Bowling Green second baseman Sam Seidel was just looking for a fastball.
It was his second at-bat in the Falcons’ series opener against Ohio on Mar. 20. He wanted to keep his approach simple, even in a big spot — bases loaded with two outs in their first contest at BGSU’s newly-renovated Steller Field. Seidel knew right-hander Luke Bryant had to serve him up something hittable in the high-pressure situation, and if he got a barrel on the ball, he’d drive it.
The senior’s manifestation came true two pitches later, launching his third home run of the season for a grand slam to right center over the padded outfield wall that he designed.
Incredible: Sam Seidel is a graphic design major on the squad. He helped design the new outfield wall at Stellar Field.
— Chase Bachman (@ChaseBachman)
Today, at the team's home opener, Seidel hit a GRAND SLAM over the wall he helped design.
"The baseball gods were smiling on us today"
“One of the peaks of my career for sure,” Seidel said. “I want to give all the glory and praise to God just for being able to be in opportunities like that…not even just with the wall design, but trusted in the lineup.”
Seidel, a graphic design major, custom-designed BGSU’s outfield wall, a major ingredient of the program’s $3.4 million stadium renovations this offseason that featured a synthetic turf field, new lights, upgraded fencing around the field and more.
The opportunity arose when Bowling Green’s athletic department reached out to head coach Kyle Hallock in late January for the senior class’s input on the outfield's look. To their surprise, Seidel already had concepts sketched and drawn out before the request and submitted them.
Not even a month later, his designs were selected, and he helped lead the charge in bringing them to life — scaling, editing and working with a vinyl print company — all while in-season.
And in ode-like fashion, combining his two worlds, the second baseman gave the field a warm welcome.
“Every once in a while, the Baseball Gods do some things to let you know they exist. And that was one of those swings and one of those moments,” Hallock said. “I can’t think of a more impactful way, all the way around, that anyone can impact a program than Sam Seidel.”
Experience, behavior and baseball
The Greenwich, Ohio, native was stunned when he read part of Hallock’s text on Feb. 27.
‘It’s getting finalized,’ referring to the designs.
Seidel initially made the concepts as inspiration for a designer he imagined the school would hire, alongside Hallock and associate head coach Matt Rembielak, asking him years earlier to make them for the field if it ever happened. Plus, Seidel’s school projects had never come to life, at least to this magnitude.
The left field wall of Bowling Green's Steller Field
Still, Seidel jumped at the opportunity to weave together two sides of himself he held near. Throughout the Falcons’ 17-game road trip to start the season, he would bring his laptop to the front of the team bus and work with Hallock and Rembielak on the suggestions and edits from the athletic department.
Throughout the chaos, the senior still won MAC Scholar-Athlete Of The Week after his performance at Georgia Tech, the Falcons’ first opponent of the season, hitting .625 with four RBIs and two doubles over three games.
“We got (the designs) done because he got it done,” Hallock said. “If (my sons) grew up and they are half the player and person he is, we’ll call it a success.”
The right field designs include the NCAA and MAC logos accompanied by the years the program won the conference’s regular-season title, reached the NCAA tournament and won their regional. Center field reads ‘Bowling Green Baseball’ in gothic-like lettering, and left field features the number of BGSU’s MLB draft picks and the number/name of Hall of Famer Gary Haas. Five former players will join Haas on the outfield wall as Cast of Honor on Saturday, April 25.
They gained inspiration largely from schools like GT and Tennessee, wanting to prioritize a traditional and simplified look.
The right field wall of Bowling Green's Steller Field
“We want to showcase our tradition and tell our story,” Hallock said. “When teams come in and play us, they aren’t just playing the current team, but they’re playing the legends and great teams of the past.”
Jenn Stucker, Bowling Green’s graphic design division chair and professor, teaches her students that the art is about enhancing their audience’s experience and understanding what behavior you want them to do, from providing information to navigating traffic.
