Nate Thompson

Nate Thompson – Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator – Arkansas Razorback Baseball

Nate is a native of Goodland, Kansas, a small farming community in the northwest corner of the state, which is closer to Colorado and Nebraska than any major city in Kansas.

His parents (Mac and Patty) and grandparents before them made their living off farming and cattle ranching. Mac and Patty had 3 sons, Mitch, Marsh, and Matt, and told themselves they were done having kids.

On August 1st, 1981 Mitch (16) and Marsh (14) were on their way to work on the southside of town in two separate vehicles. Matt (12) was riding with Marsh. There was a car accident that killed both Matt and Marsh. Mitch had lost his two best friends and Mac and Patty were devasted.

The Thompson family had always been involved in church. It was the grace and mercy of the Lord that carried the family through such a tragedy. Mac has said that this accident is what spurred him into a real relationship with Christ. Mitch, Mac, and Patty all sought the Lord together during that time and the Lord was transforming them. Including Mac and Patty, who previously convinced themselves "they were done having kids", decided to undo that decision. Fifteen months to the day after the accident, Mac (45) and Patty (44) brought Nate into the world.

Despite having a brother that was 17 years older, Nate essentially experience life as an only child, but that didn’t stop Nate from admiring Mitch. Mitch started his coaching career before Nate even got out of high school. Nate has always looked up to Mitch, not only as a fellow coach, but also the way Mitch leads his family and walks with Christ. Nate's own coaching career began in 2006. He joined Dave Van Horn as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Arkansas in 2018.

Being a coach is not for the faint of heart. Each coaches journey is unpredictable and challenging in it's own way and Nate's is no exception. Oftentimes what we see is the plethora of geographical or career moves a coach makes. What we don't see is challenges these coaches face in their lives.

During his time in Springdale with MSU, Nate and Anna's son, Elijah, was stillborn at 8 months due to Dandy-Walker Syndrome. Nate's father, Mac, passed away April 4th, 2019. Nate and his family have clung to the steadfast love of Christ through it all.

Nate’s time at Arkansas is the longest he’s spent at any one stop along the way. He currently attends Cross Church in Fayetteville which is where he plugged in upon arriving to Fayetteville. He’s always sought out a church upon arriving in a new town. In Springfield, their church and small group were instrumental in helping them through the loss of Elijah. Getting plugged into church right away has always been critical not only to Nate, but to Anna and their kids as well.

Although we have seen the impact Nate has been able to make on the field through the Razorback lineup, his hope is to always have an impact outside of the game.