BERKELEY – Senior right-hander Dylan Nelson is having a stellar senior season so far for head coach David Esquer and pitching coach Mike Neu, establishing himself as the Golden Bears’ closer. Nelson has a spotless 1-0 record with two saves and has yet to give up an earned run while striking out an impressive 14 batters in 8.0 innings.
Nelson first came to the attention of the Cal coaching staff when he was playing in the summers for Noah Jackson’s (the Bears’ Volunteer Assistant Coach) First Base Foundation and the California Warriors. He had grown up in San Francisco and attended Galileo High School. After not getting many scholarship offers out of high school, Nelson attended College of San Mateo for two years (redshirting one year) before joining Cal in 2013.
Under the guidance of Neu, as well as honing his skills during the summers in the Northwoods League and the Alaska League, Nelson has improved every year and has become one of coach Neu’s most dependable pitchers and team leaders. Check out Nelson and the Bears as they host No. 8-ranked Oregon this weekend at Evans Diamond (Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.).
