— K-STATE ATHLETICS RELEASE —
MANHATTAN, Kan. (KStateSports.com) – K-State infielder Kaelen Culpepper became the program’s first positional player taken in the first round Sunday night, as he was taken 21st overall by the Minnesota Twins in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft.
“When you look back at the journey that I’ve been through, all those hard times and all the adversity, I’ve been through it. It just means so much,” Culpepper said in an interview with ESPN following his selection. “This is all the result of it.”
Culpepper, a 6-foot-0 product of Memphis, Tenn., becomes the second Wildcat in school history taken in the first round, as he joins current Major Leaguer Jordan Wicks, who was picked 21st overall by the Chicago Cubs in the 2021 MLB Draft.
The D1Baseball American is the fourth Wildcat selected by the Twins and first since Mickey Blount in 1998. He was the fifth shortstop taken in this year’s draft and third player taken from the Big 12 Conference alongside West Virginia’s JJ Wetherholt (7th overall, St. Louis Cardinals) and Oklahoma State’s Carson Benge (19th overall, New York Mets).
“I mean, all my family back there, they all understand how hard I work,” added Culpepper. “It’s just what it took to get here. I’m just really happy and full of excitement right now.”
“I mean, just being myself, staying confident in who I am, and remembering where I came from, I thank my family for that. They did a wonderful job of raising me and my other two siblings, and I just take pride into that and I’m just so happy to be here right now.”
“We are so happy for Kaelan,” K-State head coach Pete Hughes said of Culpepper. “He has earned every bit of his good fortune. He embodies the K-State way. He has been a first-round person, student and teammate since he stepped foot in Manhattan. I know I speak for our entire program when I say that it’s been a privilege to be a part of his journey.”
Hughes has now overseen 85 draftees in his 27-year head coaching career, including eight first rounders, while Culpepper is the 11th draft pick in the Hughes era at K-State. The Wildcats have now had at least one player taken in 20 of the last 21 MLB Drafts.
Culpepper’s selection highlights a junior campaign that included being named All-American Second Team (D1Baseball), All-Central Region Second Team (ABCA/Rawlings), and All-Big 12 Second Team.
This season, Culpepper was one of the Big 12’s top offensive producers, ranking fifth in RBI (59) and sixth in hits (80), while leading in triples (6). Additionally, he hit 15 doubles and a career-best 11 home runs to go with his team-high .328 batting average and .574 slugging percentage, while he was one of three Wildcats to start in all 61 games.
Culpepper turned in 23 games with two or more hits to pace the offense, while he turned in 13 games with multiple RBI and finished with a 10-game hitting streak.
In the NCAA Tournament, the Fayetteville Regional MVP hit .474 (9-for-19) with three doubles, one triple and two home runs for an incredible 1.575 OPS while driving in a team-leading 10 RBI.
Culpepper became the fourth player in K-State history to hit for the cycle after leading Cats to a 19-4 triumph over No. 2 seed Louisiana Tech in the Fayetteville Regional. 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 join All-Americans Ross Kivett (2014), Heath Schesser (1997), and Craig Wilson (1992). Wilson played three seasons with the Chicago White Sox in 1998-2000.
A year ago, Culpepper became the third Wildcat in school history to be selected to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. His .471 average led Team USA, while he totaled two triples, three home runs and seven RBI. He achieved a team-leading .853 slugging percentage with a .526 on-base percentage.
The three-time All-Big 12 selection finished his Wildcat career slashing .314/.402/.531 with 32 doubles, six triples, 26 home runs and 122 runs batted in. His 26 career home runs ranks 10th all-time in school history.
