Hope College steps onto the diamond in 2025 for a new era of Flying Dutchmen baseball.

Former Texas Rangers prospect Ryan Dorow is in his first season at the helm at Hope after serving the past two seasons as an assistant coach under the now-retired Stu Fritz.

The Flying Dutchmen, who finished third in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll, start their season this week.

Dorow is excited for Hope fans to see the team in action.

"We like to play a fast style of baseball that's also gritty. We want to play disciplined baseball," Dorow said. "Everyone is going to see a really good brand of baseball that's exciting to watch. We'll play with passion."

ROSTER

The Flying Dutchmen's roster of 38 features six seniors, 10 juniors, five sophomores, 17 freshmen and two All-MIAA selections.

Hope has four captains, all seniors: infielder Dylan Kleinedler (Sterling Heights, Michigan / Stevenson HS), infielder Al Money (Midland, Michigan / Midland), pitcher Trent Johnson (Midland, Michigan / H.H. Dow) and pitcher Mason Belmore (Battle Creek, Michigan / Lakeview).

Johnson, the 2024 MIAA Most Valuable Pitcher of the Year and All-MIAA First Team honoree, returns on the mound after recording career-highs last season with seven wins, 82.1 innings pitcher and 55 strikeouts. The 6-2 righthander finished with a 3.28 ERA.

First baseman Cade Seabaugh (Ballwin, Missouri / Ladue Horton) earned All-MIAA Second Team accolades as a designated hitter last season. The 6-4 junior batted .328 last season with seven home runs and 27 runs batted in during the 2024 season.

The 5-10 Money is a career .312 hitter in 114 games who has recorded 77 career RBIs.

The 6-3 Belmore registered a career-high in wins last season with a 6-3 record. The righthander posted a 3.71 ERA with career-highs in innings pitched with 63 and strikeouts with 41.

Outfielder Brenden Collins (Kalamazoo, Michigan / Hackett Catholic Central) collected 29 RBIs and hit .279 last season as a freshman.

"We have some guys returning who had a huge impact on our team last year. We're returning tons of experience on both sides of the ball," Dorow said. "We're super excited for some young people who are going to get some time early. One thing we're trying to implement is the concept of practicing dirty to play clean in games. We want to do the work so we can have the rewards when game time starts."

COACHING STAFF

Head Coach: Ryan Dorow, 1st season
Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator: Tom Kort
Pitching Coach: Nathan Wargolet
Outfield Coach: Travis Stricklin
Hitting Coach: Devin Schaefers
Catching Coach: Ryan Blake Jones
Student Assistant: Branden Rosenfeld

Dorow begins his first season as head coach after previously serving on the Flying Dutchmen coaching staff for two years. In 2024, Dorow was the team's recruiting coordinator under now-retired head coach Stu Fritz.

Before Hope, Dorow was a decorated four-year starter at Adrian College. He was a three-time, All-American recipient along with three-time MIAA Position Player of the Year. As a freshman, Dorow was named Rookie of the Year by D3baseball.com.

After graduating from Adrian, Dorow was drafted by the Texas Rangers. In his seven years playing professionally, Dorow was named Organizational Defensive Player of the Year in 2018 along with a Carolina League All-Star in 2019. Dorow made his Major League debut against the Cleveland Guardians during the 2021 season.

Kort previously served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Calvin University (2021-23) and his alma mater, Olivet College (now The University of Olivet), for one season (2016). 

Wargolet served as pitching coach at Muskegon Community College last season. The former Grand Valley State University pitcher remains on the coaching staff for the Kalamazoo Growlers of the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer wooden bat league.

SCHEDULE

The Flying Dutchmen's opening day is Monday, Feb. 24, with two games in Westfield, Indiana: 11 a.m. vs. Baldwin-Wallace University (Ohio) and 2 p.m. vs. Heidelberg University (Ohio).

Hope will play games in Kentucky and Indiana over the following two weekends before heading on its annual spring break trip to Florida.

The Flying Dutchmen's home opener is Tuesday, March 25, at 1 p.m. against Manchester University (Indiana) at Boeve Baseball Stadium.

MIAA play begins on Friday, March 28, at 4 p.m. against visiting Trine University. Hope will play a three-game series against seven league opponents.