2024-2025 DSU Pitching Staff Review

A Year In Review: 2024-2025 DSU Pitching Staff

Coming off the heels of a successful and record-breaking 2024 season campaign, the 2024-2025 Dakota State University baseball pitching staff knew it had their work cut out for them for the 2025 season. A pitching staff which graduated 8 players, including 2 All-Conference pitchers and a conference Pitcher of the Year finalist, from a year ago geared up for a season that presented itself with the toughest schedule the Dakota State baseball program had ever encountered before. 

The 2025 schedule for the Trojans included 12 games against teams in the NAIA Pre-Season Top 25 Poll. Overall, 18 of the 30 non-conference games (60% of the non-conference schedule) and 26 of the 50 total games (52% of the total schedule) scheduled were against teams that were one or more of the following in 2024:

1)  Top 25

2)  Receiving Votes (RV) to be nationally ranked          

3)  National Tournament Qualifier          

4)  Area Ranking Committee (ARC/regionally ranked)

5)  Played in a Conference Tournament Championship Game  

6)  30+ wins

Nevertheless, the team, and pitching staff, were set up to face some of the premier competition across the NAIA. A season in which saw the DSU program finish with a 26-24 record, clinching the fourth consecutive winning season for the Trojans, also featured some notable achievements, broken records and impressive finishes for the pitching staff along the way.

Of the 213 NAIA baseball programs, the DSU pitching staff finished the 2025 season ranked nationally in the top 50 in the following statistics:

• 19th in K/9
• 24th in Runs Allowed
• 25th in Earned Runs Allowed 
• 29th in Hits Allowed
• 32nd in Walks Allowed
• 38th in WHIP
• 42nd in ERA
• 48th in Strikeouts

Within the conference, the DSU pitching staff finished the 2025 season ranked in the following statistics:

• 2nd in K/9
• 2nd in ERA
• 2nd in Hits Allowed
• 3rd in Runs Allowed
• 3rd in Earned Runs Allowed
• 3rd in WHIP
• 3rd in Strikeouts
• 3rd in Walks Allowed

Not only did the pitching staff as a whole perform well, but some of the pitchers found success at the individual level within the conference as well.

• 1st in strikeouts (88)
• 3rd in ERA (3.31)
• 3rd in Wins (7)

In addition to the national and conference finishes, the DSU pitching staff also saw some individual and program pitching records be tied or broken throughout the 2025 season. The following are all records that were either broken or tied this season.

• 

  
  

  Career strikeouts (262)
• Career starts (36)
• Season complete games (9)
• Season complete game shutouts (3)

Lastly, the DSU pitching staff concluded the 2025 season with 2 All-Conference selections, including the 2025 NSAA Conference Pitcher of the Year. Additionally, 2 DSU pitchers were offered professional contracts following the season. Needless to say it was a season the pitching staff can look back on and be proud of. However, the success and what it took to get them there, did not come easy. Let's take a deeper look into the year that was for the Trojan pitching staff.

FALL 2024

We here at DSU highly value our 8 week fall team practice period. The fall is used mostly for observation and internal competition, but player development and personal growth is at the forefront as well. The fall began with baseline testing bullpens to see where each pitcher stood in terms of velocity, spin rates, etc. coming off their competing and training seasons from the summer time. From there, the team engaged in intrasquad scrimmages three days a week which also featured games against outside competition along the way. Within each of those live outings, each pitcher was tracked on five major metrics that we highly covet on our pitching staff including strike percentage, first pitch strike percentage, first two of three pitches for a strike percentage, off-speed strike percentage and time to plate. These metrics are ones we believe give great insight into what leads to overall success on the mound per outing.

