FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff playing for hometown team after labrum injury

Before Dylan Wolff took the mound for the Florida Gulf Coast baseball team, he was a fan. Wolff grew up in Fort Myers, even attended games at Swanson Stadium. Wolff sat in the stands with the hope that one day he will wear the green and blue for his hometown team.

“Growing up playing baseball you always want to go watch the better competition and you know the bigger kids play,” Wolff said.

He also said on why he wanted to be a part of FGCU baseball, “They’ve always been a good program. And it was kind of a dream of mine to play local for a really good school. Right here in my area.”

Coming into the season, the former Evangelical Christian High School standout hasn’t had many opportunities to play. He redshirted his freshman season and only saw one outing the following season. It didn’t help that a year and a half ago, Wolff tore his labrum in a summer league game.

“One pitch I didn’t feel right,” Wolff recalled. “And after that I kind of knew that it was hurt. So I went and got a MRI and they told me I had a torn labrum.”

Then, Wolff had a decision to make.

“Then I went around the doctors after I tore it, they told me I needed surgery or I wouldn’t pitch again,” Wolff explained. “But they also told me the success rate on the surgery was near 30 percent. I didn’t like those odds at all. So I didn’t get the surgery.”

When asked about the recovery process, Wolff said it was, “Hell. It was really hard to be honest. You have to work every day at it and then you get really discouraged because it still doesn’t feel good at times. So I mean it’s just tough. But I just keep working through it.”

“Rehab doesn’t go like a sheet of paper says,” FGCU head coach Dave Tollett said. “And there was some setbacks that he had to fight through. But to watch him fight through those and comeback and see some innings this year I mean it’s very rewarding.”

In Wolff’s return to the mound, he struck out the side in their game against Bethune-Cookman on Feb. 24.

“That was probably one of the most times in my coaching career that I’ve seen the dugout so electric,” Tollett said. “Because they know what he’s been through. For me it was the smile and the tear in the eye.”

“”It was just relief like wow you know I’m back I did it,” Wolff said. “It was a really cool moment for me.”