The Kellogg Community College baseball team opened the spring season strong this month with an 8-7 win over Spring Arbor University’s JV team Feb. 3.
The Bruins then embarked on the team’s annual spring trip to Louisiana, returning with an even 3-3 record against some of the toughest teams in the nation – including a 10-1 win over defending national champions Louisiana State University Eunice.
These early successes – along with an impressive ranking at 15th in the nation in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II Baseball Preseason Rankings released in January – will provide the Bruins welcome momentum heading into team’s full schedule in March.
The team’s first nine-inning home game is scheduled for March 18 against Glen Oaks Community College at MCCU Field at C.O. Brown Stadium. It’s the first of more than a dozen home games at C.O. Brown in Battle Creek this season – all with free admission – before postseason play begins in early May.
This year’s team includes a roster more than 30 players strong, roughly half of which consists of returning sophomores. Locals on the team include returning sophomore pitcher Jackson Haywood (Battle Creek/Lakeview High School); twin freshmen outfielder/pitcher Jake Kucharczyk and catcher Zach Kucharczyk (Battle Creek/Lakeview High School); returning sophomore infielder Jayden Miller (Battle Creek/Lakeview High School); and freshman pitcher Tyler Wolfersberger (Battle Creek/Harper Creek High School).
Head KCC Baseball Coach Eric Laskovy returns for his 26th year with the program and 19th as head coach.
A banner season in 2024
The Bruins are coming off another banner season in 2024, when the team secured its seventh consecutive Michigan Community College Athletic Association Western Conference championship and first NJCAA Region XII championship title since 2021 – the program’s ninth regional championship in program history. The Bruins finished the season at the NJCAA World Series tournament on Memorial Day with 44-12 record overall.
Ten KCC baseball players won postseason athletic awards, including NJCAA First Team All-American honors and the MCCAA’s coveted Dick Shilts Male Student-Athlete of the Year award for sophomore infielder Aaron Piasecki.
Additionally, nearly two dozen KCC baseball players earned postseason academic awards for exemplary achievement in the classroom. The team as a whole earned MCCAA and NJCAA All-Academic Team honors with an exceptional 3.19 team GPA.
Coach Laskovy – who reached a milestone 600 career wins last March – won Great Lakes District Coach of the Year, MCCAA Coach of the Year and MCCAA Western Conference Coach of the Year honors – marking his seventh consecutive and 12th total Western Conference Coach of the Year honor.
In addition to early success on the field, this year’s team shows promise in the classroom as well, producing an incredible Fall 2024 team GPA of 3.43 and besting the program’s already stellar 10-year average of 3.24.
Some additional impressive program statistics, according to KCC Athletic Director (and KCC baseball alumnus) Drew Fleming:
- Over the last 10 years, KCC baseball has sent 121 students to four-year schools to continue their journeys as student athletes.
- Of all baseball-playing postsecondary institutions in the state of Michigan at any level – including the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) – KCC baseball was ranked No. 1 in winning percentage at 0.786% for the 2023-24 season.
- Nationally, of all NJCAA Division II schools in the nation, KCC baseball is ranked No. 8 in winning percentage – a ranking the Bruins have held since 2021.
For more information about the KCC baseball team, including a full schedule, roster, photos and other information, visit kelloggbruins.com. Head KCC Baseball Coach Eric Laskovy can be reached at laskovye@kellogg.edu or 269-965-3931 ext. 2536.
For more news about Kellogg Community College, view our latest press releases online at https://daily.kellogg.edu/category/news-releases.