Tim Carver was raised in purple, but he’s all about red now.
Carver, the former standout at Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas, was named the new baseball coach at Springdale last week after a four-year stint leading the baseball program at Mountain Home.
“Fayetteville treated me well after I moved there in the seventh grade,” Carver said, “but now we’re off to new pastures over at Springdale, and that’s going to be where all my focus will be.”
Carver replaces Michael Milum, who spent just one season with the Bulldogs. Carver will be the third baseball coach at Springdale in as many seasons.
At Fayetteville, Carver was a standout middle infielder for former coach Vance Arnold, playing a big part in a string of four championship teams for the school. Carver turned that into a solid career at the University of Arkansas, starting more than 200 games and playing in two College World Series under Dave Van Horn.
After spending time in the Philadelphia Phillies’ organization, the former 19th-round draft choice returned to Arkansas and was a graduate assistant under Van Horn before landing the head coaching position at Mountain Home.
Carver said he moved swiftly when he learned of the opening at Springdale.
“It was just kind of one of those deals. Coach Milum left and once I got the phone call, it was a no-brainer for me to come back and be part of the Bulldog tradition,” he said. “I’m going to try and bring some of that history back to the program.”
Springdale has had its struggles on the baseball diamond, going 4-11 last spring and missing the Class 6A state tournament, but Carver said he is confident the program can be successful.
“We’re going to have to build relationships,” he said. “When you build relationships, people get connected and if we can get those connections and get everybody kind of fired up and trusting us in what we’re doing, we can be successful.
“When I took over at Mountain Home it was a pretty similar situation where they did not have a whole lot of years strung together with continued success. But we held each other accountable and respected each other, and we built off of that and moved forward.”
Springdale played its first full season in its new on-campus baseball facility this spring. Carver said the new facility and the opportunity to grow the program were big factors in his decision to take the job.
“The facilities, I can’t ask for anything more,” he said. “There is a lot there you can build on. Honestly, the tradition and the whole sense of community are what drew me to Springdale. I felt like it was a good place for tradition and community and everything like that.
“I’m a big family person, and I felt like Springdale High School is a big family. That’s what made it such an easy situation for me to jump into.”
Springdale Public Schools Athletic Director Wayne Stehlik said bringing in a coach with Carver’s resume was a huge factor in the hiring process.
“We are thrilled to have Coach Carver join the Springdale Bulldog family,” Stehlik said. “His experience as a player and a coach will greatly benefit the players wearing the Bulldog uniform.”