Similar to the past, we placed a staff goal of 65% on the first three metrics, 60% on off-speed strike percentage and a 1.30 or lower time to the plate. After enough data had built up through the first two weeks of the fall, our pitching staff had recorded a 56% strike percentage, 49% first pitch strike percentage, 58% first two of three percentage, 58% off-speed percentage and a 1.22 time to the plate. Surely, some of the categories exceeded or were close to our staff goals, but we knew we could do better. At the conclusion of the fall six weeks later, we increased our strike percentage from 56% to 59%, first pitch strike percentage from 49% to 57%, first two of three percentage from 58% to 70%, off-speed strike percentage from 58% to 61% and decreased our time to the plate from a 1.22 to a 1.16. While some of our staff goals may not have been fully met, given the internal and external competition our staff faced this past fall, our pitching staff displayed a vast improvement both individually and collectively throughout the fall. 

This fall, we dove a little deeper and took more of a look at that efficiency makeup of each pitcher. After every outing, each pitcher was able to go in on one of our spreadsheet trackers and see how early they were able to get hitters out of the box and how often they were able to get ahead of hitters in the count in every at-bat of their outing. We firmly believe that being efficient, limiting free passes and forcing hitters to get themselves out are keys to having success on the mound. We also broke down each pitcher's arsenal to see how often they were throwing each of their pitches, the strike percentage of each of their pitches and what percentage of each pitch contributed to their total strikeout numbers. Nonetheless, not only was each pitcher seeing how they performed metrically, but they were also given a clear depiction of how often they were having success and where in their makeup it came from. This allowed each pitcher, and our catchers for that matter, to have a better understanding of who they are and what makes them successful the most.

Now, you may be asking what led to those improvements? The answer is simple; organization, consistency and competition. We firmly believe that a detailed and organized plan is critical for player development, especially on the mound. Every day, each pitcher arrived to practice knowing exactly what their throwing program, arm care and recovery required of them that day given the daily throwing development program that is created for each member of our staff. Each pitcher knew the intensity and volume of their throwing and how to properly recover to keep them healthy and they did it on a daily basis. Our pitching staff has nearly an hour of practice time dedicated to their daily work and no aspect from pre-throwing to recovery is overlooked. As the old saying goes, if you take care of your arm it will take care of you. Lastly, there is the competition aspect. As pitchers, we should always find ways to keep practice days and bullpens game like so that we can replicate our environment out on the game mound. Bullpen competitions and pitch design scripts were just a couple of ways our guys battled against one another while developing in the process to become a better pitcher. And just like we have always done, our utilization of technology and video analysis aided each of our guys' process to help them grow and identify their makeup as a pitcher and where areas of improvement were needed.

Sure, the fall is a long way away from the spring season but it is just as important to us as any other time of the year. Roles are defined and earned, development is ongoing and the identity of the team are all aspects that are generated in the fall team practice season. The fall also gives each of our guys a tremendous understanding of what makes them successful and where they need to improve as they then head into the individual development season.

WINTER 2024-2025

At the conclusion of the fall, each pitcher sits down with the coaching staff to collaborate and construct their plan of attack for the individual development season. This time of the year is another roughly 8 week period spanning from mid-October to early December before players head home for winter break. Within those 8 weeks, each pitcher receives more one-on-one coaching aiming to build on the strengths they possess that make them unique while also attacking areas of deficiencies they posses. Our coaching staff here at DSU places a high emphasis on player development and values creating the right plan best fit for each individual and not mass-produced across the entire pitching staff. Each pitcher is different from their makeup, arsenal, mechanics, etc. so it is vital that their plan is conducive to making them better while also not changing who they are and worsening their skill set.

There are a variety of ways this time of the year can go for our guys. Some pitchers prioritize improving velocity while some focus on pitch design this time of the year. Other guys simply wants to gain strength and improve mobility to further refine their mechanics and how they move down the mound. Nevertheless, the area of focus that is decided on between each pitcher and the coaching staff sets the stage as to what their individual development season will look like. From there, drills and different exercises involving plyo balls, water bags, med balls, etc. are all training tools we utilize to help implement each pitcher's plan and see the results materialize. 

