Dartmouth Professional Athletes

Dartmouth sent two alumni to the MLB postseason this October, and the experiences couldn't look more different. One is carrying a franchise. The other is trying to find his footing on the sport's biggest stage.

Ben Rice: The Accidental Anchor

When Aaron Judge went down with an injury, the Yankees needed someone to step into the void. Enter Ben Rice, the Dartmouth product who turned the crisis into a career-defining moment. Rice emerged as New York's best hitter in 2026, carrying the offense through one of the franchise's more turbulent stretches and establishing himself as a genuine force in the American League.

That success, however, comes with new pressure. According to Heavy Sports, Rice is now facing calls to make a significant change heading into the offseason — a testament to just how closely the Yankees organization and its fanbase are scrutinizing the player who kept the ship upright when the captain was sidelined. The specifics of what that change entails signal how high the expectations have risen around the Dartmouth alum: when you've become the team's best hitter, nothing about your game is off-limits for optimization.

It's a remarkable arc for a Big Green product now anchoring one of baseball's most storied lineups. Rice's postseason moment may just be the beginning of a longer conversation about his role in the Bronx.

Cole Sulser: A Rough Debut on the ALCS Stage

Things went sideways fast for Cole Sulser in the American League Championship Series. The Dartmouth righty took the mound for Tampa Bay in Game 1 against Cleveland — and it didn't go well. Sulser recorded just two outs before surrendering three earned runs, finishing with an eye-popping 40.50 ERA on the night. The Rays lost 7-3, and Sulser's outing was a significant contributor to the hole Tampa dug early.

Yahoo Sports noted that Sulser and fellow pitcher Tyler Wells combined to give up five runs in the defeat, a rough day for two former Orioles arms now pitching in new uniforms. For Sulser, the ALCS appearance is still a meaningful milestone — but Game 1 served as a reminder of how unforgiving October baseball can be, especially for relievers asked to hold the line in high-leverage spots.

The Rays will need more from Sulser if they're going to claw back in the series. His stuff has played in the majors before; the postseason simply doesn't offer many chances to shake off a bad outing.

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Two Dartmouth alumni, two very different October stories — one rising to the occasion, one working to recover from a stumble. Keep an eye on both as the postseason pushes deeper into the bracket.

Ben Rice Carries Dartmouth's Flag Into October — and Nearly Carries the Yankees Too

Ben Rice did everything a player could do to keep the New York Yankees alive. It just wasn't enough.

The Dartmouth product turned in one of the more memorable individual performances of this year's MLB playoffs during the ALDS, only to watch the Tampa Bay Rays sweep New York in three games and end the Yankees' season at Yankee Stadium. For Rice, the series was a showcase. For the Yankees, it was a collapse.

The Two-Homer Night That Made History

Rice's defining moment came in Game 2 at Tropicana Field, a 5-2 Yankees loss that became a referendum on New York's defensive fragility. The Yankees committed four errors — the second-most in any of their 448 all-time postseason games, per Defector — and were effectively gifted a four-run fifth inning by their own fielding miscues. Rice was the lone bright spot.

He homered in the fourth inning to tie the game at one, then went deep again later to account for both of New York's runs on the night. The performance earned him ALDS Game 2 Player of the Game honors from Yahoo Sports and, per The Sporting News, made postseason history — a one-of-a-kind feat in MLB playoff annals that underscored just how singular his night was.

Without Rice, the Yankees' offensive line would have been historically Angelic in the worst possible way.

His Game 2 stat line: 2-for-4, two home runs, two RBI, two runs scored, one walk. His series batting average ballooned to .467.

A Bitter Ending on Deck

Game 3 brought a different kind of heartbreak. Rice went 1-for-4 with an RBI in a 4-3 loss that completed the sweep. But the image that may linger longest is Rice standing in the on-deck circle in the final inning, the Yankees trailing by one, watching Trent Grisham — who had been inserted as the leadoff hitter ahead of Rice by manager Aaron Boone — strike out to end New York's season.

