Several former Tulip City baseball players have kicked off the spring season in college. Former Pella standout and Gatorade Player of the Year Grant Judkins has been highly effective in the Iowa Hawkeyes rotation — pitching 17 innings and striking out 17 batters to just two walks in three wins so far.
Fellow Pella alumnus Jaden Rolffs remains the starting catcher for the Iowa Western Reivers in his sophomore season, racking up 13 hits in 29 at bats with four home runs in 12 games for the defending NJCAA runners-up in 2019.
Tyler Hillman was teammates with both at Pella and has been largely a pinch hitter so far for the North Dakota State Bison, garnering two hits in five trips to the plate. Fellow Dutch alumnus Landon Vander Leest is reviving his baseball career at Central College, with four innings of one-run baseball and six strikeouts in his Dutch debut.
Former Pella Christian Eagles are also starting their collegiate careers — two-time All-State pitcher Will Dembski has already logged his first career hit and strikeout for Caltech. His battery mate Lawson Bruxvoort has logged his first innings as a catcher for Dordt. Former Eagle Isaac Vander Hart is a junior for the defenders has been the starting rotation this season.