Baseball Program 13.indd - Kellogg Community College

Kellogg Community College
Baseball
When your baseball jersey reads “Bruins” in Battle Creek, it means
more than just success on the field.
With four top-10 finishes in the National Junior College Athletic
Association — including a runner-up finish in 2007 — and six
league championships in the past 12 years, that’s a given. But
being a Bruin at Kellogg Community College also means success
in the classroom and in the community.
The Bruins have averaged a team GPA close to 3.0 over the past
seven years, and Tom Shaw, KCC’s Athletic Director, says those
scores were high enough to place
them in the top 50 baseball teams
out of more than 420 in the NJCAA
academically each of those years.
The team’s academic success was
highlighted by a 3.18 GPA that placed
them eighth in the nation in 2010.
Eric Laskovy, who’s been the Bruins head coach for the past seven
years, attributes much of the program’s success to former head
coach Russ Bortell, who led the Bruins from 1987 to 2006 and now
coaches the college’s softball team. Laskovy says the program was
able to build on Bortell’s reputation as a coach who took no shortcuts,
worked hard and really cared about his team.
A similar reputation can be seen in the character of the players
recruited to play at KCC today. “We go after the quality of the kid,”
Laskovy says. “We build our program around good students. We
think that we have the kind of guys that will reflect well on us in
the community, and we can’t wait to put them out there.”
And the Bruins certainly are out in their community. In addition to
up to six practices per week, weight training, a mandatory study
table and their regular course load of college classes, each member
of the team is expected to participate in community service
projects.
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“We have a rare
combination of athletic
and academic success,”
Shaw says. “It’s off the
charts, and it keeps
getting better.”
KCC Baseball Regional Champions 2011
These projects have included mentoring youth during weekly
outings to New Level Sports, a local nonprofit; volunteering
at Habitat for Humanity and the local human services agency
Community Action as part of KCC’s Bruins Give Back service
learning initiative; and coaching baseball camps for kids at the
local YMCA.
Laskovy says the team’s coaches believe community service is
a crucial part of their players’ development. “We are a community
based program, and it’s important for us to be involved in
our community,” Laskovy says. “We want our guys to embrace
volunteerism, and we know that they reap more benefits than
they give through the experience.”
Follow the Bruins’ success throughout their season at
www.kellogg.edu/athletics/baseball.index.html
KCC Baseball volunteering at the food bank
as part of the Bruins Give Back program
KCc BASEBALL Champions of Excellence
On the Field
In the Classroom
2007 National Runner-up 2.86 Team GPA
2008 League Champions 2.74 Team GPA
2009 8th in Nation Finish 3.00 Team GPA
2010 League Champions 3.18 Team GPA
2011 4th in Nation Finish 2.89 Team GPA
2012 League Champions 2.98 Team GPA
excellence in field…
classroom… community
KELLOGG
COMMUNITY COLLEGE