Messenger photo by Eric Pratt: Fort Dodge baseball returning letterwinners are, front row (left to right): Rylan Kingrey, Jace Johnson, Jaxson Dencklau and Royce Pederson. Back: Jase Nekvinda, Landen Grandors, Landen Hout and Karch Smith.

There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Fort Dodge baseball team in 2024, but with it comes a lot of potential as well.

Three Dodger seniors will guide the ship and help usher in a talented era of underclassmen.

Seniors Jace Johnson, Landen Hout and Karch Smith will be the leaders in the dugout, as Fort Dodge will mix veterans with a strong freshman class.

Eight Fort Dodge newcomers will likely see the field, with four sophomores and five juniors on the roster as well.

“This group is a little different,” said FDSH head coach Blake Utley. “They’ve played a higher level of baseball (at a younger age) and they expect big things from themselves. The motivation is there.

“They work really hard and have a great knowledge of the game. More importantly, they love to compete.”

Utley still hasn’t settled on a lineup or batting order, and the 12th-year head coach is comfortable with that idea.

“I’ve been impressed with our aggressiveness at the plate,” Utley said. “Everyone will be competing for a position, and how they perform offensively is going to help dictate who gets the position.

“That’s how we climb and try to reach the next level. We can’t get complacent. We won’t get complacent.”

Utley looks at his three seniors players as a key to getting the ball rolling.

“With the three seniors coming back and our junior class, we need to have good leadership to show them the ropes,” Utley said. “They all have been emerging, talking to the new guys and getting them ready for varsity baseball.”

Pitching

Fort Dodge returns 16 of the 20 wins from the 2023 pitching rotation, led by juniors Jase Nekvinda, Royce Pederson and Landen Grandors.

The Dodgers are battling through injury issues in the spring, but Utley is hoping the health of all three will continue to improve.

“We have hopes for these guys when they get healthy,” Utley said. “They have been working well with our younger kids.”

Pederson pitched 46.1 innings and struck out 38 batters, carrying a 4.08 earned run average. Grandors worked 39.1 innings and fanned 39.

Nekvinda had four victories and sported a 3.16 ERA with 23 strikeouts.

All three have dealt with off-season injury issues.

“We want to make teams earn wins instead of giving it to them,” Utley said. “Our pitching is what is going to determine our lineup in most games.”

Utley will also look at a group of four freshmen to add some arm strength. Will McElroy, Tanner Pederson, Tru McBride and Cal Pederson are all expected to push for time on the rubber.

“Will had a great offseason and preseason. He is building and has a great mentality while making game adjustments,” Utley said. “Tanner is super athletic and gives high effort. He works fast on the mound and changes speeds.

“Tru is a strong, physical freshman. Cal throws a good slider and is dependable.”

Junior Brayden Reimers and sophomores Rylan Lara, Dalton Eckley and Jaxson Dencklau will also be in the rotation.

“Rylan is very confident,” Utley said. “Dalton and Jaxson saw time last year and are looking to improve.

“Brayden had an outstanding year as a pitcher for JV-1 and will be in our main rotation. He has really had a nice offseason and we are excited for him to show off his improvements.”

Infield

Hout will be the starting catcher for the Dodgers, while freshman Bo Marsh will be pushing for time behind the plate as well. Sophomore Caiden Fraher is also in the mix.

“Landen has played the most innings heading in as a senior,” Utley said. “Bo is so fun to watch, but the young guys have a lot to learn.”

Senior Grant Williams suffered an injury in football and had to have reconstructive surgery on his UCL, which will leave him out for the season. Williams hit .318 for the Dodgers and drove in 14 runs.

“You’re talking about losing an all-conference player,” Utley said. “We will definitely be missing Grant’s leadership. I know he misses it, and it’s just a really unfortunate situation. You can tell he is bummed, and so are we, but that’s the way sports goes sometimes.”

Smith will be the steady hand at first base for the Dodgers. Last year, he batted .276 with 20 RBI.

“Karch is steady,” Utley said. “He has a solid stick and is patient and smart at the plate. He’s embraced his role. He doesn’t get upset often, but if he does, he doesn’t show it.”

