Dolf Hes is back for his 20th season with Sonoma State in 2024. He has been an integral part of the Seawolves’ baseball program working in various capacities including lead Pitching Coach, Catching Coach, Field Coordinator, and presently an assistant coach.
Dolf’s baseball career included being a starting pitcher for CSU Long Beach in 1978 and 1979. At the conclusion of his playing career, he signed a professional contract with the San Francisco Giants.
Dolf returned to CSULB to earn his Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education in 1991. More recently, Dolf earned his Master’s degree in Sports Management from Ohio University in 2012.
Dolf’s coaching experience includes being the Pitching Coach for CSULB from 1983 to 1989 under head coaches John Gonsalvez and Dave Snow. He took on the head coaching role at Fullerton High School from 1990 to 1995, where he won championships in four of his six seasons at the helm and was recognized as Coach of the Year twice during that time. In 1995, he was offered the position as Pitching Coach and Field Supervisor with the Sonoma County Crushers, a former independent professional baseball team in the Western Baseball League. He enjoyed eight seasons with the Crushers, working alongside several head coaches including Jeffrey Leonard, Tim Ireland, Dick Dietz and Kevin Mitchell. In 1998, Coach Hes was an integral part of the 1998 WBL Championship team. Beginning in 2004, Dolf joined the Sonoma State Baseball program as the Lead Pitching Coach. During this time, he has been part of SSU’s continued achievements including 7 Tournament appearances, 5 Tournament Championships, 2 Western Regional Championships and 2 NCAA Div. II Word Series appearances in 2008 and 2011.
Throughout Dolf’s 37 years of coaching, he has had several players who went on to the Major Leagues including Keith Ginter, Chad Zerbe, Daniel Barone and Scott Alexander (currently with the Kansas City Royals). While at Sonoma State University, he has had 27 pitchers go on to play professional baseball.
Dolf lives in Rohnert Park with his wife Cathy. Their two grown sons, Justin and Casey, have both graduated from college. Justin graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Scenic Design. Casey graduated from Sonoma State University with a degree in Geography and he was a former student athlete in SSU’s Baseball program as a pitcher. Cathy was a student athletic trainer at Long Beach State. She became a Physical Therapist and helped run the athletic training program for the Crushers. Now, she currently teaches Special Education at Windsor Creek Elementary School.
