Men's Basketball

50th Anniversary Pilot Profiles - Scott Hostetler

Bethel College Basketball will be profiling athletes from the past leading up to a celebration of the 50 years of Pilot Basketball this November

Scott Hostetler’s climb to the 1,000 point plateau was an uphill battle, much like his basketball career in general.

A 5-9 guard from Goshen High School, Hostetler spent most of his freshman season at Bethel on the bench. He was scheduled for a reserve role in 1978-1979 when Bethel lost a key frontline player. The Pilots, already small by college standards, didn’t have much reserve talent at forward, so coach Homer Drew solved the problem by moving Dick Armington from guard to forward and creating an opening for Hostetler in the lineup.

Hostetler responded brilliantly scoring 425 points (12.0) and helping the Pilots to an unexpected trip to the NCCAA National finals. He followed that performance with 18 points in NCCAA finals action against Lee.

In 1979-1980, Hostetler returned to a backup role and became one of Bethel’s top weapons against a zone defense. Hostetler scored 18 points and hit seven of nine from the floor, mostly from long range, in Bethel’s second victory ever over Tri-State that season. He set a career high with 25 points versus Clearwater Christian in 1979 and turned in impressive playoff performances versus Huntington (16 points) and Marion (14 points) later that year. In all, Hostetler helped the Pilots win a NCCAA District III championship each year of his career. He was also named to the Bethel Classic team in 1979-1980.

Hostetler averaged 8.2 the last two years of his career and tallied his 1,000th point versus Huntington in 1980-1981.

“It was a real tribute to Scott that he scored 1,000,” said Drew. “He started when we needed him and he came in off the bench when we needed to use him that way.”

Hostetler was the 10th player in Bethel history to reach 1,000 points. He was also a noted free throw shooter, hitting 75 of 92 attempts to hit 82 percent from the line as a sophomore. Hostetler and Doug Snyder played more games at Grace than any other opponent in Lancer’s history. The pair helped beat Grace three times in 1980-1981.

Hostetler also played shortstop on the Bethel baseball team and established career records for walks and runs scored. He was scouted by the Philadelphia Phillies but went into teaching after graduation.