FAYETTEVILLE — Dave Van Horn has found his next volunteer assistant coach.
Taylor Smart, who served as a graduate assistant at Arizona last season, will join Arkansas’ staff in mid-August, Van Horn said. Smart is currently an assistant coach for the Santa Barbara Foresters in the California Collegiate League.
Van Horn said there was a lot of interest in the open volunteer assistant position following Craig Parry’s departure. Parry accepted a job as hitting coach at Abilene Christian earlier this month.
“Taylor is a young, and up and coming guy and (joining Arkansas) wasn’t a major obstacle for him,” Van Horn said. “He wanted to work in the SEC again. He wasn’t a volunteer, but he was in with the team and helped run their camps. The Santa Barbara team is running away with the league. They are just whipping everybody, and I imagine they are going to be in the playoffs for awhile.”
A Washington native, Smart played for coach Dave Serrano at Tennessee. He hit .267 with two home runs and 19 RBIs as a junior with the Volunteers and later batted .292 as a senior, totaling four home runs and 29 RBIs. Following his final season in Knoxville, Smart was a 26th round selection of the Seattle Mariners.
Prior to Arizona, Smart was as a student assistant for the Volunteers in 2017. He assisted infielders, worked with hitters and served as the team's first base coach.
Van Horn said at this time next year, Division I programs may be able to hire another full-time coach, meaning the volunteer assistant position would be removed.