then his own dedication.”

Vitello thinks players gravitate to Elander because of many reasons.

“He knows the swing, the approach from the pitchers,” he said. “Then, it's his age. He's not far removed from his playing days. He has that minor league experience and he's still young. He's more like a fifth-year senior captain than a coach.

“We've let him coach. We try not to be breathing over his shoulder. Of course, if he's telling them wrong, we are going to correct it, but he hasn't done that. I think we have a nice mix of coaches.

“It might be a problem if we had five or six voices with different information, but it's the same.”

Vitello knew he'd be a great coach. The effort he showed as a player fits nicely into his skills as a coach.

“There was little doubt he had major league talent,” Vitello said. “But his problem was always the way he played. He dove for everything, had no concern for his body. He was just going to wear out his body with the way he played. He was a fearless player. He played too hard.

“He was going to get hit by pitches. He was going to dive into objects. You can only battle through that so long.”

These days, Elander is diving into coaching the same way. Like his batting practice moon shots, it's something to see.