She is Seidel’s program advisor, having taught multiple of his classes, and currently working on an independent study with him to accommodate his hectic in-season schedule. Coincidentally, her husband played baseball in college as well, so Seidel's situation isn't too new to her.
Although she wasn’t involved in the project, Stucker was thrilled to see how her student implemented what she has taught.
“We see 10,000 visual messages a day,” Stucker said. “We don't always process those messages, but they're in our lives, and so (Sam) knows that he's got a captive audience that comes to games and is undoubtedly going to see his work, which has to feel really great.”
NEWEST POWER 10: Southern California enters the latest rankings
Stucker detailed the intricate process that goes into designing. It begins with the scalability, creating mock-ups and prototypes, and the readability — defining whether it amplifies or quiets one’s voice. Then comes understanding the color contrast and working with the printing company.
And knowing Seidel hasn’t had much practical experience of bringing designs to the real world before this project, a journey that began in high school, creating sports edits using Photoshop, makes his work even more impressive.
“I’m excited when returning athletes come to the stadium and then find out that a younger alum did that work,” Stucker said. “Because of Sam being on the team, it shows the investment BG athletics has in their players…it makes it all feel more like home.”
IN DUE TIME
Second baseman Sam Seidel poses at second base with artwork in the background
The idea of a renovated field was a broken record at Bowling Green even before Hallock joined the staff in 2018. Steller Field’s last major field upgrade was decades ago, and just two of 12 MAC teams didn’t have a turf field entering the 2024 season — they were one of them.
That all changed at the team’s First Pitch Dinner in 2024, where Orel Hershiser, 1988 World Series MVP and BGSU alum, mentioned his future visions for the program that included a new field. The only caveat? They needed to win games.
“People don’t want to put their money into a place that’s not even showing signs of being successful,” Seidel said. “We needed some sort of production on the field for people to buy into supporting this program with donations.”
This looked like a tall task for the Falcons on paper. The baseball program was briefly eliminated following the 2020 season due to financial restraints from the COVID-19 pandemic, but was reinstated a month later following a $1.5 million donation from alumni and donors. Although Hallock voiced his confidence in the team’s progression over the years, BGSU didn’t win more than 20 games each season between 2021 and 2023.
However, Hallock's sentiment was spot on; 2024 turned out to be one of the best in recent memory. They posted their first 30-win season since 2010 and won their first MAC regular-season championship in 15 years, headlined by a 17-0 start to conference play. One of the top performers was Seidel, who was named to the All-MAC First-Team. They won 33 games in 2025.
Hallock, who won MAC Coach of the Year, was extended in July 2024. The school announced the renovation project four months later.
VANDY'S CRAZY WEEKEND: 'Dores sweep No. 21 Tennessee with three straight walk-offs
“A lot of things timed up,” Hallock said. “You need the right president, board of trustees, athletic director, set of players, administration…first and foremost the right alumni base to back it…and coaching staff to go out there and be the glue.”
Seidel was Bowling Green’s first commit of the 2022 class back in 2019. He joined his older brother, Isaiah, who transferred from Ashland to BGSU before 2022. The mutual interest between him and the Falcons initially secured the commitment, and noticing they had a strong graphic design program was confirmation for him that he was right where he needed to be.
He now treks through his senior season, filled with memories and love for the program, entrenched in his play and work on the outfield wall. Hallock said Seidel will sign one of the padded walls in foul territory with his name and number, laying claim to his artwork.
Bowling Green struggled against its early-season competition, going 5-12 before its first game at Steller Field, currently sitting at 8-17 and ninth in conference standings. Seidel said the team’s main goal is to make the MAC tournament — only the top six teams compete in it — and the new field adds motivation.
But no matter where the season ends up, his legacy at Bowling Green will be everlasting.
“Once my career is over and the reflection phase starts to hit, I’ll definitely start to realize some of that impact,” Seidel said. “I love this program, and I’ll be super excited to come back and see the field how it is.”
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions.
