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26 Derrion Hardie Headshot

Derrion Hardie

The 2024–25 campaign marked another milestone year under Derrion Hardie, further solidifying Dakota State University Baseball’s rise within the NAIA ranks.  Despite falling short of a conference title and national tournament berth, the Trojans posted one of the program’s grittiest and most well-rounded seasons.  Battling through a demanding schedule—one of the strongest strength of schedules in the NAIA—and overcoming injuries to key contributors, DSU finished just shy of 30 wins and continued a remarkable trend of consistency, now averaging 32 victories per season since 2021.

The 2025 squad delivered numerous standout accomplishments. Four Trojans signed professional contracts (Walker Hultgren-outfielder, Sam Tyrpa-right handed pitcher, Nicholai Arbach-right handed pitcher, and Cassidy Watt-catcher), the team earned recognition in the NAIA Area Ranking Committee (ARC) polls, and DSU secured three victories over Top 25 or Receiving-Votes opponents.  The program also ranked among the NAIA’s Top 25 nationally in home runs, strikeouts per nine innings, runs allowed, earned run average, and runners caught stealing.  Individual accolades highlighted DSU’s pitching strength, including the NAIA National Pitcher of the Week and the North Star Conference Pitcher of the Year honors.  Six players earned All-Conference selections, complemented by five Conference Player-of-the-Week awards.  The Trojans also continued to rewrite the school record book, breaking seven program marks during the season.

Academically, emphasis on excellence was equally evident.  DSU earned National Scholar Team recognition with a 3.19 team GPA and produced an impressive number of high-achieving student-athletes: 14 Academic All-Americans, 26 Academic All-Conference honorees, and 21 Academic President’s List recipients.  Beyond the classroom and ball field, the team made a meaningful community impact, completing 825 hours of service in Madison and the surrounding area.

The 2025 season further reflected Hardie’s commitment to developing a championship-level culture built on toughness, consistency, academic achievement, and service—hallmarks that continue to elevate Dakota State Baseball both regionally and nationally.

The 2024 season marked Hardie’s fourth full year (fifth year total counting the COVID canceled 2020 season) as the head baseball coach at Dakota State University.  He finished the 2024 season achieving two career win milestones surpassing 300 wins with 334 as a college head coach and 100 wins with 131 as the head coach at Dakota State.
 
The Trojans narrowly missed receiving an at-large bid into the national tournament in 2024 finishing with a record of 36-16.  This was the third consecutive season with 33 or more wins.  Additional highlights in 2024 consisted of the second-best record in program history, a top 10 pitching staff and top 25 offense in the country and breaking 17 school records.
                                                                                       
In 2024, seven players were selected as conference Player-of-the-Week and 12 players were selected to the All-Conference teams.  Ryan McDaniel (catcher), Aidan Perry (second baseman), Sam Tyrpa (pitcher), and Will Clair (pitcher) were selected First Team All-Conference.  Jeremy Green (outfielder), Cory Brownson (outfielder), Walker Hultgren (outfielder), Hunter Vikemyr (pitcher), and JD Kirchner (pitcher) were chosen Second Team All-Conference.  Dawson Portner (third baseman) and Bubba Thompson (shortstop) received Honorable Mention All-Conference.  Perry and Green were picked for the Gold Glove team and Ned Ceklic was named to the Champions of Character team.
 
2024 gave rise to a preseason All-American and a professional contract signed.  Junior pitcher, Sam Tyrpa, was selected as a Pre-Season All-American after coming off a 2023 season where he earned Honorable Mention All-American and Conference Pitcher-of-the-Year honors.  Senior shortstop, Bubba Thompson, signed a professional contract with the Boise Hawks of the Pioneer League, an MLB Partner League.
 
The Trojans once again received recognition in 2024 as a National Scholar Team by the NAIA and given a Team Academic Excellence Award by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) for maintaining a 3.0 or higher team GPA.  The Trojans set academic program records with 32 Academic All-Conference, 28 Academic President’s List, and 13 Academic All-American athletes.
 
In 2023, the Trojans had the second-best season in program history finishing with a record of 36-18.  The program went from a total of nine wins in the three seasons prior to Hardie to 95 wins in his first three full seasons as head coach.  2023 was highlighted by a nation leading 21 game win streak that started on March 14 and ended April 17.  For the second straight year, the Trojans earned a win over a Top 10 nationally ranked team and ranking by the NAIA Region/Area Ranking Committee (ARC).  In addition, the team broke 21 school records.
 
