DeLand welcomes back Chris Hopkins as baseball head coach
Chris Boyle
A starting pitcher for DeLand's 2014 Final Four team, Chris Hopkins was chosen late Tuesday as the man in charge of restoring the Bulldogs' baseball glory.
Hopkins will take over as head coach for the 2022 season, DeLand High Athletic Director Lance Jenkins said. This spring, he guided New Smyrna Beach to the second round of the Florida High School Athletic Association's Class 6A playoffs.
A DeLand native who started his coaching career as an assistant for the Bulldogs, Hopkins, 24, posted a record of 25-13 in his two years in charge of the 'Cudas.
"I'm excited about it. It was a tough decision to make because I've loved my time at New Smyrna the last two years. The relationships I built here were tremendous," Hopkins said. "The toughest thing was having to tell my players yesterday because I love and care about those guys.
"I'm excited to go back to my alma mater and try to put our program back on the map."
Transferring from Spruce Creek for his senior year, Hopkins allowed only five earned runs across 43⅔ innings for DeLand in 2014, striking out 55 hitters. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound right-hander pitched in college for Florida Gulf Coast, Santa Fe and Bethune-Cookman.
He takes over a Bulldogs team that went 3-19 this season. Former Stetson slugger Tim Ballesteros resigned with six games remaining in the regular season.