Kellogg CC national ranking fueled by 21-game winning streak, top 4-year college prospects

Admittedly, during this cold, wet spring, the Kellogg Community College baseball team hasn't played in front of a lot of big crowds. Mostly a handful of family and friends.

But there is another important group among that fan base at most of the Bruin games – college scouts from four-year schools.

KCC is one of the strongest junior college baseball programs in the state and throughout the Midwest, and because of that, Bruin games have become a must-stop on the travels of scouts and coaches from NCAA Division I and Division II schools looking for talent.

Over the past 10 years, KCC has produced more than 100 baseball players who have gone on to play at four-year schools. That trend will continue this year as the Bruins are loaded once again, ranked No. 3 in the country in their division and are in the midst of a 21-game winning streak.

“That’s one of the reasons you come to KCC, as a way to get to a bigger school,” said Harper Creek grad Zach Smith, a pitcher who has committed to play Northwood University next year. “Being from Battle Creek, you grow up knowing that KCC baseball is that kind of program and that they have always been a good program. And when it comes to the recruiting process, Coach (Eric) Laskovy does a lot to help us with that and to get our name out there.”

Smith is one of five players who are already committed to go to the next level after having success at KCC. The top name on that list is Lakeview graduate Gavin Homer, who has signed to play at Penn State. Also taking advantage of their time as a Bruin to continue their collegiate careers is Logan Briggs, who is going to Northwood, and Max Swan and Korey Knowles, both heading to Davenport University. And KCC coach Eric Laskovy says several more Kellogg players could join that list by the time the season is over.

“We ask our student-athletes to make a commitment to the program and we set our expectations high and those expectations are embraced by the kind of kids we recruit. We look for players who want to continue their development here at KCC and beyond,” Laskovy said. “When four-year programs come see Kellogg play, they expect to see tough-nosed players that have had some success in the classroom as well on the field so they can hit the ground running at their school at the next level.

“Because we can do that, we have been pretty visible and our players get good exposure and the guys that come here know they are going to get a lot of four-year looks. Plus, the Kellogg guys who have gone on, have played very well at four-year schools and that doesn’t hurt either.”

KCC had 11 players go on to four-year schools from last year’s team and 11 more the year before that. Included in that group is Bailey Peterson, who went on to Michigan State, and Cooper Marshall and Garrett Hammer, who each went to Western Michigan. Recently, KCC even had a player go on to get picked in the Major League Baseball draft as Travis Bolin went on to play at Davenport before getting selected in the 32nd round in 2016.

For Homer, who played at McHenry Community College as a freshman, coming to KCC to play his sophomore year was part of his strategy to get a better look from Division I schools. When Penn State came to Battle Creek to watch him practice earlier this month and then quickly offered him to join the Nittany Lions, it was a dream come true.

“KCC is an outlet for a lot of high Division II and good Division I programs,” Homer said. “Scouts come here from all over the Midwest to see a program that competes for championships every year and puts out good players every year.”

KCC has won the Michigan Community College Athletic Association title seven of the last 10 years and the Bruins have advanced to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II World Series six times since 1999.

Coming out of a weekend sweep of Kalamazoo Valley Community College, KCC is 30-4 overall. The Bruins are ranked No. 3 in NJCAA Division II.

“We are ranked just about every year. But usually, with the way we set up our spring schedule, with the level of difficulty we face, we often lose our ranking early,” Laskovy said. “However, this year we have gotten off to a fast start, even with a difficult spring schedule, and we have been off and running ever since.

“We don’t put a lot of stock in the rankings, we are usually worried about the big picture and how we finish, but there is something to be said for our ranking and the winning streak we are on. It’s something the guys are excited about.”

Going into action Tuesday night, KCC had won 21 games in a row – the longest streak for the program since the team won 30 in a row more than 10 years ago under then-coach Russ Bortell. The Bruins are hot at the right time as its regular season will quickly come to an end on May 8 with the postseason to follow.

“This is amazing what we are doing, we want to keep it going, this has been great,” Smith said. “We have a lot of guys on this team that could take us the distance if we play the right way and that’s our goal, to keep this up.”

Contact Bill Broderick (269) 966-0678 or bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter @billbroderick.