Bobby Wernes

Bobby Wernes - Volunteer Assistant Coach - Arkansas Baseball

Robert “Bobby” Wernes, a native of Overland Park, Kansas, was a Kansas high school baseball player who dreamed of playing D1 baseball. As a high school senior Bobby was ready to take anyone Division-I offer he could get, even if that offer was to walk-on somewhere. He sent out 108 emails to 108 different schools with game footage, measurables, and everything else he thought coaches would want to see. He received one reply from Southern Utah. Mission accomplished! Bobby was going to be a Thunderbird!

Until he wasn’t.

But he wasn’t.

Despite the emotionally trying fall semester, Bobby put together a statistically strong season in the spring. The Panthers would even go on to play in the JuCo World Series! Bobby’s high school sweetheart, Kristina, was a student at the University of Arkansas. Neither one of them had a car their freshman year so in order to see each other they would have to convince one of their friends to make the 3 hour (each way) drive between Fayetteville and Chanute.

During an off-weekend early in the spring, Bobby made his way to Fayetteville to visit Kristina where he got the chance to watch the Arkansas Razorbacks play Evansville Purple Aces. Bobby always dreamed of playing for the Razorbacks, but (for now) it seemed like the closest he was going to get was watching from the stands in a Razorback baseball t-shirt that Kristina bought for him.

While walking around the camp a ‘random’ guy says to Bobby, “Good looking shirt!” That ‘random’ guy was Dave Van Horn, head coach of the University of Arkansas baseball team. Side note – The Neosho Panthers hitting coach, Scott Gurss, served as the volunteer assistant coach at Arkansas under Van Horn the previous year and had mentioned Bobby’s name to Van Horn, but Bobby did not know this. Bobby, however, was very aware of who Coach Van Horn. After the encounter he attempted to explain to Kristina how cool that moment was for him. Bobby chalked it up to an awesome random encounter at an unlikely place. End of story.

A little while later Bobby, Kristina, and little sis were all in the car and ready to head out. Just as they threw the car in reverse there’s a knock on the window. It’s Coach Van Horn. He asks Bobby what his plans are this coming year. Bobby tells him that he’ll be back at Neosho in about two weeks to which Van Horn says, “Do you really want to do that?” Coach Van Horn tells Bobby that there was an incident on the team with an infielder who failed a drug test and lied about it and that he needed a new infielder NOW. Van Horn, of course, could not recruit Bobby until he had seen him play so he asked if he had any games left. Just one and it was the next day. It just so happened to be at the ballpark that Dave Van Horn played at growing up.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 3rd, 2013 – On game day Bobby’s team immediately noticed the gentleman in attendance wearing Razorback gear and a Team USA cap. During warmups the team had a sloppy in-and-out which, to Bobby, felt like a bad omen. He played well, but not great. After the game Van Horn says a few nice things to him and leaves with, “We’ll talk tomorrow.” That was the beginning of the longest 12 hours of Bobby’s life.

Bobby committed to the University of Arkansas just one week before classes began. Just like that, things were starting to come together. He competed to be the starting third baseman in the fall (and won the job), he roomed with Tyler Spoon, and he finally lived in the same city as his high school sweetheart. But what about his faith?

Bobby had always worn the label of “believer” on the outside but was never deeply rooted in or lived according to what he claimed to believe. Fortunately, God brought Tyler Spoon into his life. Through life-on-life ministry (or as Bobby calls it “just hanging out”) Bobby started to grow in his faith. He started to really understand what it meant to be a disciple of Jesus.

The 2015 season was an unforgettable year. Halfway through the regular season the Razorbacks were struggling to maintain a winning record. They got hot at the right time, won the Stillwater Regional as a 2-seed, hosted and won a Super Regional, and advanced to Omaha. Bobby looks back at that team as “two big leaguers and a whole bunch of dudes who loved each other.” Bobby was drafted by and played for two years in the Astros organization and two more years in the Rockies organization. On all five of the MiLB teams he played for, he served his teammates as a spiritual leader.

Bobby came back to Arkansas in the fall to finish school. He considered staying through the Fall of 2019, but he got offered a job to coach for the Phillies in the Gulf Coast League. This marked the beginning of his career as an official baseball coach. He managed the team for two years until COVID-19 lead to the temporary shutdown of Minor League Baseball. Despite being done with school, Bobby moved back to Fayetteville in the Fall of 2020 where he has continued his coaching career as the current volunteer assistant for the Arkansas Razorback baseball team.

Bobby and Kristina have continued to try to grow in their faith, they found their home at Cross Church in Fayetteville, AR, they attend a weekly Bible study on Sunday nights, and they’re expecting baby Lily in August! Bobby has found spiritual community both at church and on the team.