MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) β McLennan Baseball will honor two of its most accomplished alumni with a jersey retirement ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 8, Bosque River Ballpark.
The ceremony for former Highlanders David Van Horn and Greg Dennis is set to start at 12:30 p.m., followed by the first pitch between the Highlanders and Iowa Western Reivers at 1 p.m.
Dennis was a two-time all-conference and all-region selection who helped lead the squad to a third-place finish at the JUCO World Series in 1982 and the national title in 1983, when he was named to the all-tournament team. During the 1983 season, he set program records for games played (65), hits (93), fewest strikeouts (10 in 167 at-bats), errors (1), and assists (167) while earning First-Team All-American honors.
Following his time at McLennan, Dennis played one year at Florida State and Baylor before being drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 37th round of the 1985 MLB draft. He spent one year in the minor leagues before returning to McLennan to serve as an assistant coach for the next three years. He went on to be the head coach at Collin County Community College for 14 years before returning to his hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he has been the head coach for the Tigers for 23 years.
Van Horn was a member of the first Highlander squad to reach the JUCO World Series in 1980 and made a return trip to Grand Junction in 1981. He earned all-conference and all-region honors playing third base for the Highlanders, and was named the Region 5 Player of the Year and a First-Team All-American in 1981.
Van Horn transferred to the University of Arkansas and spent one year with the Razorbacks before being selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 10th round of 1982. He spent three years in the minor leagues before returning to Arkansas as a graduate assistant coach for four years. He then served as head coach at Texarkana Community College, Central Missouri State, Northwestern State, and Nebraska before becoming the head coach at Arkansas prior to the 2003 season. He is entering his 24th season leading the Razorbacks.
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