Proven success. Professional results. Trusted experience. With a career winning percentage of .638 and five College World Series appearances, this program delivers on the biggest stage. Over 20 years of college coaching—including nine at the Division I level and three as an SEC coach—back an elite track record of player development and recruiting. The results speak for themselves: 34 MLB Draft picks developed, 10 signed free agents, and 10 All-Americans. As a recruiting coordinator and head coach, Coach Dedman has recruited 25 MLB Draft picks—including 2021 1st-Round Pick #9 Sam Bachman—proving a consistent ability to identify and develop pro-ready talent.
HAYDEN SENGER
CATCHER
Hayden Senger hit .269 with five home runs and 20 RBIs while playing in 39 games as a freshman at Miami in 2016. It was a solid start to his collegiate career, and hopes were high for his sophomore campaign.
But things didn’t go as planned. The RedHawks underachieved with a 22-34 record and hit .256 as a unit. Senger sank right along with a large chunk of the team, hitting .172 with two homers and 14 RBIs in 41 games.
“I was able to not pay attention to my at-bats when I was catching because I was still having fun catching,” Senger said. “But whenever I was done catching, I would be like, ‘Oh, now I’ve got to go bat.’ I would not want to go hit BP in extra time or anything. I didn’t want to even hold a baseball bat. That’s how bad I was feeling.”
What he needed was somebody to get in his head and flush out the bad stuff, a hitting coach that could reach him. That turned out to be Justin Dedman, who was hired in June, 2017.
Senger still wasn’t swinging up to his standards in the fall. By January, Dedman had become a fixture in his life.
“I was in a pretty bad place with baseball after my sophomore year,” Senger said. “I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I usually did. I’ve had some slumps in the past, but I’ve always enjoyed the game. But hitting .172 is a tough way to go for a whole year, especially when you’re striking out a lot.
“Coach Dedman pulled up my stats with two strikes one time. I think I hit .033 with two strikes the whole season. That’s when I was kind of like, ‘All right, I need to figure something out with my approach to the plate and my mental game.’ That’s when I finally decided to actually listen to what he was telling me.”
Senger said he never got to a point where he wanted to quit. But with his draft stock falling, he did feel it was time to devote himself more to academics than baseball. Dedman stayed on him. it worked.
“Winter break was really when he started to get on me about my routines and how much I’m hitting,” Senger said. “Me and Landon Stephens would go hit with him in the winter. He’d ask me every day, ‘Did you hit yesterday?’ Sometimes I would be honest and say, ‘No. I guess I didn’t really feel like hitting.’ And he would say something along the lines of, ‘So you’re letting your team down by not hitting yesterday?’
“There was no easy way out with this guy. I’d complain about something and he’d hit me with a question like, ‘Compared to what?’ He grilled me and Landon over the offseason. I started hitting every day. I started enjoying coming to the cages every day. I was finally hitting a baseball.”
There were very few changes in his offensive mechanics. This was a mental war.
“I made one small adjustment in my legs and one small adjustment in my hands,” Senger said. “I just learned how to make plans going up to the plate, learned to visualize success and how to learn from my mistakes in previous at-bats.”
A new and improved Hayden Senger took the field for Miami in 2018. The RedHawks performed well as a team (35-20), and Senger led the everyday players with a .344 average, 17 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 34 RBIs. That’s right — he doubled his batting average in one season. His defensive skills stayed at a very high level, and eventually the Mets called.
CAM HASSERT
INFIELD
“Playing for JD isn’t just about winning games, it’s about building you as a person and player both physically and mentally. He’s relentless in his commitment to development, both on and off the field. He invests in relationships that last a lifetime and challenges you every day to become the best version of yourself. If you buy in to grow as a player and as a person, you’ll reap the benefits of having JD as a coach.”
KHADIM DIAW
CATCHER
"JD allowed me to be myself on the field, challenged me to lead, and helped me understand the importance of a growth mindset. These skills have prepared me for pro ball and continue to help me develop as a player and person. "
DOZER HITTING FACILITY
