Most kids look up to the passions of their parents, following in their footsteps from an early age.
Junior left fielder Erick Dessens is no different. His father, Elmer Dessens, was a 14-year yearn pitcher in the majors, playing stints with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers.
This guidance helped propel Dessens to a red-hot 2026 season for the Hornets. The one-time Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week leads the team with a .999 OPS, and a .365 batting average across 52 games with 81 hits, 58 RBIs and 10 home runs.
“He’s [Elmer] been the greatest coach and mentor in the game for me for sure,” Erick Dessens said.
Even with baseball in his blood, Dessens had an unusual journey to his success at Sacramento State.
Growing up in Scottsdale, Arizona, Dessens played basketball, football and soccer, but he always had his true passion, baseball. He played for Notre Dame Prep, dominating the local scene with a .435 batting average with 26 RBIs in 28 games in his senior season of high school.
“Since he was a child, he has always been very dedicated and has had a great passion for baseball and for doing things the right way,” Elmer Dessens said. “I remember when he was little, he was always the first one to wake up, put on his uniform, and tell us he was ready for us to take him to play the sport he loves so much, baseball.”
Dessen’s success and dedication however, did not translate to any Division l offers out of high school.
“I just didn’t have any looks from any universities,” Erick Dessens said. “I just kept my head down, I kept grinding. So I said to myself, ‘I’m going to go to community college to develop a little more,’ which looking back at it, was the best decision ever.”
This decision led him to Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix, where he continued to tear the seams off the baseball, recording a .363 batting average across his two seasons.
“I got plenty of at-bats in both of the years,” Erick Dessens said. “And I then finally kind of grew into the player I am now.”
His success at the JUCO level finally brought attention down to Phoenix, where head coach Reggie Christiansen received a tip from a friend.
“There was a friend of mine that coached a summer collegiate team that gave me his name,” Christiansen said. “So we followed up and saw him in the fall and fell in love with him as a player.”
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Dessens committed to Sac State after his sophomore season in Phoenix, reuniting with high school teammate, best friend and future roommate junior pitcher Aaron Kniffin.
“I’ve known Eric since my freshman year of high school,” Kniffin said. “Since then, he’s been like the best team ever. We’d always hit together after school and he’s my roommate. We just have like the best time ever staying together and having that connection from high school.”
Dessens leads the Hornets in home runs on the season with 10. Even with that impressive statistic, Dessens only hit two home runs in his two seasons with the Pumas. He has massively overhauled his training and regiment upon arriving at Sac State.
“That just comes from all the work that we put in over the fall and when we got back from winter break with the coaches,” Dessens said. “I came in here, I told them, like, I want to start hitting for more power. And so we worked on that every day in the cages and then also, you know, hitting the gym with Hyperthrive, getting my food in, everything, putting some weight on and that really helped as well.”
Dessen’s family is most impressed by how he carries himself, his dedication to school and his family.
“In addition to being a great player, he has also been a very good brother, an excellent son and above all, a great person,” Elmer Dessens said. “That is what makes me the proudest. I hope God continues to bless him with even greater opportunities in the future and that he keeps achieving all of his goals.”
With the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft right around the corner, Dessen’s ultimate goal is to play in the majors, like his father, but remains hyperfocused on the rest of the season as the Hornets currently sit in fourth place in the Western Athletic Conference with a record of 8-7.
“I’m just trying to finish off this season strong for the team and for myself I want to get to regionals,” Erick Dessens said. “That’s all I’m thinking about right now, all of that and then the draft, obviously that’s my goal to get drafted this year. So I’ll have to just see how that goes, but it’s not in my hands.”
