Huskies, Dolan agree to contract extension
6/22/2021 1:00:00 PM | Baseball
ST. CLOUD, MINN. - The St. Cloud State University baseball team has found no shortage of success in the past 14 seasons. With current head coach Pat Dolan at the helm, the Huskies have established themselves as one of the top teams in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and nationally within NCAA Division II. After another successful season, St. Cloud State Director of Athletics Heather Weems announced a four year contract extension through the 2024-25 season.
"Coach Dolan and Huskies Baseball have consistently achieved success in the classroom and on the field during his time at St. Cloud State," said Weems. "Additionally, Pat has established a robust connection with alumni who regularly attend events and give back to our program, which is important to future program success. Huskies baseball is positioned to recruit and develop high level student-athletes who graduate prepared for career and personal advancement, and I look forward to supporting our continued success under Coach Dolan's leadership."
Dolan has transformed St. Cloud State baseball into one of the premiere Division II programs, posting a 509-189-1 overall career record in 14 seasons. Since 2007, Dolan has led the Huskies to nine NCAA tournament bids since 2010, including the 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 season. His teams have placed as the runner-up at the NCAA Division II Central Region tournament in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015 and have additionally been ranked consistently among the top-25 teams in Division II, including the No. 1 national ranking in 2015 and 2016.
In Dolan's tenure, the Huskies have finished in the top-4 in the NSIC in 13 of his 14 seasons as head coach and won the conference regular season title in 2013 and 2015. Additionally, St. Cloud State was crowned the NSIC Tournament Champs in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016 and hosted the NCAA Central Regional Tournament in both 2015 and 2016 after earning the No. 1 overall seed in the region.Â
Several St. Cloud State student-athletes earned conference, regional and national recognition for their play throughout Dolan's career, with six being drafted by Major League Baseball teams. In 2015, former standout Reese Gregory was named the Daktronics Division II and NSIC Pitcher of the Year, while Dolan himself was named Coach of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). Dolan was also named the NCBWA Central Region Coach of the Year in 2016.
"I want to give a special thanks to Heather Weems for her leadership of our department, and again extending my contract," said Dolan. "I stated in 2007 when I was hired that Huskyland was my dream job and my retirement job. I still have the same commitment and enthusiasm for Husky athletics as I did back then, and I will continue to work to win on and off the field and in the classroom. I'm so blessed to have met so many great people and build so many great relationships with the Husky alumni and fans," Dolan continued. "A special thanks to my wife Jade. As we all know, it's not easy being married to a coach, especially myself."
The Huskies put together another successful season in 2021 after the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. St. Cloud State went 22-14-0 during the regular season with an 18-9 mark in NSIC play, finishing third in the conference and qualifying for the NSIC Tournament for the 11th consecutive season. Senior standout Jake Shusterich (Nipomo, Calif. / Arroyo Grande) closed his collegiate career by earning Second Team All-Region and Second Team All-Conference, while John Nett (Appleton, Wis. / Kimberly), Matt Quade (Paynesville, Minn. / Paynesville) and Max Gamm (Woodbury, Minn. / East Ridge)) were named to the NSIC All-Conference teams.Â
