— K-STATE ATHLETICS RELEASE —
MANHATTAN, Kan. (KStateSports.com) – K-State junior shortstop Kaelen Culpepper added to his impressive resume Wednesday morning, as he was named to the D1Baseball All-American Second Team.
Culpepper, a native of Memphis, Tenn., becomes the first position player in school history to earn D1Baseball All-American status, while he is the second Wildcat recognized in the Pete Hughes era. He was one of seven players to represent the Big 12 Conference on the D1Baseball All-America teams.
Projected as the No. 32 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft by Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, Culpepper finished as one of the Big 12’s top offensive producers this season. The All-Big 12 Second Team selection ranked among the league’s top-10 in three offensive categories: fifth in runs batted in (59) and sixth in hits (80), while leading in triples (6).
Additionally, Culpepper recorded 15 doubles and 11 home runs to go with his team-best .328 batting average and .574 slugging percentage, as he was one of three Wildcats to start in all 61 games. With 11 homers on the year, he jumped to 10th all-time in school history, totaling 26 during his career.
In the opening game of the NCAA Tournament, Culpepper became the fourth player in K-State history to hit for the cycle, joining Ross Kivett (2014), Heath Schesser (1997), and Craig Wilson (1992). He tripled in the second, singled in the sixth, doubled in the seventh, and homered in his fifth at-bat, to complete the cycle and help K-State topple No. 2 seed Louisiana Tech, 19-4.
Culpepper finished as the top slugger during the Wildcats’ first run in the NCAA Tournament since 2013. He hit .474 (9-for-19) in five games with a .522 on-base percentage and an incredible 1.053 slugging percentage that included three doubles, one triple and two home runs with 10 RBI.
The award marks the program’s 39th postseason All-America honor and is the first of Culpepper’s career. Hughes has now overseen nine All-Americans, including three in the last four years.
