DePauw’s Callahan juggles baseball, studying for health care career

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Kyle Callahan’s future is pointed toward a career in health care.

His father (Mike Callahan) and uncle (Jim Callahan) are doctors. He has cousins who are doctors and dentists.

“That’s what I grew up with,” says Callahan, a Biochemistry major at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., where he has been on the Tiger Pride Honor Roll for his first four semesters and is a member of the Future Medical Professionals club with his sights set on medical, dental or optometry school.

But that’s not all.

Callahan is a baseball player.

During the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, he hit .324 (11-of-34) with two home runs, 18 runs batted in and 10 runs scored in eight games. He started all eight as the Tigers’ designated hitter, batting in the No. 3 hole. After four losses to open the campaign, NCAA Division III DePauw ended with a four-game winning streak.

After sweeping Saturday and Sunday doubleheaders at Manchester University, players were told they could not shake hands with the opposition.

“We were told, ‘you’re not going to do this today.’ We had heard talks about the virus. We knew something was up.”

The team practiced for a few days and then found out the rest of the season was canceled.

“It was definitely a tough pill to swallow,” says Callahan. “Especially for the seniors. They played their last game as a DePauw Tiger.”

Callahan has played two years in the Black and Gold.

In his freshman campaign of 2019, he hit .296 (34-of-115) with four homers and 24 RBIs while scoring 41 runs and learning lessons from Tigers head coach Blake Allen.

“He came from Vanderbilt,” says Callahan of the DePauw graduate who served two stints on the Nashville-based NCAA Division I powerhouse (2004-08, 2015-16). “He definitely knows what he’s talking about.

“He teaches us how be a good player and how to behave off the field. He stresses how important that is after college to be a good person. We have meetings where we talk about that.”

The Tigers also talk about being a good teammate, competitive and displaying mental toughness.

“You’ve got to be mentally tough to play baseball,” says Callahan. “Seven out of 10 times you’re going to fail. You have to focus on your positives.

“You may have one tough day. But there’s always tomorrow. There always’s more AB’s.”

Callahan had a memorable at-bat Tuesday, June 23.

Making a transition from outfield to first base, he’s been playing that position this summer for the Mark Walther-coached Marksmen in the College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind. 

In the first game of a doubleheader against the Woodchucks, righty-swinger Callahan faced DePauw teammate E.J. White and socked a homer that TrackMan Baseball data says traveled 416.96 feet (the CBL’s longest hit in Week 2). 

“It went right down the left field line,” says Callahan. “I pulled it. It kind of hooked around the pole.

“I was afraid the umpire was going to wave the ball foul.”

It’s not a long commute to Grand Park. Callahan is from Zionsvillle, Ind., in nearby Boone County. 

A 2018 graduate of Zionsville Community High School, Callahan was on junior varsity as a freshmen and a roster player when the Eagles were IHSAA Class 4A state runners-up in 2016. He started in the outfield in 2017 and 2018 for head coach Jered Moore.

“He was always a great coach,” says Callahan of Moore. “Coming in as a freshmen, I was intimidated by him. Our relationship evolved and he became a friend. He supported us on the field and taught us how to behave off the field.

“He was a great role model and mentor throughout high school.”

Callahan was born in Indianapolis. His father, who now works at St. Ascension St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, did a three-year fellowship in Boston and the family landed back in Zionsville when Kyle was 7.

Organized baseball began at Zionsville Little League. Kyle was on the first Zionsville Baseball Club travel teams at 12U and 13U. 

From 14U to 18U, Callahan played for the Indiana Bulls with head coaches Mike Wade, Jeremy Honaker, Dan Held, Troy Drosche and Matt Campbell.

These days, Wade’s son Kyle plays at Purdue University. Former Bulls executive director Held is on the Indiana University coaching staff. Honaker (Martinsville), Drosche (Avon) and Campbell (Lapel) are high school head coaches.

Honaker, Callahan’s 15U Bulls coach, went from Zionsville High assistant to the Artesians and has continued to work with Callahan on his hitting in the summer.

“He’s been an awesome part of my baseball career,” says Callahan.

