​A familiar face is returning to a dugout near you.And winning is most certainly inside his DNA.Aaron Hopper, a 2009 Wheelersburg graduate who led the Pirates to the 2008 OHSAA Division III Final Four, was honored as a OHSAA Division III Honorable Mention All-Ohio selection and was later an All-American and National Champion at NCAA Division III Marietta College before returning to Scioto County and guiding Minford to a OHSAA Division III Final Four of its own, is returning to baseball and the SOC scene in 2027. Hopper was named as Wheelersburg’s newest head baseball coach in October.“I’m excited,” Hopper said. “Unfortunately, my tenure at Minford was cut a little bit short, which was not necessarily planned, but I’ve always enjoyed coaching and hated to give it up. It’s nice to get back into it. Being able to coach at Wheelersburg means a lot, just to be able to not only continue on the tradition that’s started there and been upheld over the last several years, but also bring a little bit of a different perspective with my experiences, not only at Minford, but at Marietta College.”One of the key cogs in leading Wheelersburg to the first two district titles in a string of what would be 10 straight from 2008 to 2017, Hopper, who played in right field for the Pirates and batted in the No. 3 hole in the Pirates’ OHSAA Division III State Semifinal loss to Hamilton Badin back in 2008, is a widely respected baseball mind across the area, region and state for his high-level IQ in the sport.Parlaying his Honorable Mention All-Ohio campaign as a senior, a 2009 season that saw Wheelersburg advance to the OHSAA Division III, Region 11 Finals before falling to the eventual state champions in that season, Gnadenhutten Indian Valley, into a opportunity to play baseball at Marietta.“It was definitely a special time,” Hopper said. “We prided ourselves on stepping out on the field, being confident and stepping out on the field every time, regardless of who we played. We knew that we could compete, no matter what. It was just a special time being around the guys. There are guys that I still talk to every once in a while, and it’s part of my life. I’ll always keep in touch with those guys.”While with the Pioneers, Hopper, alongside West graduate Anthony Sheets, proceeded to team up and help Marietta add to its trophy case. Already an established NCAA Division III baseball powerhouse in the sport, Marietta’s success increased in Hopper’s four seasons on campus as the Pioneers went 163-39 in his four years as a letterwinner on campus and his three seasons as a full time starter in the outfield.Hopper, who played in 181 contests at Marietta and started 167 of those games, didn’t hit worse than .335 in each of his final three seasons on campus and helped lead the Pioneers to back-to-back NCAA Division III National Championships in 2011 and 2012. In 2013, Hopper didn’t commit a single error in 102 defensive chances.By the end of hi