Rice never got his last at-bat. The lineup construction decision drew immediate criticism from analysts and fans alike, with multiple outlets questioning why the Yankees' hottest hitter was effectively neutered by the order of the batting lineup in an elimination game.

After the sweep, Rice didn't hide from the moment. Per Heavy Sports, he made a blunt, candid statement about the loss — the kind of accountability talk that tends to resonate in a clubhouse but stings in an empty locker room.

The Bigger Picture in the Bronx

Rice's ALDS run arrived in a context already shaped by absence. With Aaron Judge sidelined by a calf injury, the Yankees leaned on their younger core — Rice and pitcher Cam Schlittler chief among them — to extend their October. Rice delivered. The supporting cast, by and large, did not.

With the Yankees' season now over and roster questions looming — including whether Luis García Jr. could shift to second base to free up more at-bats for Rice — the Dartmouth first baseman/DH enters the offseason as one of the clearest bright spots in a disappointing Bronx autumn.

Fellow Dartmouth alumnus Cole Sulser was on the winning side with Tampa Bay but did not appear prominently in ALDS coverage. Kyle Hendricks and the Angels were not in postseason contention.

For Big Green fans, the takeaway is simple: Rice belonged on this stage. The Yankees just didn't.

When the Yankees needed someone to fill Aaron Judge's shoes in the Wild Card opener, two Dartmouth men answered the call — and proceeded to make franchise history together.

Rice Joins Berra and Gehrig

Ben Rice's Game 1 performance against the Red Sox on September 30 wasn't just good. It was historically good. The Dartmouth first baseman went 4-for-5 with two home runs, six RBIs, and a double in New York's 9-0 rout — one of the best individual postseason performances in Yankees franchise history. The stat line put him in elite company: Rice tied a Yankees all-time record previously held by Yogi Berra and Lou Gehrig, cementing himself alongside two of the sport's immortal names in a single October night.

The exclamation point came in the eighth inning, when Rice launched a grand slam off Brayan Bello to push the lead to 9-0. The sellout Yankee Stadium crowd of 48,437 had been loud all night; that blow silenced any remaining suspense. Rice, who grew up in Cohasset, Mass. and wore a Yankees jersey to his first-grade picture day, had spent a lifetime waiting to torture Boston in the Bronx.

He wasn't done. Rice followed up Game 1 by going 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk in Game 2 on October 1 (another Yankees victory, 9-2), then drew a walk in the ALDS opener against Tampa Bay on October 3 while carrying a .417 average through the first round. His postseason slash line through the Wild Card Series stood at a staggering .800 average by series' end — the kind of number that makes playoff legend status feel less like hype and more like fact.

Schlittler Shuts the Door

Rice had plenty of help from a fellow Dartmouth alum on the mound. Cam Schlittler, the Yankees' right-hander, turned in a 6⅓-inning shutout performance in Game 1 — throwing 117 pitches and keeping Boston scoreless throughout his outing. Schlittler and Rice together made MLB history with their combined statistical output in the blowout, a postgame note that drew praise from Yankees legend CC Sabathia, who made a pointed statement about Schlittler's dominant effort.

The 9-0 final was the kind of Wild Card Game 1 performance that leaves a series feeling over before it begins. With Judge sidelined by a calf strain, the Yankees leaned on their Dartmouth pipeline — and it delivered one of the more remarkable two-man performances in recent playoff memory.

Ivy League, October Pedigree

Rice's path to postseason stardom has drawn national attention this week, with outlets noting the rarity of Ivy League players reaching the majors at all, let alone performing at this level on baseball's biggest stage. As a Dartmouth product bucking decades of conventional baseball recruiting wisdom, Rice's October surge carries a broader storyline: the Ivy League can produce playoff stars.

For Big Green alumni watching from Hanover or anywhere else, this is the week to be loud about it.