Like 2022, the Trojans put themselves in position to win a conference championship in 2023.  They entered the last weekend of conference play in first place with a 23-1 record in a showdown with No. 5 nationally ranked Bellevue University.  Bellevue was in second place with a 22-2 record and the Trojans needed to win two of the four games in the series.  The Trojans won the first game of the series by a score of 9-6 in 15 innings but dropped the next three games by scores of 6-4, 5-2, and 12-1, falling one game short of the North Star conference title.
 
The success of the pitching staff and offense in 2023 received conference and national recognition.  The pitching staff led the conference in ERA, strikeouts, and numerous pitching categories, and they ranked 4th nationally in ERA (3.33) and Top 10 in several other categories.  The offense broke 13 of the 21 school records broken and ranked Top 25 nationally in various categories such as 23rd in doubles (114).     
 
Six players were selected as conference Player-of-the-Week and 12 players were selected to the All-Conference teams in 2023.  Mason Macaluso (outfielder), Walker Hultgren (outfielder), Sam Tyrpa (pitcher), Luke Guest (pitcher), and JD Kirchner (pitcher) were selected First Team All-Conference.  Ryan McDaniel (catcher), Jeremy Green (outfielder), and Grant Svikulis (pitcher) were chosen Second Team All-Conference.  Chris Burke (shortstop) and Nicholai Arbach (pitcher) received Honorable Mention All-Conference.  McDaniel was picked for the Gold Glove team for the second straight year and Hakeem Yatim (second base) was named to the Champions of Character team.
                                                                     
2023 for the Trojans also produced the Conference Pitcher-of-the-Year, two All-Americans, a National Pitcher-of-the-Week, and two professional contracts signed.  Sophomore pitcher, Sam Tyrpa, was selected Conference Pitcher-of-the-Year.  Junior pitcher, JD Kirchner, and Tyrpa, were Honorable Mention All-Americans.  Kirchner earned National Pitcher-of-the-Week.  Senior pitchers, Grant Svikulis and Mitsuki Shimonishi, signed independent professional contracts.

The classroom was outstanding for the Trojans in 2023.  They received recognition as a National Scholar Team by the NAIA and given a Team Academic Excellence Award by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) for maintaining a 3.0 or higher team GPA.  The Trojans had 24 Academic All-Conference, 20 Academic President’s List, and two Academic All-American athletes.
 
The Trojans finished the 2022 season with a record of 33-18.  The program went from three wins the year prior to Hardie taking over to 33 wins in his second full season as head coach.  2022 was the third-best season in program history and the best season in 15 years.  The remarkable turnaround consisted of a win over a #6 nationally ranked team, being ranked by the NAIA region/Area Ranking Committee (ARC) and breaking 27 school records.
 
The North Star Conference was formed in 2013, and since its formation, the 2022 team achieved the most conference wins (15), highest regular season finish (2nd), and first-ever appearance in the conference tournament championship game.  The Trojans lost the conference tournament championship game 1-0 to #6 nationally ranked Bellevue University.  Bellevue went on to make it the NAIA World Series.
 
In 2022, five players were selected as conference Player-of-the-Week and 10 players were selected to the All-Conference teams.  Mason Macaluso (outfielder) and Kameron Bryant (designated hitter) were selected First Team All-Conference.  Ryan McDaniel (catcher), Chris Burke (short stop), JD Kirchner (pitcher), Will Clair (pitcher), and Cole Westerlund (pitcher) were chosen Second Team All-Conference.  Walker Hultgren (outfielder) and Mitsuki Shimonishi (pitcher) received Honorable Mention All-Conference.  McDaniel was also picked for the Gold Glove team and Jackson O’Neal (outfielder) was named to the Champions of Character team.    
 
The Trojans had as much success in the classroom in 2022 as they did on the field with eight Academic All-Americans and 19 Academic All-Conference athletes.
 
2021 was Hardie's first full season as the head baseball coach and the program had its best season in five years, finishing with an overall record of 20-25.  Prior to Hardie becoming head coach, the program won just three games in 2019 and only nine games between 2017-19.
 
