The feelings for UMBC redshirt freshman first baseman Dylan Melton coming into the 2026 season were different in the best way possible.
“I literally couldn’t be happier,” Melton said. “I just feel so grateful to be able to be playing.”
His feelings of joy are more than warranted, having suffered a torn ACL in his left knee ahead of his freshman season in 2024 and then the same in his right knee before the 2025 campaign.
Recovering from a torn ACL once is in itself a long, arduous process. It can take close to a full year to work back to full health — double that for Melton to even get a taste of playing college baseball.
“I think it’s natural, particularly for Dylan, that he would be frustrated to have two season-ending injuries at the beginning of his college career,” UMBC head coach Liam Bowen said. “I think there’s enough frustration built into those circumstances that as coaches, we certainly weren’t going to add to that.”
Now fully healthy, the Ellicott City native and Glenelg Country School graduate has been a key contributor for the Retrievers in all phases of the game this spring.
“I’m really happy for him,” Bowen said. “Him being down as he was, going through the last two years being on the sideline and having to rehab, to finally see him out there playing is great and it also really helps our team. … He’s really good. He’s a complete player.”
Not only is Melton a complete player, but he is someone who has been able to adapt on the fly, even after two years of rehab.
Originally recruited as an outfielder, Melton has become UMBC’s primary first baseman this spring. He has taken to the position well, recording 236 putouts and 14 assists entering UMBC’s series against UMass Lowell April 17-19.
“I haven’t played it consistently since I was 12 or 13,” Melton said. “I’ve been practicing every day, making sure I have everything down at first base in every situation, knowing what to do since I haven’t played there in so long.”
On top of a new position, Melton came into the season wanting to perform on the field after building relationships with players who hadn’t yet seen him play. His teammates had only seen him rehab, but the support from everyone has been constant.
“You create high standards for yourself,” Melton said. “You build up these expectations to try to impress others. … I was just trying to focus on how grateful I was to be playing and not too much about the rough edges of not playing for a while and coming back. The coaching staff did a great job getting me ready for the year. I saw a lot of live at-bats before the season began.”
The defensive results speak for themselves, as do his offensive numbers. He is hitting .295/.412/.361 with eight extra-base hits in 31 games heading into the Lowell series. Melton has also struck out just 10 times while walking 21 times.
Despite being a redshirt freshman on paper, Melton is essentially a junior to coaches and teammates this spring. His maturity and leadership despite a lack of playing time has caught the attention of everyone, especially the coaching staff.
“We knew he would be a good player if he was ever able to get on the field,” Bowen said. “We always had faith in Dylan. There were times where we had him travel with us, even as an injured player, just to make sure he spends time around the team. … He’s a really easy guy to get along with. His ability to develop chemistry with his teammates, that helped to make this year feel seamless.”
Regardless of the results this year, success for Melton was measured in him actually being able to get on the field and play.
Melton has already done that, so the only thing that’s left is to build upon his initial success and develop himself into one of the best all-around players in the America East Conference moving forward.
“You forget how much fun baseball is until you haven’t played it for a couple of years,” Melton said. “You watch the guys around you and think to yourself, ‘Hey, I want to get in on this.’ … Being able to be out there fighting the battle with them, I can’t even put into words just how much fun I’m having.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of UMBC Athletics