The Calvin University baseball program has hired Andy Van Hekken as its pitching coach.
 
Van Hekken joins the Calvin baseball program after a 21-year professional career as a pitcher, which included a stretch in the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers in 2002 when he threw a shutout in his major league debut.
 
"Andy is a great hire for our program and for our university," Calvin head baseball coach Kevin Van Duyn said. "He embodies the qualities we look for in a coach. Besides his vast experience as a former player, he is an excellent teacher and innovator that we believe will be an outstanding Christian mentor to our pitching staff and team."
 
Van Hekken was drafted out of Holland High School by the Seattle Mariners in the third round of the 1998 major league baseball draft, and pitched for the Mariners, Tigers, Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, Florida Marlins, Kansas City Royals and Houston Astros organizations.
 
Later in his professional career, Van Hekken pitched in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) and the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) before retiring from professional baseball in 2018.
 
Along with his playing career, Van Hekken has worked as a mentor and instructor for pitchers from the middle school level all the way through professional baseball, while also serving as a pitching coach at the amateur level.
 
"I am looking forward to this new challenge and happy to be joining a great coaching staff," Van Hekken said. "I'm anxious to get started and to help this program continue to grow."

Van Hekken is a native of Holland, Michigan. He is a graduate of Holland High School.