Dalton Hobick to play baseball at Kankakee Community College
By FRED KRONER
Throughout high school – and even before – Dalton Hobick has always been a hit when it came to sports.
He earned two varsity letters as a freshman (football and basketball) and would have had a third (baseball), but COVID-19 canceled the entire spring season.
Hobick hasn’t slowed down, and will finish his prep career with 12 varsity letters (covering four sports).
Entering his final months at Oakwood High School, Hobick has received All-Vermilion County first-team honors six times and All-Vermilion Valley Conference accolades five times.
As Hobick looked to his future, he maintained one overriding thought.
“I always wanted a chance to play at the next level in any sport, whether it was going to be baseball or basketball,” Hobick said. “I feel like when I was younger, it was more a dream than a goal. But as the years kept proceeding, I knew and believed I could go to the next level.”
Baseball and basketball are both Hobick’s best and his favorite sports. They are also the ones he has played the longest.
“I first started playing baseball when I was 4,” Hobick said. “My dad (Heath) used to coach my team (Synergy) and all through the summer I played in tournaments, traveling mostly around the Midwest.”
He later got involved with the Danville Post 210 American Legion summer baseball program.
“Coach Shep (Allan Shepherd) and Coach (Brent) Hart have been extremely helpful,” Dalton Hobick said. “They have helped me through the recruiting process and they put my name out there and really believed in me.
Shepherd has served as the Post 210 head coach and will be replaced this summer by his assistant, Hart, of whom Hobick said, “has been a big influence on me over the years.”
Showing his ability to put points on the board during his senior season in basketball (including tying a school record with a 40-point game), Hobick anticipated multiple options.
It was never a given that he would pursue baseball in college.
“Matter of fact, there was a time I favored basketball,” Hobick said. “I love the pace of the game and love how it’s played. For the longest time, basketball is what I wanted to go play.
“But towards the end of my high school career, I wasn’t getting looked at, but stuff was coming through for baseball, so then I kind of realized that maybe basketball wasn’t for me, which is perfectly OK, so, I chose the route with baseball.”
He visited both Kankakee Community College and Danville Area Community College – picking up scholarship offers for baseball from each – and committed to Kankakee.
“I settled on Kankakee because I really like what the coaches have done with the players there,” he said. “They have moved a ton of players on to the next level. I am a very competitive person and I feel like it is a great fit for me.
“I know the coaching staff (led by head coach Todd Post) will push me to be the best I can be.”
Oakwood baseball head coach Ryan McFarland didn’t have Hobick full-time until his junior year. Hobick’s sophomore season was a hybrid one where football was pushed to the spring and overlapped with baseball.
A middle infielder most of his career, Hobick has shifted to center field this spring with the Comets to replace 2022 graduate Josh Young.
“Dalton reads the ball well, is very fast and has arm strength, an elite arm,” McFarland said. “I felt it would do him a disservice to have him where he can’t showcase his speed.”
His quickness has been demonstrated on the bases. Hobick enters his senior year with both the season (36) and career (49) stolen base records at Oakwood.
“He causes havoc on the bases,” McFarland said.
He has also been a steady hitter, batting .368 as a sophomore and .468 as a junior.
“Dalton is pretty much the centerpiece,” McFarland said.
Through four games this spring for the 2-1-1 Comets, Hobick is hitting .538.
“He has a very level swing, doesn’t get fooled and will put the ball in the gaps,” McFarland said, “and he has sneaky power.”
Besides quickness, Hobick has strength in another area, “the energy I bring to the guys,” he said. “I think the key to my development is staying in shape and always working hard and giving effort.”
Hobick can also contribute as a pitcher. He compiled a 4-2 record as a junior at Oakwood, with a 2.28 earned run average while striking out 41 batters in 27 2/3 innings.
Hobick expects to see more growth in his game as he focuses on just one sport at KCC.
“I feel like I can definitely improve my game,” he said. “I like the fact I’ll need to prove myself because I have been doing that all my life.
“I hope to see myself in the coming year (at KCC) playing somewhere on the field, whether it’s shortstop, second base, or outfield. I will play anywhere. I expect to play second base. That’s where the coaches told me they saw me playing and I fit in well there, they said.”
Post connected with Hobick near the end of the 2022 American Legion baseball season.
“Kankakee first reached out towards the end of summer,” Hobick said. “The visit went well and then around October, Coach Post contacted me and said they wanted me in a Cavalier jersey next year.
“The recruiting process was cool, for sure. I went to a lot of camps this past summer as well, seeing all the facilities, fields and great people.”
Hobick hasn’t yet selected a major, but wants to see how far baseball can take him.
“Right now, I still haven’t decided what I’ll major in,” he said. “I just hope to see myself still playing ball in 10 years.”
He is appreciative of the opportunity that awaits.
“It’s crazy to think about the people in Vermilion County, not a lot of people get scholarships and get a chance to play at the next level,” Hobick said. “For that, I am very grateful.”
He is also thankful that his college home will only be about 90 minutes from Oakwood.
“I will be able to come home more to see my family and friends,” he said. “I’m close to my family. My mom and dad (Danae Hobick and Heath Hobick) have done so much for me, and I’ll never thank them enough.”
