Dakota State University

As the 2027 season approaches, Derrion Hardie enters his seventh full season (eighth season counting the COVID canceled 2020 season) as the head baseball coach at Dakota State University and is closing in on several significant career milestones. Hardie is just five victories away from becoming the winningest head baseball coach in Dakota State history, 19 wins shy of his 400th career victory as a college head coach, and 22 victories from reaching 200 wins at the helm of the Trojan program.

Since taking over the Dakota State program, Hardie has helped transform Trojan baseball into a consistently competitive program within the NAIA. Since 2021, his teams have averaged 30 victories per season, including three consecutive seasons with 33 or more wins from 2022 through 2024 and multiple seasons ranking among the best in program history.

Hardie's impact at Dakota State extends well beyond the win column. Under his leadership, the Trojans have earned national and conference recognition, established numerous school records, developed All-Americans and All-Conference players, produced professional baseball players, achieved sustained academic success, and made a significant impact in the community.

A TRANSFORMATION AT DAKOTA STATE
Hardie's first full season at Dakota State came in 2021, when the Trojans finished 20-25 and produced the program's best season in five years. The turnaround was particularly significant considering Dakota State had won just nine games combined from 2017-19 prior to Hardie's arrival.

The program continued its rapid rise in 2022, finishing 33-18 and recording the third-best season in school history at the time. The Trojans defeated a nationally ranked opponent, received recognition in the NAIA Region/Area Ranking Committee polls, broke 27 school records, and finished second in the North Star Athletic Association during the regular season. Dakota State also advanced to the conference tournament championship game for the first time in program history.

In 2023, the Trojans produced a 36-win season, tying for the second-most wins in program history. Dakota State captured national attention with a nation-leading 21-game winning streak, defeated a Top 10 nationally ranked opponent, received NAIA ranking recognition, and broke 21 school records. The Trojans entered the final weekend of conference play in first place with a 23-1 league record before finishing one game short of the conference championship.

The 2024 season continued the program's sustained success as Dakota State finished 36-16, the second-best record in program history. The Trojans narrowly missed an at-large berth into the national tournament after playing one of the NAIA's more demanding schedules. The team featured a Top 10 pitching staff and Top 25 offense nationally while establishing 17 additional school records.

The 2025 Trojans continued the trend of consistency, finishing just shy of 30 victories despite another demanding schedule and injuries to key contributors. Dakota State earned recognition in the NAIA Area Ranking Committee polls, recorded three victories over Top 25 opponents, and ranked among the NAIA's Top 25 nationally in several statistical categories, including home runs, strikeouts per nine innings, runs allowed, earned run average, and runners caught stealing.

2026: CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT AND NATIONAL RECOGNITION
The 2026 season continued Dakota State's growth against one of the most challenging schedules in the NAIA, with the Trojans playing the nation's 19th-toughest schedule.

Five former Dakota State players re-signed professional baseball contracts during the year, further demonstrating the program's commitment to developing student-athletes beyond their collegiate careers. The 2026 Trojans also produced a CSC Second Team All-American, Conference Freshman-of-the-Year, three All-Tournament selections, six All-Conference selections, and five Conference Players-of-the-Week. The program established seven new school records during the season.

Dakota State also earned national recognition in several statistical categories. The Trojans ranked second in the NAIA in Runners Caught Stealing percentage (.331) and 25th nationally in home runs with 65. Senior outfielder Connor Raney ranked 24th nationally in stolen bases with 33, while senior first baseman Cameron DeMaria ranked 25th nationally in runs batted in with 66.

DEVELOPING STUDENT-ATHLETES
For Hardie, the development of a successful baseball program extends beyond wins, statistics, and championships. His program places equal emphasis on athletic development, academic achievement, character, leadership, and service.

Dakota State earned National Scholar-Team recognition in 2026 with a 3.21 team GPA. The Trojans produced nine Academic All-Americans, 18 Academic All-Conference honorees, and 25 Academic President's List recipients. The team also contributed 735 hours of community service during the season.

Those accomplishments continue a long-standing academic tradition under Hardie. During his tenure at Dakota State, Trojan baseball has consistently earned NAIA National Scholar-Team and American Baseball Coaches Association Team Academic Excellence recognition while producing large numbers of Academic All-Americans, Academic All-Conference selections, and Academic President's List recipients.

