2023 College World Series Player Spotlight: Chase Dollander
Image credit: Chase Dollander (Bill Mitchell)
Tennessee righthander Chase Dollander entered the 2023 season with as much buzz as any collegiate pitcher in the country. He drew comparisons to Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom and was discussed as a potential top-five overall pick for this year’s draft. Dollander’s path to this point in his career has been a unique one. As a class of 2020 prep product, he received draft interest but instead opted to honor his commitment to Georgia Southern.
In his freshman season for the Eagles, Dollander was very impressive. In his 49 innings pitched, he had a 4.04 ERA to go along with 64 strikeouts. His fastball sat in the 92-96 mph range, while his changeup emerged as a legitimate out pitch with a 58% miss rate. Most notable, however, was Dollander’s first-ever collegiate start. He squared off against his future team, the Tennessee Volunteers, and was outstanding. He spun 5.2 innings in which he allowed one run and struck out eight. After the 2021 season, he entered the transfer portal and wound up at Tennessee.
Between his statement freshman season and joining the weekend rotation of an SEC team, Dollander had significant buzz. Ironically enough, his first start for the Volunteers came against Georgia Southern. He allowed three runs in five innings, but he struck out 11 en route to a Tennessee win.
Dollander enjoyed a dominant 2022 season in which he exploded onto the national scene. He pitched his way to a perfect 10-0 record, a 2.39 ERA and had a fantastic strikeout-to-walk ratio of 108-to-13 across 79 innings pitched. Dollander racked up numerous postseason accolades including being named the SEC pitcher of the year, a first team All-SEC selection and an All-American. His fastball velocity took a fairly notable jump, as he consistently sat in the 94-99 mph range. Dollander’s changeup remained a plus offering with plenty of arm-side fade, and throughout the season he established his slider as a legitimate out-pitch.
With a proven track record, premium stuff and as a weekend starter for one of the best teams in the country, Dollander was considered by many to be the top collegiate arm in the nation. It was an up-and-down start to the 2023 season for Dollander. While the walk numbers were low, he was getting into plenty of deep counts and driving his pitch count up early on in games. He had inconsistent feel for his slider and his fastball did not have the same swing-and-miss as it did the previous year. To Dollander’s credit, he trudged through his struggles and put together another strong season. One of his best starts of the season came in game two of the Hattiesburg Super Regional. Dollander threw eight strong innings, allowed four earned runs, all of which came in the third inning, and struck out seven. He out-pitched likely day one pick Tanner Hall and kept Tennessee’s season alive. The Volunteers avenged last year’s super regional exit, shutting out Southern Miss, 5-0, to advance to the College World Series. Without Dollander’s game two effort, Tennessee would have likely been looking at its second straight super regional departure.
Although Dollander might not be selected in the first five picks, there is a realistic possibility he is still selected in the top half of the first round. His fastball grades out as a strong 60 and a borderline 70-grade pitch with upper-90s velocity and excellent shape. Dollander’s changeup is also plus, and while his feel for it this year was inconsistent, his slider also profiles as a plus pitch. There is still front-of-the-rotation upside here, and whichever team selects Dollander could have its future ace.