Johnson will move in from a corner outfield spot and play second base for the Dodgers. Johnson and Smith are the team’s top two RBI returnees, and Johnson hit two home runs last summer.

“Jace has done a nice job,” Utley said. “He will be in the middle of our lineup and has improved as far as selection goes.”

Freshman Tanner Pederson will roam shortstop, and Dencklau moves from shortstop to third base.

“Jaxson played short last year and had a nice (rookie campaign),” Utley said. “During some of our scrimmages, we just started to feel like third would be a good fit.”

Lara, Cal Pederson, Royce Pederson and McBride will see time in the infield as well.

Outfield

Junior Rylan Kingrey will be the centerfielder for the Dodgers as a three-year varsity regular.

“Rylan had a great offseason and was one of the best players in the conference defensively last year,” Utley said. “He’s really close to turning a corner, and is becoming a leader of this program.”

Eckley will be in left.

“Dalton is very good defensively,” Utley said. “He has looked good this spring and has improved a lot.”

Nekvinda is in right. He returns after batting .312 as a sophomore.

“Jase was good at the plate last year and is continuing to improve,” Utley said. “Our outfielders will be determined by who is pitching. Tru, Royce and Will could see some time in there as well. Freshmen Davis Underberg, Kolton Schiltz and Ezrah Barkhaus are also knocking on the door.”

Utley knows there may be growing pains with the influx of underclassmen.

“We are going to make some mistakes,” Utley said. “Every day in practice, we talk about the mental side of the game. That’s part of growing up and playing at this level — being able to handle adversity and having a short memory.”

Schedule

This will be Fort Dodge’s second year in the Iowa Alliance Conference’s Northern Division. Ames, Mason City, Marshalltown and Waterloo East are the other squads in the league on the Dodgers’ side.

“We want to see the best teams,” Utley said. “We bulked up our schedule with (non-conference games against) Waukee, Southeast Polk, Sioux City North, Ankeny and Bettendorf twice.

“Upping the difficulty helps us prepare for big games and be ready to eventually beat good teams.”

Fort Dodge opens its season on Monday at Des Moines North. The Dodgers’ home debut will be on Tuesday against Hampton-Dumont/CAL.

Coaching

Utley will be assisted by Connor McCloud. Nolan Johnson, a Southeast Valley graduate and son of former Dodger Kyle Johnson, is a volunteer assistant.

Ex-FDSH standout and former Iowa Central baseball coach Rick Pederson will coach JV1 and be in the varsity dugout as well. Nick Pederson and Jerry Chada — two former Dodgers as well — round out the staff.

2024 FORT DODGE BASEBALL

Roster

Seniors — Jace Johnson, Landen Hout, Karch Smith.

Juniors — Jase Nekvinda, Brayden Reimers, Landen Grandors, Royce Pederson, Rylan Kingrey.

Sophomores — Dalton Eckley, Rylan Lara, Jaxson Dencklau, Caiden Fraher.

Freshmen — Cal Pederson, Kolton Schlitz, Davis Underberg, Ezrah Barkhaus, Will McElroy, Tru McBride, Tanner Peterson, Bo Marsh.

Schedule

May 13 — at Des Moines North, 3:30 p.m.; 14 — Hampton-Dumont, 7 p.m. 21 — Waterloo East, 5 p.m.; 24 — at Waukee, 5 p.m.; 27 — at Mason City, 1 p.m.; 29 — Des Moines East, 5 p.m.; 31 — at Sioux zCity East, 1 p.m.; at Sioux City West, 4 p.m.

June 5 — at Ottumwa, 5 p.m.; 6 — Marshalltown, 5 p.m.; 7-8 — Fort Dodge tournament; 10 — at Ames, 5 p.m.; 12 — Des Moines Lincoln, 5 p.m.; 13 — Waterloo East, 5 p.m.; 17 — Mason City, 5 p.m.; 19 — Des Moines Roosevelt; 22 — at Saydel tournament; 24 — at Marshalltown, 5 p.m.; 25 — Storm Lake, 7 p.m.; 27 — Ames, 5 p.m.

July 2 — Webster City, 7 p.m.; 5-6 — at Clinton tournament; 8 — Ankeny, 7 p.m.