JOHN MELVIN MILLER ATHLETICS
John Melvin University Athletics

Coach Dylan Powell is in his second year with the John Melvin University baseball program. He will serve as the JMU pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. The Millers pitching coach brings three years of college coaching experience as well as four years at the high school level. 

In his first year with the Millers, the team compiled a 36-16 record, including a sweep over nationally ranked Delgado CC. While setting the school record for wins, the John Melvin pitching staff also set the school record for strikeouts in a single season with 327. 

Prior to joining the John Melvin coaching staff, Coach Powell spent 2022 as a Graduate Assistant coach at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri. During his time at Central Methodist, Coach Powell worked with the catchers, including Logan Doody who won the HOA Conference Gold Glove. The Eagles spent much of the season ranked in the top 25 and were selected as a host site for the 2023 NAIA National Championship Opening Round tournament. Powell also spent time on the recruiting trail and gained valuable experience recruiting new areas. Coach Powell also served as the Head Coach of the developmental team in 2022. 

Before his time in Missouri, Coach Powell started his college coaching career at his alma mater, Central Christian College of Kansas. While coaching for the Tigers, Powell helped lead the team to their best final record in the previous seven years. While serving in a variety of roles for Central Christian, Coach Powell mainly served as the catching coach and helped develop a group of catchers that would lead the Sooner Athletic Conference in runners caught stealing in 2022. The 2022 team set the school record for strikeouts from the pitching staff, hit the second-most home runs in school history, and had the fourth-highest stolen base record in school history with Powell serving as the first base coach. 

Coach Powell has spent three summers coaching collegiate summer teams. In 2022, Powell served as the pitching coach for the Kansas Curve in the Kansas Collegiate Baseball League. The Curve made a run through the playoffs to the league championship and finished as the KCLB runner-up. In 2023, Powell served as the pitching coach for the Joplin Outlaws in the MINK collegiate summer league. Coach Powell managed the Outlaws' pitching staff to a third-place finish in league ERA and a second-place finish in K/9. The Outlaws won the MINK South Division title for the second consecutive year before coming up just short of the organization's first MINK league title. In 2024, Powell returned to the Kansas Curve and again made a run through the playoffs to the league championship, finishing as the KCLB runner-up. Coach Powell will spend this upcoming summer as the pitching coach for the Strasburg Express in the Valley League in Virginia. 

Coach Powell started his coaching career in the High School summer baseball circuit in 2019 with the Central Kansas Crushers Academy. During that time, Powell also served as the Director of Pitching Development for 365 Sports Complex. Coach Powell served in these roles for four years, helping 24 players achieve All-State in Kansas and helping 26 players achieve their goal of signing to play college baseball. 

In his playing career, Coach Powell was a member of the 2017 Friends University team that made it to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round and won the first Opening Round game in school history. Coach Powell attended Central Christian College of Kansas for his final two years where he served as a starting pitcher for the Tigers.

Powell earned his B.A. in Psychology from Central Christian College of Kansas in 2020 and is currently working on his Masters’ in Sports Psychology at John Melvin University. Coach Powell’s playing career includes time at State Fair Community College, Friends University, and Central Christian College of Kansas. Coach Powell is from Belle Plaine, Kansas and currently resides in Crowley, Louisiana.