Let's take a couple looks at these player development plans being put into action and the results they brought. Coming into the fall and continuing into the individual development season, a goal for "Pitcher A" was to increase his velocity and have it be a consistent jump for him in his skillset. Pitcher A had been in our program for a few years by this point and was consistently 82-84 mph in his career. With his frame, we certainly knew there was more in the tank for him. Through a proper throwing program, an extensive velocity phase and refining some mechanics in his arm slot through the aid of technology and video analysis, Pitcher A was able to see his velocity increase consistently to 87-88 mph and topping at 90.1 mph this season. Pitcher A earned a role in our starting rotation all season and graduates from DSU with his name littered throughout the record books in the DSU baseball program as he continues his baseball career at the professional level. 

Another example of our player development process paying dividends came with Player B. Player B came to our program as one we saw that had some untapped potential waiting to be unlocked. During the recruiting process and into the fall season, Pitcher B would be sitting 81-83 mph with a plus breaking ball. While his breaking ball was his put away pitch, we set out with a plan to enhance the quality of his fastball to make him a more dynamic pitcher on our staff. Through early sessions on Rapsodo, we noticed that Pitcher B had inadvertent cut on his fastball, causing his spin rate to only reach the low 2000's range occasionally and a spin efficiency percentage in the high 70's/low 80's. Our plan for Pitcher B for the individual development season was to breakdown his release on his fastball and clean up some arm mechanics to not only improve his velocity but other areas of the pitch as well. Through different arm mechanics exercises, plyo ball throwing drills and consistent pitch release cues, Pitcher B was able to take his velocity from 81-83 mph to consistently sitting 85-86 mph and topping out at 87.3 mph this spring season. Not only that, but Pitcher B consistently saw his fastball spin rate increase by an additional 250 rpms and a 10% increase in his spin efficiency. This allowed Pitcher B to find better success in our intrasquad scrimmages and live at-bat sessions, leading to him earning a spot on the travel roster all season and in position to be even more of an impact arm for us for the 2026 season.

These are just a couple of examples of the results of our player development process coming to fruition. We prioritize player development in our program with the goal being to maximize each pitcher's potential and to further improve the quality of our pitching staff. Player development is an ongoing process in our program and never truly ends. Once the individual development season concludes, players are back home for winter break before returning to campus in January for the new semester. In that time home, each pitcher is given an organized, day by day throwing development plan to properly ramp up for the spring season. Once the team returned to campus in January, we had approximately three weeks before the start of the 2025 season so it was critical that pitchers were built up and ready to go by that time during their time at home. 

Again, while there are many tools and resources at our disposal that we utilize to develop our players, the bulk of the work derives from our organization, consistency and situations we put in our players in to replicate the game like environment and have success. Each pitcher on our staff is here because of the success they have had and work they put in up to this point in their career. It is our job as coaches to further improve and develop their skillset and unlock their true potential during their time in our program.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The 2024-2025 year challenged the DSU pitching staff, and team overall, in more ways than one. Through the rigorous schedule, injuries and copious amount of travel, the pitching staff should look back on this year and be proud of their collective and individual accomplishments. As seen from above, the success and results we achieved this year just did not happen overnight. It took months of hard work, preparation and overcoming adversity to get where we finished. Through all the highs and lows of the season, the pitching staff and team in general stayed true to their identity and was one of the most resilient and battle-tested groups I have seen in a long time. As their coach, I could not be more appreciative and grateful of their efforts. 

Not only was this year's pitching staff a quality one, but it was also a veteran one. We are graduating many pitchers, and players overall, on this team that have helped lay the foundation and gotten this program to where it is at today. While we will miss their impact on the field, their impact off the field and contribution to building the culture of this baseball program is irreplaceable. As a member of this coaching staff, I feel so fortunate to have crossed paths with that group of guys and thank them for the impact they have made on me and our program. 

With that being said, this fall will be the dawn of a new era in Dakota State University baseball. We are excited about the core group of returners along with the promising recruiting class we have signed over this past year. While we are proud of what we accomplished this year, our ultimate goals have yet to be achieved. Summer development programs have been created and sent out and I am excited to see the gains our guys make over the summer. 

Back to work.