It was time for Adrian Dinkel to move on.
Dinkel, who led Southeastern University to two national championships and five appearances in the Avista NAIA World Series, prayed for days with his family following the team’s run to the world series again this year in late May.
And after much thought and introspection, it was time for Dinkel to seek another opportunity. He officially resigned after the tournament.
“The family and I felt like it was the right time to find something different,” Dinkel said. “I got the opportunity to seek out another challenge in our lives. I felt like it was the right time to do it. It’s something we felt like it was the right time to do so. We’re ready for the next challenge in our lives.”
But what a ride it was for Dinkel, and the program. In 2024, Southeastern went 52-8 and was the No. 1 seed once more.
Dinkel started at Sterling College in 2012, becoming a highly successful baseball coach before moving on to SEU, where he would rack up two national championships in 2018 and 2022 and registering NAIA Coach of the Year twice (2018 and 2022) and four Sun Conference Coach of Year awards. He has a record of 588-129.
But more than winning, for Dinkel it was about the careers he helped. Before the season kicked off, Dinkel had 36 players who went on to sign professional baseball contracts.
Beyond success, it was about the relationships that were created in the six seasons at Southeastern. He hearkened back to the first championship won in 2018.
Dinkel said a guy like pitcher Johnny Bermudez shaped the trajectory of the Southeastern program thanks to his lights-out pitching. Bermudez in 2018 was 15-2 with a 1.95 ERA in a championship season.
Then he looked at a guy like Jayden Hartle, who went 13-3 as a right-handed pitcher in 2019, which helped the Fire go 53-12 en route to their second straight NAIA berth.
Additionally, there was Sam Faith (2019, .319 average, 72 hits and six home runs), Darien Smith (2024, 15-2, 1.87 ERA) and Rob Adams (2024, 14-3, 2.48 ERA), among many other All-Americans who assisted in stabilizing the dynasty that was Southeastern.
“There was so many guys to be named that were such big parts to what we’re doing and how we did it,” Dinkel said.
But now this part of Dinkel’s career is over.
Normal days for Dinkel currently include phone calls and interviews with colleges and professional teams that are interested in his coaching services.
Still, Dinkel said he wants to stay relatively close to Polk County, because Southeastern and the area have taught him so much. There is no timetable on when he will make a decision about his future, though he said the sooner the better.
“Thankful for the opportunity to get us down to Florida,” Dinkel said. “We did a good job as a coaching staff putting Southeastern on the map. … It’s a place you’ll always remember.”