Former collegiate and professional player Dylan Moser will be in his second season as an assistant coach for the Youngstown State baseball program in 2025-26.
Moser, who serves as YSU’s primary hitting coach and works closely with outfielders, served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Ave Maria University in Florida during the 2024 season prior to arriving in Youngstown.
In Moser’s first season as hitting coach in 2025, YSU set new single-season school records for home runs (76) and walks (306) while posting its highest marks in RBIs (348), runs scored (391) and runs per game (6.9) since 2010. The Penguins also set new school records for slugging percentage (.472) and extra-base hits (199) while recording their highest on-base percentage (.394) since 2001.
During Horizon League games only, YSU set new program records for home runs (47), slugging percentage (.514), on-base percentage (.418) and walks (179). The 2025 season also marked just the second time in school history and the first time since 2010 that three different Penguins hit a least 10 home runs in the same season.
Moser helped senior outfielder and Washington transfer Kyle Fossum put together one of the most prolific and productive seasons at the plate in YSU history in 2025. The Seattle, Wash., native was named Horizon League Player of the Year and First-Team All-Horizon League after batting .382 with 84 hits and setting new single-season school records for home runs (23), slugging percentage (.777), RBIs (62), runs scored (67) and total bases (171). Fossum was also named to the ABCA/Rawlings East All-Region First Team to become the first Penguin since 2021 to garner first-team all-region honors. He was also named to the ABCA/Rawlings All-America Third Team to become the first Penguin since 2001 to garner All-America recognition.
Fossum’s .382 batting average was the highest mark by a Penguin since Jeremy Banks hit .385 in 2012. He posted a 1.273 OPS, which ranks as the second highest mark in program history and the highest since Chris Durkin had a school-record 1.278 OPS in 1991. Fossum’s .423 batting average in Horizon League play ranks as the third-highest mark in school history and the highest since John Koehnlein hit .436 in 2007. The senior’s 84 hits and .496 on-base percentage each rank as the third-highest single-season mark in program history while his 46 walks are tied for the second most in school history.
Moser also coached senior infielder Cole Smith to Second-Team All-Horizon League honors in 2025. The UT Martin transfer batted .291 and slugged .487 with 21 doubles, six home runs and 41 RBIs over 56 games played. Smith batted .340 and slugged .575 with 10 doubles, five home runs and 26 RBIs over 30 games played in Horizon League action. In addition, redshirt senior infielder Tommy Rover batted .328 and slugged .598 with seven doubles, two triples, 12 home runs and 40 RBIs over 47 games played in 2025. Rover also recorded 46 runs scored, 30 walks, 104 total bases, a .475 on-base percentage and a 1.073 OPS. Rover was hit by a pitch 19 times in 2025 to set a new single-season school record. He ranked in the top 10 in the Horizon League in slugging percentage, on-base percentage, OPS and home runs.
Moser also helped true freshman infielder Jay Wrona earn a spot on the Horizon League All-Freshman Team in 2025. Wrona batted .313 with seven doubles, one triple, 13 RBIs, 27 walks and 24 runs scored over 40 games played and 33 starts in his debut collegiate campaign. He set a new single-game school record with five walks in YSU's 20-14 win at Milwaukee on April 18, 2025.
Moser played professionally as an outfielder for the Salem Senators in the Mavericks Independent Baseball League from 2022-23. The Cedarburg, Wis., native batted .328 and slugged .489 with five doubles, eight triples, three home runs and 34 RBIs over 45 games played with the Senators in 2022. He also recorded 54 runs scored, 32 walks, a .422 on-base percentage and 13 stolen bases. Moser was a recipient of a 2022 Silver Slugger Award, and he was also selected as a Mid-Season All-Star.
Moser began his collegiate playing career at the junior college level with a standout two-year stint at Milwaukee Area Technical College in Wisconsin before playing for two different NAIA programs. Moser played two seasons at William Jessup in California before spending the fifth and final year of his career at Ave Maria. As a fifth-year senior in 2022, he batted .328 and slugged .454 with six doubles, three triples, one home run and 21 RBIs over 34 games played and 32 starts.
Moser played in 43 games over his two seasons at William Jessup. He batted .301 with 22 hits, 14 runs scored and 13 RBIs over 26 games played as a junior in 2020 before the season was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moser played in 80 games over his two seasons at Milwaukee Area Technical College. As a sophomore in 2019, he led the Stormers in RBIs (29), walks (23) and stolen bases (14) while being named NJCAA All-Academic Third Team. Moser batted .347 and slugged .496 with seven doubles, four triples, and one home run and 26 runs scored during his sophomore season. As a freshman in 2018, he batted .305 and slugged .458 with 17 RBIs, 13 extra-base hits, 19 runs scored and 11 stolen bases over 39 games played.
Moser earned his Bachlor of Arts degree in communications from Ave Maria University in 2022.
