09/04/2026
I decided to do some research on Norm DeBriyn, and as I did my research, my dear friend and classmate from St. Agnes and the Ashland High School Class of 1976, John Hennell, was also coming up in many of the articles I was finding, so I'm just going to do a combined post on both of them.
This history is from the American Baseball Coaches Association: Norm DeBriyn was born Oct. 31, 1942. DeBriyn was a football, basketball, and baseball standout at DePadua High School in Ashland, Wisconsin. He continued his playing career at Wisconsin-Oshkosh and earned his degree there in 1963. In football he played split end and was a first baseman and outfielder on the diamond.
He launched his coaching career with a five-year stint as head baseball and assistant football coach at Hortonville (Wis.) High School. He then moved to the University of Northern Colorado, where he served as freshman baseball coach while earning a master’s degree in physical education. He came to Fayetteville, Arkansas, in the fall of 1969 and has been in Fayetteville ever since.
In a head coaching career that spanned four decades, DeBriyn took over as head coach of Razorback baseball in 1970 at the age of 28. DeBriyn guided the Razorbacks to two Southwest Conference titles, one Southeastern Conference title, one SEC Western Division title, 15 NCAA Tournament appearances and four NCAA College World Series appearances. The Razorbacks had their best national finish is school history under DeBriyn in 1979 as they finished runner-up in the College World Series.
Upon his retirement, DeBriyn ranked 14th all-time in career wins among NCAA Division I head coaches with a record of 1,161-650-6 and a career winning percentage of .641. He still ranks as the University of Arkansas’ all-time victories leader. In 33 years with Razorback baseball, DeBriyn coached 19 All-America selections, six Freshman All-Americans, 58 All-Conference selections and 48 All-Conference Tournament selections. DeBriyn was named SEC Coach of the Year in 1999 and earned SWC Coach of the Year in 1978, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1989 and 1990. He was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and the Razorback Hall of Honor in 1991. He was inducted into the ABCA Hall of Fame in 2003 and is also a member of the Wisconsin-Oshkosh Hall of Fame.
Since his retirement from coaching following the 2002 season, DeBriyn has served as a part-time scout for the Colorado Rockies and Associate Director of the Razorback Foundation. He has been instrumental in fundraising for multiple expansions of Baum Stadium. DeBriyn married the former Caroline Mock of Honolulu, Hawaii. They have two sons, Todd and Marty, and one daughter, Carrie Jo. DeBriyn was ordained a deacon in the Catholic Church in November of 2012, and has been assigned to St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church on campus.
John Hennell was born in Ashland, Wisconsin, in 1958. He attended St. Agnes Catholic School through 8th grade, and then Ashland High School, graduating in 1976. John earned five letters as an Oredocker playing football, tennis, track, and baseball. John’s first love was baseball, where he was an All-Conference performer.
After high school, John went to the University of Arkansas, coached by Norm DeBriyn, where he played for four years; competing in the 1979 College World Series. John spent several seasons in the minor leagues playing in the Padres system, for the Utica Blue Socks, and in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system. John and his wife Carol now live in Madison, Wisconsin. They have one son, Michael. John loves fishing and continues to make frequent visits to Ashland to fish and see friends and family. John was inducted into the Ashland High School Hall of Fame in 2025.
There are many more things I could type about both Norm DeBriyn and John Hennell, but, instead, I invite you to read and enjoy all of the attachments from my research.
Enjoy. Jim.