The program has also established a strong record of individual development. Since Hardie's arrival, numerous Trojans have earned All-American, All-Conference, Gold Glove, conference Pitcher-of-the-Year, National Pitcher-of-the-Week, and other postseason honors. Multiple Dakota State players have gone on to sign professional baseball contracts.

A CAREER OF BUILDING PROGRAMS
Prior to Dakota State, Hardie served as the head baseball coach at Ecclesia College in Springdale, Arkansas, where he was hired to build the baseball program from the ground up. From its launch in 2013, Hardie guided the Royals to six consecutive winning seasons and six consecutive postseason appearances.

Hardie's five-year vision for the program culminated in 2017 when Ecclesia qualified for the World Series and finished the season ranked seventh nationally. His most successful season came in 2018, when the Royals finished 35-18, established numerous team statistical records, and posted a .330 team batting average and 3.27 team earned run average.

During six seasons as the head coach at Ecclesia, Hardie guided the program to 175 victories while coaching eight players who went on to sign professional contracts, five All-Americans, 18 All-Region selections, 24 All-Conference selections, two Conference Players-of-the-Year, and two Conference Pitchers-of-the-Year.

Hardie previously served as the head baseball coach at Northwestern College in Iowa, where his teams consistently ranked among the Great Plains Athletic Conference's leaders in offensive and defensive production. His teams earned national recognition in numerous NAIA statistical categories, including his 2003 squad that ranked 16th nationally with 43 home runs.

That same season, Hardie coached an athlete who ranked second nationally in batting average at .493, fifth nationally with 17 home runs, and 12th nationally with 57 runs batted in. During his time at Northwestern, Hardie coached two NAIA All-Americans.

Earlier in his collegiate coaching career, Hardie served as an assistant baseball coach at his alma mater, the University of Sioux Falls, where he worked primarily with the catchers and hitters. During his time with the Cougars, the program qualified for the postseason, while Hardie assisted in the development of 2001 Great Plains Athletic Conference Pitcher-of-the-Year Adam Heiden and First Team NAIA All-American outfielder Joe Bolstad.

HIGH SCHOOL SUCCESS
In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Hardie spent 10 years as a successful high school head baseball coach in Minnesota and South Dakota. His teams qualified for the state tournament in nine of those 10 seasons.

During his high school coaching career, Hardie coached 29 All-State and 46 All-Region athletes, while 18 of his players went on to sign collegiate baseball National Letters of Intent.

CAREER MILESTONES
Hardie entered the 2024 season with 300 career victories as a college head coach within reach and surpassed the milestone during the season, finishing with 334 career victories at that time. He also surpassed 100 victories as Dakota State's head coach, reaching 131 wins by the conclusion of the 2024 campaign.

As he enters the 2027 season, Hardie has continued to build on those milestones and is approaching 400 career victories as a college head coach and 200 victories at Dakota State.

Across his collegiate coaching career, Hardie has built programs characterized by sustained competitive success, player development, academic achievement, and community involvement.

PERSONAL
A native of Aberdeen, South Dakota, Hardie is a graduate of the University of Sioux Falls. He and his wife, Lisa, have been married for 33 years. They have three children, Sierra, Zach, and Madisyn, and two grandchildren, Sofia and Cruise.
 

Derrion Hardie's Coaching Era at Dakota State (S.D.)
Year	Overall Record	Conference Record	Conference Place Finish	Postseason
2027
2026	21-30-1	10-14-1	4th (Frontier)	Frontier Postseason Tournament (3rd place)
2025	26-24	10-10	T-3rd (NSAA)	NSAA Postseason Tournament
2024	36-16	17-6	2nd (NSAA)	NSAA Postseason Tournament
2023	36-18	24-4	2nd (NSAA)	NSAA Postseason Tournament (3rd place)
2022	33-18	15-9	2nd (NSAA)	NSAA Postseason Tournament (Runner-up)
2021	20-25	13-15	6th (NSAA)	NSAA Postseason Tournament
2020	6-9	----	-----	COVID year
Total:	178-140-1	89-58-1