The 2021 season had several highlights.  In the classroom, the Trojans boasted seven Academic All-Americans and 16 Academic All-Conference athletes.  Notably, 16 Trojan athletes were tied for the most in the conference among the baseball programs. 
 
On the field, three players were selected conference Player-of-the-Week, and six players were selected to the All-Conference teams.  In addition, the Trojans shut out an NAIA’s Top 25 nationally ranked team and tied the school record for the most conference wins since the league formed in 2013. 
 
Samuel Drummond (outfielder), Chris Kropuenske (second baseman), and Ryan McDaniel (catcher) were selected to the 2021 All-Conference First Team.  Mason Macaluso (designated hitter) was chosen to the All-Conference Second Team, while Chris Burke (utility) and Jace Pribyl (first baseman) were named to the league's All-Conference Honorable Mention team. 
 
Hardie’s first season as the head baseball coach was cut short early in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic.  The Trojans finished the shortened season with a record of 6-9 and were on track to have the program’s best season since 2016. 
 
Academically, the Trojans had four Academic All-Americans and 15 Academic All-Conference athletes. 
 
On the mound, Devin DeBoer and Carver Hultgren earned conference Pitcher-of-the-Week honors.  Hultgren pitched the program's first no-hitter since 2005.
 
Offensively, Jace Pribyl finished ranked as one of the top players in the NAIA in batting average after hitting .420, and Esai Hernandez finished ranked 18th in doubles in the nation.
 
Prior to coming to Dakota State, Hardie was the head baseball coach at Ecclesia College (Ark.) where he was hired to lead the baseball program from ground zero.  He launched the program in 2013 and pioneered the Royals to six consecutive winning seasons and post-season berths.  Hardie executed a five-year vision plan to qualify for the World Series in 2017.  They finished the season ranked 7th in the nation after participating in the World Series.
 
Hardie had his most successful season in 2018, finishing 35-18.  The squad broke most of the team’s statistical records, highlighted by a .330 team batting average and 3.27 team earned run average.  The team also achieved a 3.2 team grade point average that ran the program’s streak to twelve straight semesters with a 3.0 or higher team GPA.
 
Hardie engineered 175 wins in his six seasons as the head coach at Ecclesia College.  During that time, he coached eight players that went on to sign professional contracts, five All-Americans, 18 All-Region, 24 All-Conference, two Conference Player-of-the-Year, and two Conference Pitcher-of-the-Year selections.
 
As the head baseball coach at Northwestern College (Iowa) in the early 2000’s, Hardie’s teams finished at the top of the Great Plains Athletic Conference in team offense and defense.  His Red Raider teams were most known for their offensive production.  The Red Raiders earned national recognition in the NAIA’s Top 20 in various team statistical categories, including his 2003 team that finished 16th in the nation with 43 home runs.  That same year, Hardie had an athlete ranked 2nd in the nation in batting average hitting .493, 5th in the nation with 17 home runs, and 12th in the nation with 57 runs batted in.
 
While at Northwestern, he coached two NAIA All-Americans.
 
Prior to his time at Northwestern, Hardie served as an assistant baseball coach working as the catching and hitting coach at his alma mater, the University of Sioux Falls (S.D.).  While at USF, the Cougars qualified for the post-season and he assisted with the development of the 2001 Great Plains Athletic Conference Pitcher-of-the-Year, Adam Heiden, and First Team NAIA All-American outfielder, Joe Bolstad.
 
In addition to his collegiate coaching, Hardie spent ten years as a successful high school head baseball coach in Minnesota and South Dakota.  His teams qualified for the state tournament nine of his 10 years.  During his high school coaching career, Hardie coached 29 All-State and 46 All-Region athletes.  Furthermore, 18 of his athletes signed collegiate baseball national letters-of-intent.
 
Hardie, a native of Aberdeen, S.D., has been married to his wife, Lisa, for 32 years.  They have three children: Sierra, Zach, and Madisyn, and two grandchildren: Sofia and Cruise (children of Sierra).
 
Derrion Hardie's Coaching Era at Dakota State (S.D.)
Year Overall
Record		 Conference
Record		 Conference
Place Finish		 Postseason
2026
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: 157-110 79-44