PELLA—Bringing the energy and commitment to Central College baseball he displayed as a pitcher, team co-captain and assistant coach, Adam Carey is the Dutch program's new head coach.
Carey, a 2019 Central grad, spent the past two seasons as the team's pitching coach. He also served as a Dutch assistant for the 2020 season before spending the 2021 campaign as the top assistant at Black Hawk College (Ill.), helping the junior college program post a 44-13 record, including a 20-0 mark in the Arrowhead Conference. In 2019-20 he was the pitching coach for the Rockford Rivets of the Northwoods League, a collegiate wood bat summer league.
A Pella High School graduate, Carey was a three-time letterwinner for the Dutch, posting a 5-5 record including a 4-2 mark in 2019.
He replaces Casey Klunder, who resigned after posting a 31-47 record over two seasons, including a 15-24 mark this year.
"We feel like there is a lot of positive momentum in our baseball program and Adam is a big part of that," athletics director Eric Van Kley said. "In our search it quickly became clear that he is the best person to build on that momentum and to lead our program. He is passionate about Central College, dedicated to serving the young men on our team and determined to create a championship culture on and off the baseball field."
Carey's commitment to Central runs deep.
"I want to thank Coach Van Kley and the search committee for giving me this opportunity," Carey said. "I have a huge passion for Central and being the head coach at Central has always been kind of the dream job. Central's been my home for eight of the last nine years. I've seen what the school has done for me and how it's helped me grow into the person I've become. Central created in me the passion that I have for baseball and for teaching. So getting to see other kids have that experience here that I had, and seeing them grow through all of those opportunities I had as a student and an athlete is exciting for me."
The Dutch program's progress in the two years since Carey returned to campus and the surge in the enthusiasm level are tangible, he said, and stressed the coaching transition does not signal a program reset, but another step building on that momentum.
"As the last two years have progressed, I'm seeing more guys getting on the same page, more guys doing extra work in the offseason together as groups instead of individuals," Carey said. "That's been really cool to see. As fall ball started last year, you noticed a bit of a difference in mindset, more of a winner's mentality of, hey, we're going to find a way to get this done. We can definitely be better, but the growth I've seen has been really good."
Carey is clear on what new and returning players can expect.
"They should expect a growth mindset at all times," he said. "They're going to be held to a high standard. Every single year, each group is going to set a new standard and that's the expectation for us here, growth in player development on the field, growth in development off the field and growth as leaders."
The Dutch return eight starters for next year's squad.