In 2021, the Dylan Dreiling junior season was highlighted by his pitching exploits by going undefeated with a 9-0 record, setting a school record for season wins while also establish a season earned-run-average mark of 0.52.
His Hays High Indians had finished third in Class 5A and Dreiling had hit .427 from his left-handed side of the plate. His 86 at-bats produced 37 hits with seven doubles, three triples and three home runs with 26 RBIs and 27 runs scored.
He earned Western Athletic Conference Baseball Player of the Year.
When his 2022 season got under way, Dreiling was nursing a tender arm and then suffered a leg injury that kept him off the mound most of the season.
What Dreiling accomplished was hitting .597 (school season record) with 40 hits in 67 official at-bats. He walked 24 times, meaning he received a free pass 26 percent of the time he came to the plate.
“Considering the injuries I battled, I thought the senior season went about as well as could be expected,” Dreiling said in a telephone interview. “The coaches let me hit and I’d do my best to get to the base. Sometimes, they’d pinch hit, but they couldn’t do that all the time.”
His explosion at the plate earned him a repeat of his WAC Baseball Player of the Year award.
He instead focused on his hitting and the 5-11, 195-pound Tennessee University bound Dreiling unloaded on opposing pitchers. The Volunteers have been the No. 1-ranked NCAA Division I team most of the spring season.
He produced 27 runs, 18 singles, 12 doubles and a season record 10 home runs. He struck out only four times and had 38 RBIs to cap off a season in which his slugging percentage reached an unheard of 1.223.
He said the Volunteer coaching staff has indicated an outfield position will be his most likely position with the possibility of some spot pitching.
“It was a little frustrating because it (walks) came more at the end of the year,” Dreiling said. “I think the numbers indicate that I got stronger this year and I did that by getting in the weight room in the off-season.”
His limited time on the mound resulted in a 0-3 record in just four appearances. One of those, however, was a memorable 9.2 innings in a wild, 16-inning home game against Manhattan in which Dreiling crushed a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 12th to tie the game at 2-all, only to see the visitors produce two winning runs in the 16th.
“It was just a fun game to play, but disappointing to lose,” Dreiling said. “Hitting the home run (opposite field to left) was something I’ll always remember.”
Dreiling, who played elite summer baseball in Georgia, said he worked hard to re-adjust his hitting to the speed of the pitchers he faced in Kansas as opposed to more powerful pitching in his summer league.
“Sometimes, it was hard to stay back on a pitch, but I figured it out,” he said. “I saw a lot of sliders and curves, but the intentional walks were the hardest to accept.”
Dreiling, who played in the outfield in his freshman and junior seasons (sophomore season canceled due to COVID-19), said he will remember the special times playing with his childhood friends throughout his three-year career with HHS.
“These are the guys I grew up playing with since we were little kids,” Dreiling said. “They are my lifetime friends and I will just remember many things that were fun. We had a lot of success.”
This year, the Indians went 6-2 in the WAC and shared the conference title with Great Bend, whose coach, Randy Beck, earned the WAC Coach of the Year honor.
Dreiling leaves Hays High with 11 season and career records, including an 18-strikeout game his junior year.
“Each season has its own special memory I think,” Dreiling said. “I don’t think any one season stands out more than others. I just enjoyed playing with all my friends. That was the best part.”
Dreiling was joined on the all-WAC first team by teammate Garrett Wellbrock while co-champion Great Bend snared three spots – Chayse Gruber, Sage Koelsch and Paco Hernandez. Garden City, third in the conference, had seniors Micah Perez and Caleb Metzen on the squad; Chayston Keck and Aidan Sowers represented Dodge City while Hunter Huskey of Liberal rounded out the first team.
First Team All-League Selections
| Name | Year | Position | School | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dylan Dreiling | 12 | OF/P | Hays |
| 2 | Chayse Gruber | 12 | 3B/P | Great Bend |
| 3 | Micah Perez | 12 | SS | Garden City |
| 4 | Hunter Huskey | 12 | OF | Liberal |
| 5 | Chayston Keck | 12 | SS/P | Dodge City |
| 6 | Garrett Wellbrock | 12 | IF/P | Hays |
| 7 | Sage Koelsch | 12 | IF/P | Great Bend |
| 8 | Caleb Metzen | 12 | IF/P | Garden City |
| 9 | Aidan Sowers | 12 | IF/P | Dodge City |
| 10 | Paco Hernandez | 12 | OF/P | Great Bend |
Second Team All-League Selections
| Name | Year | Position | School | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Noah Weimer | 12 | IF | Hays |
| 2 | Ricardo Almanza | 12 | OF | Garden City |
| 3 | Israel Garcia Rotolo | 11 | OF/C | Liberal |
| 4 | Remmington Miller | 10 | C/P | Dodge City |
| 5 | Gavin Haberman | 12 | OF | Great Bend |
| 6 | Bradyn Dreher | 11 | IF/P | Hays |
| 7 | Stefan Spray | 12 | IF/P | Great Bend |
| 8 | Carlos Campos | 12 | IF | Liberal |
| 9 | Brad Beck | 12 | C/3B | Great Bend |
| 10 | Dalton Dale | 12 | UT | Hays |
