Profile story on Dalton Lehnen

5/18/17

As a child, Dalton Lehnen dreamed of playing professional baseball in the MLB.

Now, in less than two months, his dream could become a reality.

Pause. Deep breath. Windup. Release. Follow through. The ball leaves Lehnen’s

hand, zips through the air, and reaches the catcher’s glove in less than a second.

“Strike three!” yells the umpire.

Lehnen strikes out his fourth batter of the game with a 95 mph pitch.

As a 6-foot-3, 222-pound left-handed junior pitcher, Lehnen has a rare ability. His

pitching velocity ranges from 91-95 mph but he can throw a fastball up to 97 mph. Most

pitchers his age throw in the mid 80s.

Lehnen grew up in Lakeville, MN as a multisport athlete playing baseball,

football, and basketball. In high school, he chose to devote all of his time to baseball. As

a pitcher at Lakeville North High School, he holds the record for most wins in a season

with ten, most strikeouts in a season with 99, most career wins with 18, and most career

strikeouts with 173—according to the Lakeville North website.

Through Lakeville North and his club team, the Minnesota Starz, Lehnen

captured the attention of many college coaches. Before the fall of his senior year, he

accepted a scholarship to the University of Cincinnati. During his freshman season at

Cincinnati, ​Lehnen appeared in 16 games making a team-high 13 starts on the mound

with 49 strikeouts.
 The summer after his freshman year, he received the opportunity to play for the

Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League​—a league

known to detect future MLB players—in front of hundreds of MLB scouts and agents.

However, Lehnen said things didn’t go as planned when he returned to Cincinnati

for his sophomore season.

“I thought Cincinnati was the place for me, academically and athletically, but

when I wasn’t getting enough innings my sophomore season, I knew something had to

change,” Lehnen said.

After many long conversations with his parents and former coaches, Lehnen

made the decision to transfer to a Division II university where he would be eligible,

under NCAA college baseball rules, to compete immediately and pitch in front of MLB

scouts during his junior season​—a pivotal year because players earn draft eligibility

after they’ve completed their junior season.

“Getting the call from him saying he wanted to transfer was difficult,” said

Lehnen’s mother, Vicki Stanisich-Lehnen. “I loved Cincinnati and I knew transferring

midway through college was going to be hard on him but I supported his decision.

Dalton has always known what’s best for his future.”

Lehnen played for the Mankato Moondogs in the Northwoods Baseball League

after his sophomore year. Once again, he showcased his talents for MLB scouts and

was invited to play in the all-star game at the end of the summer. Meanwhile, in early

June, Augustana showed interest in recruiting Lehnen.

 “I heard about Augustana through a friend who played here a couple years ago,”

Lehnen said. “He told me, as a pitcher, the baseball program at Augie would really

benefit me.”

With only three left-handed pitchers on the roster, Augustana needed another

lefty on their team too.

“I knew who Dalton was before he came here because I’d seen him play in high

school,” said Tim Huber, Augustana head baseball coach. “When I heard he was

looking to transfer, I used my resources to get in contact with him because we needed a

guy like him.”

Lehnen earned his first career start in the Augustana uniform against Hawaii

Pacific University on February 1, striking out seven batters and recording a 0.00

ERA—earned run average. Two weeks later, at Lindenwood University, he struck out

five batters and posted a 1.50 ERA. On February 21, Lehnen was named the Northern

Sun Intercollegiate Conference pitcher of the week which he again received on May 8.

However, it isn’t his ERA or his accolades that draw scouts to games—it’s his fastball.

As a left-handed pitcher who throws over 90 mph, Lehnen has received emails,

phone calls, and letters from over two-thirds of the 30 MLB teams, expressing their

interest in drafting him this June.

“When we played Concordia St-Paul a few weeks ago, there were at least 20

scouts at the game watching him,” said assistant coach Max Casper. “For a Division II

game, that’s pretty rare but he handles the pressure well. He’s always calm and focused
before he throws. That’s not always the case when you have over a dozen scouts

watching you.”

Lucas Wilber, a senior Augustana baseball player, became good friends with

Lehnen after he transferred.

“Dalton’s a total baseball junkie,” Wilber said. “Always giving advice and asking

for advice. ​He’s a super intense guy when he’s playing, constantly in the zone and

always holding himself and everyone else accountable. Off the field he’s the complete

opposite though​—​cracking jokes, messing around​—that’s why we get along so well.”

According to their websites, Augustana enrolls approximately 1,900 students

while the University of Cincinnati enrolls over 44,000 students, making it about 23 times

larger than Augustana.

“Going from a huge, DI public university in a big city to a small, DII private

university in a much smaller city was a massive change,” Lehnen said. “I went from

classes of 300 to classes of 12. It took some time but I realized after a few weeks that I

made the right decision.”

The Augustana baseball team enters conference play this week and expects

Lehnen and their other seniors to help advance them to the regional tournament,

according to Huber. Furthermore, as Lehnen prepares for the final stretch of the

season, his possible future in the MLB approaches.

“I can’t thank Augie, the baseball team, and coach Huber enough for this year,”

Lehnen said. “They’ve all been great to me and welcomed me onto the team. Even if
things don’t go the way I’d like them to in the draft, I’ll get another season with Augie,

which is alright with me.”

The first round of the MLB draft begins June 12 with rounds two through ten on

June 13, followed by the remaining 30 rounds on June 14. As Lehnen awaits his call, he

reflects back on his childhood.

“I took a trip out to Boston with my grandparents when I was in elementary

school and just fell in love with the Red Sox,” Lehnen said. “I remember touring the

stadium and thinking how amazing it would be to play there. For most kids, it’s their

dream to be a professional athlete. That was my dream too. Now, it could actually

happen and I’m just trying to take in every moment because playing baseball is such a

blessing—whether it’s in a stadium or on the local town ball field—baseball will always

be in my life.”