HOLLAND, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Jan. 16, 2024) – Another long-time Hope College mentor is stepping down.
On Monday, the Holland school announced that veteran Baseball Coach Stu Fritz will retire following the conclusion of the upcoming 2024 season. In more than 11 hundred games over 31 seasons, he guided the Flying Dutchmen to 652 victories, 10 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association titles, and four NCAA Division III tournament appearances.
Since coming to Hope in the fall of 1993 after a stint as a successful high school coach in Iowa, Fritz has not only met with success on the baseball diamond, but he has also served as an assistant football coach for 17 seasons, and is an associate professor of kinesiology. In addition, he was president of the American Baseball Coaches Association in 2020, and has been a past chairman of the NCAA Baseball Championships national committee.
“My journey has been indescribable, not only from the coaching side, but also from the instructional side. From my point of view, there is just nothing better than being able to mentor young people during their college years. To my department colleagues and Physical Plant friends, thank you. My heart is full. I leave at this time having had the honor to coach at an incredible institution and walk alongside so many fantastic young men through our baseball and football programs, specifically. Victories on the field have been fulfilling, but more importantly, seeing players victorious in their lives as men has been my wife Carol’s and my biggest blessing. We have made this a way of life and to have her love and support has been a difference-maker for me and our student athletes. It truly brings me great pride to see how they represent our program and institution daily in the lives they lead. I’m looking forward to continuing to tell the Hope story and supporting Hope College for many years to come. Thank you to all who have contributed to my journey and added to my story, most importantly the numerous players and coaches. You truly are and will be my greatest joy in this profession.” – Stu Fritz
A search for a new head baseball coach will begin later this spring, according to school officials.
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