While nine players take the field and try to produce success in every baseball game, leadership plays a big part of that success and can come from anyone. Pella Christian experienced this in 2022 in the form of Brant VanderHart. 

A member of the Pella Christian cross-country team that brought home a fifth-place finish at State in October, the senior VanderHart joined Head Coach Braden Shull’s coaching staff this year as a student coach. Doing a lot of things behind the scenes, Brant became one of the top leaders for the Eagles baseball team this summer. Shull said that while VanderHart never picked up a bat or made a play in the field, he became a key member of the team this summer.

“He meant more to the team than some of the guys on the field when it came to setting the tone for the game. Brant was a student coach for us, but he was kind of the heart and soul of the team.”

The Eagles will lean on a group of six players entering their senior years to fill the leadership role left by VanderHart and fellow seniors Micah DeHaan, Bennett Spronk, Caleb Belzer, Ty Vander Molen, and Andrew Fynaardt.