Junior shortstop Kaelen Culpepper was tabbed to the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-Central Region Second Team Tuesday, following the association’s announcement.
Members of the ABCA voted on the all-region teams, led by the ABCA NCAA Div. I All-America & Coach of the Year Committee.
Culpepper, who is projected to go No. 32 overall in the 2024 MLB Draft by MLB Pipeline, was one of 13 players from the Big 12 Conference to earn all-region honors. He is just the second K-State position player to earn all-region recognition since 2014 and fourth under head coach Pete Hughes, joining Zach Kokoska (OF, 2021), Jordan Wicks (LHP, 2021) and Tyson Neighbors (RHP, 2023).
A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Culpepper was among the Big 12’s top offensive producers this season, finishing fifth in runs batted in (59) and sixth in hits (80), while leading the league in triples (6).
Culpepper added 15 doubles and 11 home runs to go with his team-best .328 batting average and .574 slugging percentage. The shortstop was one of three Wildcats to start in all 61 games.
Additionally, with his career-high 11 home runs this season, Culpepper moved stands 10th all-time in the school records with 26 career homers.
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 impressive 1.053 slugging percentage that included three doubles, one triple and two home runs. Culpepper drove in a team-leading 10 RBI, which was the fourth-best among all Division I players competing in the tournament.
In the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, Culpepper became just 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.
The ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. I All-America teams will be announced the morning of Friday, June 14 prior to the start of the 2024 NCAA Div. I College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
The ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove winners in all divisions will be announced on Wednesday, June 19. ABCA/Rawlings National Pitchers and Position Players of the Year will be announced on Monday, June 24.
