O'Dette Announces Addition of Dahl to FSC Baseball Coaching Staff

LAKELAND, Fla. – Head coach of Florida Southern College baseball, Rick O'Dette, has announced the addition of Erik Dahl to the coaching staff for the 2026 season.
 
"Erik is an outstanding addition to our baseball program and to the Florida Southern College community," said O'Dette on the addition of the seasoned assistant coach. "He brings a strong knowledge of the game, a great work ethic, a proven winning record, and a passion for developing student-athletes both on and off the field. We're excited to welcome Erik and look forward to the positive impact he will have on our program."
 
Dahl joined the FSC baseball staff with several successful coaching stints around NAIA programs. In his 15 years as a baseball coach, Dahl has been a two-time NAIA national champion (2018 and 2022), appeared in nine NAIA World Series, and coached three Gold Glove catchers with another 45+ players signed affiliated or independent baseball contracts. In 2022, he was named the NAIA Ball Assistant Coach of the Year after winning the title at Southeastern University.
 
"I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity to join the Florida Southern family," said Dahl on his hire as assistant coach for the Mocs. "I'd like to thank Coach O'Dette and Drew Howard for putting their trust in me and giving me a chance to help contribute to the future of Mocs baseball."
 
Most recently, Dahl spent the 2025 season at Webber, preceded by time at Southeastern University from 2017-2024. While at SEU, he was key to the success of the SEU offense that topped the NAIA in numerous offensive categories throughout his tenure. Dahl also coached the hitters who led SEU to the 2018 and 2022 Avista-NAIA World Series Championships.

Prior to SEU, Dahl was an assistant at Point University for the 2017 season, and previously a head assistant coach at Sterling College in Sterling, Kansas.  During his five seasons with the Warriors, their team ranked top-10 nationally in several different offensive categories, including: batting average (First-2016; Second-2015), home runs (First-2016), doubles (Second-2016), stolen bases (Fourth-2012), runs batted in (Sixth-2016), runs scored per game (Sixth-2012), slugging percentage (Second-2016; Fourth-2015), and hits (First-2016; Seventh-2015).  Under Dahl, Sterling's offense was a major factor in propelling the team to five straight NAIA opening-round appearances and two trips to the Avista NAIA World Series in 2013 and 2016.
 
Coach Dahl began his playing career at Ridgewater College in Willmar, Minnesota, where he was a part of back-to-back teams that advanced to the Junior College World Series, finishing as national runner-up in 2005.  After junior college, Dahl transferred to Northwestern College, where he played one year, earning All-UMAC first team honors.  At Northwestern, he still holds the single-season records in home runs (12), RBI (49), slugging percentage (.743), and total bases (104).  After his time at Northwestern, Dahl transferred to Sterling College in 2010, where he played his final year and earned his degree in Sports Management. 
 
The Mocs open the season on the road to the University of West Florida Jan. 30-Feb. 1, followed by the home opener on Tuesday, Feb. 3, against Valdosta State University at 5 p.m. at Henley Field.