On Sept. 29, 2020, La Salle University in Philadelphia announced that it would be cutting seven sports at the end of the 2020-21 academic year.
Among those sports was baseball, meaning that once the Explorers finished playing in the spring, there would be a few dozen players automatically in the transfer portal.
Outfielder Elijah Dickerson, who chose La Salle over several other Division I institutions, was part of that roster.
The Mount Holly, N.J., native knew from that point in September 2020 that he would need to find a new home to play baseball in mere months after thinking his entire college career would be spent in Philly.
“Going through the process, I knew that I still had more in the tank and I didn’t want to give up my dream,” Dickerson said. “It was something where I had to push myself even harder to continue to excel and get to the next level.”
La Salle nearly did the impossible in its final season, coming up just short of the NCAA Tournament. Every player on the team left it all out on the field, finishing 32-21 overall and 15-9 in the Atlantic 10. The Explorers were a tiebreaker away from getting into the Atlantic 10 tournament, which would have given them a shot at earning an NCAA Regional appearance.
However, once the season ended, Dickerson knew he had to start looking. Enter Towson, a program that had scouted him and hosted camps he attended while in high school.
Once Dickerson entered the transfer portal, the Tigers’ coaching staff, led by head coach Matt Tyner, pounced on the opportunity to add him to the program. The 6-foot, 190-pound outfielder hit .272/.350/.452 in 67 games for La Salle from 2020-2021.
“We continued to watch him play at La Salle, and when the unfortunate news came in, we thought that we had a good chance to land him,” Tyner said. “We made a play for him, he chose Towson and we couldn’t be happier with that decision.”
Luckily, Dickerson liked everything that Towson offered — a combination of great athletics and academics — and he joined the program as a junior transfer for the 2022 season.
It ended up being one of the best decisions he’s made during his college career. He was an honorable mention All-CAA pick after finishing in the top 10 in the conference in numerous statistical categories.
Dickerson ended up leading Towson in total bases (99), hits (49), RBIs (42), triples (5) and slugging percentage (.529) in what was the best year of his career to date. He also tied for the team lead in doubles (10) and homers (10).
“The competition level has increased from what I was facing in the A-10,” Dickerson said. “I’ve benefited from that, the work I’ve put in the weight room and the coaching. There are some really good guys here that help me with anything I need.”
Dickerson felt that increase in the intensity of competition early on this season, hitting just .220 through the Tigers’ first 14 games. Additionally, he entered a bit of a slump at the start of CAA action, so that required a bit of adjustment as well.
In the last month and change of the season, however, things started to click. Beginning with the April 15-17 series against UNC Wilmington, Dickerson turned into one of the best hitters in the conference.
“I really just trust myself and put faith in my teammates to have as much success on the field as we can,” Dickerson said. “I think that really drives me further. I don’t really care about being one of the best hitters in the CAA. I just want to do whatever I can to help the team out.”
Dickerson was very much thrown into the fire early on for the Tigers, who faced Miami and LSU in their first two weekend series of the season. Both programs ended up reaching the NCAA Tournament this season, with Miami ending up as the No. 6 overall seed and hosting an NCAA Regional in Coral Gables, Fla.
With such stiff competition out of the gates, it was an immediate test for the transfer, but he solidified himself as a starter for the rest of the season.
“When you’re given the keys to the kingdom, it’s your position to lose,” Tyner said. “Pressure comes with that. [Miami and LSU] are two pretty big opponents to start your Towson career with, and I think he held his own.”
Dickerson’s offensive performance was one of the few bright spots for a Towson team that ended up with a 14-39 record, missing out on the CAA tournament after making it in 2021. However, there’s a lot of promise left for Dickerson, who was able to overcome La Salle shutting down its baseball program by continuing his development at Towson.
“For him to put up the power numbers that he did this season, I would consider it over-exceeding expectations,” Tyner said. “My gosh, is he fun to watch. He can carry a team.”
With his first season at Towson in the books, Dickerson is taking a much-deserved respite before attacking the offseason with tenacity.
He is already being looked at as one of the leaders on this Towson team heading into fall ball. He has his sights set not just on earning first- or second-team All-CAA honors but getting the Tigers back to playing postseason baseball in May and June.
Dickerson has learned quite a lot in the past three years, and now at Towson, he has benefited from his coaches and teammates immensely.
“If you’re going through your ups and downs,” Dickerson said, “they’ll put you back in the lineup so that you can figure things out and let you get in that rhythm to be where you need to be.”
Photo Credit: Courtney Levy