By some metrics, Hanover Central’s Dylan Bowen is no underdog.
The sophomore shortstop is the state’s top-ranked position player in the class of 2026, according to Prep Baseball Indiana.
But Bowen spent much of his childhood on the losing side of never-ending competitions against his older brother, Drayk, who won the Mr. Football award at Andrean in 2022 and plays football and baseball at Notre Dame.
So, yes, Dylan Bowen knows what it’s like to be the underdog.
“You have to play with a chip on your shoulder,” he said. “I’m the younger one, so I was losing most of the time. I just wanted to keep working my way up so I could beat him.”
Those competitions fueled Bowen’s athletic development, and he has become a fixture in the lineup for Hanover Central (12-2), which is ranked No. 6 in Class 3A in the coaches poll.
Following the Wildcats’ 13-3 win against Lowell on Monday, Bowen was hitting .489 with a .635 on-base percentage and a .644 slugging percentage, and he had team highs with three doubles and two triples.
“He’s done a good job of creating his own name outside of the shadow of his brother,” Hanover Central coach Sal Aguilar said. “Everyone knows who Dylan Bowen is now. His name stands out on its own.”
Bowen’s improved batting numbers — he hit .365 during his freshman season — can be partially attributed to offseason weight training. He said he gained 25 pounds to get to 185.
But Bowen said the key has been hitting the sweet spot on the bat.
“I’m just finding more barrels than last year,” he said. “It’s been good. I’m doing better than I was last year. All I’m doing is improving.”
Bowen is also more detail-oriented than many athletes, according to Hanover Central sophomore third baseman Aidan Creasbaum, who met Bowen when they were in middle school.
“You could tell he was different from everybody else,” Creasbaum said. “He strives to be great, and he’s not scared to mess up either. He works harder than most kids, doesn’t take anything for granted and is very professional with everything he does.”
Bowen attributes much of his mental makeup to lessons he learned from his older brother.
“Not only was he my brother, but he was a role model I looked up to and wanted to be like,” Bowen said.
So he’s ready for the roller-coaster ride that baseball can be.
“You can go 4-for-4 one day and then 0-for-4 the next,” he said. “It’s a really tough sport. It’s a challenge, and I like having challenges.”
Bowen had a different kind of challenge last summer after he suffered an avulsion fracture in his right hip while playing in Prep Baseball Report’s Futures Game in late July.
“I swung, and it just popped,” he said. “I thought it was just cramping. But I tried swinging again, and then I just had to limp off of the field.”
Bowen, a two-sport athlete, was sidelined for about two months, keeping him off the football field until Week 6, although he still finished the season with a team-high five interceptions.
Bowen knows overcoming obstacles is part of baseball.
“There’s always room for improvement in every aspect of baseball,” he said. “A lot of it is just a mind game. You can always keep your head up. And even when things don’t go your way, you can always be a better teammate by helping out your teammates so their heads don’t get down.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter.
