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Perspective, perseverance fuel Van Dyk's impact on Blinn pitching staff

Six years after a life-altering car accident, Buccaneers' pitching coach is helping develop one of the nation's premier staffs

Baseball

Perspective, perseverance fuel Van Dyk's impact on Blinn pitching staff

Six years after a life-altering car accident, Buccaneers' pitching coach is helping develop one of the nation's premier staffs

For Chase Van Dyk, every pitching lesson comes with a reminder.

Six years ago, the former collegiate standout was preparing for what he believed would be the next step in his baseball career. After transferring from the University of Oklahoma to Grayson College, signing with the University of Missouri and emerging as one of the nation's top junior-college pitchers, Van Dyk appeared poised for a bright future on the mound.

Then a car accident changed everything. Today, Van Dyk is once again in the dugout — not as the pitcher he once hoped to become, but as a rising pitching coach helping guide one of the nation's most dominant staffs at Blinn College.

In his first season as Blinn's full-time pitching coach, the Buccaneers have compiled a 45-12 record, captured the Region 14 South regular-season championship, Region 14 Tournament title, Region 14 Super Regional championship and Mid-South District crown, and earned the program's fourth consecutive trip to the NJCAA Division I Baseball World Series in Grand Junction, Colo.

The results on the mound have been equally impressive.

Blinn ranks fifth nationally in strikeouts (530) and strikeouts per nine innings (11.16), ninth in WHIP, 11th in earned runs allowed, and 16th in both hits and runs allowed. Four pitchers have earned at least six victories, five members of the staff are committed to NCAA Power 5 programs, and 11 of the 16 pitchers who have taken the mound this season have recorded more strikeouts than innings pitched.

The success is particularly meaningful for Van Dyk, whose own playing career ended far sooner than expected.

A standout left-handed pitcher from Reedy High School in Frisco, Texas, Van Dyk began his collegiate career at Oklahoma before transferring to Grayson, where he played under current Blinn head coach Dusty Hart during the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

The move revitalized his career.

Van Dyk helped lead the Vikings to a conference championship as a freshman before earning all-star honors the following fall and signing with Missouri. Grayson opened the shortened 2020 campaign ranked among the nation's best and appeared poised for a run at a national title before the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly ended the season.

"We started off that spring something like 20-3," Van Dyk recalled. "We were ranked either No. 1, 2, or 3 in every national poll. There was a lot of talent in that building, and we all knew we were going to win a World Series if COVID didn't happen."

Just weeks later, another unexpected twist altered the trajectory of his life.

A car accident left Van Dyk hospitalized for weeks, forced him to relearn how to walk, and required multiple spinal surgeries and skin grafts to repair major burns to his legs. Though he eventually made his way to Missouri and briefly attempted a comeback, additional complications ultimately ended his playing career.

"I was grateful just to be alive," Van Dyk said. "My career was secondary at that point. There never really was a 'Why me?' moment. It was more, 'It is what it is.' You can either be the victim or decide to make the best of what you've got."

Instead of walking away from baseball, Van Dyk redirected the passion he once poured into his own career toward developing the next generation of pitchers.

Having grown up around elite-level coaches through his family's involvement with the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy in Frisco, he found coaching came naturally. After hanging up his cleats in 2021, he accepted a position at Ranger College and quickly established himself as one of the state's rising young pitching coaches.

In 2023, his lone season at Ranger, Van Dyk helped produce three of NJCAA Region 5's top four strikeout leaders while guiding eight pitchers to NCAA Division I opportunities.

That success caught Hart's attention.

"Chase played for me, so we already had a relationship built in," Hart said. "More than anything with assistant coaches, trust is a huge factor for me. You have to know you can trust a guy and know he'll have your back when you need him.

"Knowing how good he was as a player and as a coach, what he did at Ranger was really impressive. That wasn't an accident. You have to really develop guys and work with them to achieve something like that."

Van Dyk joined the Bucs as a volunteer assistant in 2025 before becoming the team's full-time pitching coach this season.

Hart believes the former player has brought a unique blend of modern analytics, player development, and relatability to the coaching staff.

"He definitely speaks their language more than I do," Hart said with a laugh. "Not having a massive age gap helps get the message across."

The relationship has been especially valuable for pitchers throughout the Bucs' staff, perhaps none more so than redshirt freshman Luke Ekdall.

The former outfielder committed to pitching full-time before the 2025 season, only to see his first opportunity on the mound cut short by an arm injury. He returned this spring and quickly blossomed into one of the NJCAA's most dominant strikeout pitchers.

Entering the World Series, Ekdall is tied for the national lead with 112 strikeouts in 74 2/3 innings pitched while compiling a 7-6 record and a 4.58 earned run average. On May 9, he tossed a five-inning no-hitter against San Jacinto College-North in the Region 14 North Regional Tournament championship game.

"I didn't know a single thing about pitching because I started pitching my second year here," Ekdall said.

According to Ekdall, Van Dyk taught him how to interpret advanced pitching data through tools such as TrackMan, helping him better understand pitch movement, spin rates, release points and performance trends from outing to outing.

"He taught me everything there is to know about what to study and analyze between outings," Ekdall said. "You have that information available as well as somebody who's super knowledgeable about it, so he can look at it and say, 'All right, this is why you didn't pitch well. Let's fix it this way.' That's helped me a lot this season."

"I don't think I'd understand pitching nearly as well without Chase," he added. "He's really good at what he does. He's got a bright future. He's one of the best pitching analytics guys I've ever been around."

Even Hart has embraced the analytical perspective Van Dyk brings to the clubhouse.

"It's good to give our guys as much information as we possibly can to help them get where they want to go," Hart said. "Chase has made me better. He's teaching everybody, not just the pitchers.

"I'm old school, he's new school, and we balance each other out."

But numbers and technology are only part of Van Dyk's approach.

Years removed from the accident that altered his future, he emphasizes perspective, accountability, and commitment.

"You have to sacrifice your ego," Van Dyk said. "You have to put execution over ego. I tell these guys it could end any day. Sacrifice everything today so you can look back and say you gave everything to your career."

Those lessons have resonated throughout the clubhouse.

"Whether it's Ekdall or any of the other great pitchers we have on this team, they have been totally bought into the message and program since day one," Van Dyk said. "I'm incredibly grateful for those guys trusting me with their development. I couldn't have asked for better athletes and human beings to work with."

Hart sees Van Dyk's player-coach relationships as one of the biggest reasons behind the Bucs' success.

"Assistant coach quality is a huge factor in everything we do," Hart said. "Assistants never get enough credit. Never have and probably never will."

As Blinn prepares for another run at a national championship, Hart believes Van Dyk's story serves as a powerful reminder for every player in the dugout.

"We're here to help these guys grow into great young men, way more than just winning baseball games," Hart said. "At 18, 19, 20 years old, players think they're invincible and that they're going to live forever. They don't always look at the big picture. Chase's story is heartbreaking in a lot of ways, but it's also a pretty awesome story about perseverance and is definitely a constant reminder that the gifts you've been given can be taken away at any moment. Any day you get to step on the baseball field is a blessing."

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 53 national championships since 1987.
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Players Mentioned

Luke Ekdall

#11 Luke Ekdall

P/OF
6' 1"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Luke Ekdall

#11 Luke Ekdall

6' 1"
Freshman
P/OF