Last summer when a chance to play for the Chillicothe (Ohio) Paints in the Prospect League fell through, Callahan worked out with long-time friend Nick Nelson. They’ve known each other since middle school and were high school teammates and share the field at DePauw. Nelson was the Tigers’ starting center fielder in 2020.

“He’s short stocky guy,” says Callahan of Nelson. “He’s pretty jacked. He wants to do something in the health field as well, maybe Kinesiology or Physical Therapy school.”

Callahan has to balance the diamond and academics in college.

“It’s tough,” says Callahan. “There’s some hard moments when you feel swamped.

“The important thing is to manage your time wisely. You should really try to stay on top of your work so it doesn’t snowball on you all at once.

“We have great resources at DePauw with teacher assistants and tutoring hours — usually nightly.”

The Tiger Honor Roll was established by director of athletics and recreational sports Stevie Baker-Watson to recognize the top student-athletes. To get on the list, they must have semester grade-point average of 3.40 or higher.

As a D-III program, the Tigers work with coaches in the fall and then — about the end of September — coaches are not allowed to instruct players.

“We have senior- or upperclassmen-led practices,” says Callahan. “It’s important. It weeds out the guys who aren’t fully committed to making baseball a priority.

“It’s definitely a bonding experience.”

When Callahan has rare free time he sometimes works in St. Vincent’s operating rooms as a Patient Care Technician (PCT). He cleans up after a case and gets it ready for the next.

“It’s immersed me into the hospital setting,” says Callahan. “I’ve only worked one day since COVID started and there were no cases when I was there.”

While keeping his baseball skills sharp, Callahan has been studying to take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) on Aug. 7. 

He’s glad he lives near a testing site because the exam is slated for 6:30 a.m.

Mike and Mollie Callahan (a former Westfield Elementary teacher) have three children. Kyle (20) has a twin sister named Grace, who is studying Journalism at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Christian (10) is baseball and basketball player heading into fourth grade.

Kyle Callahan, a graduate of Zionsville (Ind.) High School, has played two baseball seasons at DePauw University where he is a Biochemistry major. This summer he is playing for the Marksmen in the College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind.

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As instructor, coach, Basham still endorses narrow offensive focus

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Ryan Basham did not have multiple hitting philosophies floating in his head when he stepped into the batter’s box as a Lowell (Ind.) High School Red Devil.

Lowell head coach Kent Hess let Basham do his thing and it paid dividends.

“He was a really positive guy,” says Basham of Hess. “He was hands-off. That made a big difference in terms of my development.

“I was keeping a narrow focus.”

That approach allowed lefty-swinging Basham to hit .539 in three varsity seasons (2001-03), one of the best plate careers in Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association annals.

As a senior lead-off hitter, Basham hit .583, clubbed 15 home runs and drove in 48 runs and was named the 2003 Northwest Indiana Times Player of the Year as well as all-conference and first-team all-state.

Basham’s junior year saw hum hit .538 with seven homers and 33 RBIs and was all-conference and first-team all-state.

As a junior, Basham hit .495 with eight homers, 50 RBI and gathered all-conference and all-state honors.

He went on to play three seasons at Michigan State University (2004-06).

Basham played for the Spartans right away and hit .297 with eight homers, 15 doubles and 27 runs batted in.

“I hit well, but in terms of being a situational hitter, I was leaving a lot of guys on and not driving guys in,” says Basham. “After I made that a primary focus, changed RBI output for the rest of my career.”

MSU head coach Ted Mahan and hitting coach John Young got Basham to see his problem as a hitter with runners on base.

“Early on I put a lot of pressure on myself in those situations,” says Basham. “The pressure is really all on the pitcher with a runner in scoring position. I had zero pressure on me. I relaxed. This is where I want to be.”

His coaches also reminded Basham that scoring a runner from third base doesn’t always require a hit. Sometimes hitting to the right side of the infield or lofting a fly ball will do the trick.

Basham hit ..358 with eight homers, 12 doubles and 43 RBI as a sophomore. As a junior, with David Grewe as head coach, he hit .373 with eight homers, 12 doubles and 53 RBI. He was twice named all-Big Ten Conference and earned a marketing degree from MSU (2007).

The Toronto Blue Jays selected Basham in the 29th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

After an injury kept him from playing in the Blue Jays organization, but he did log five seasons of independent professional baseball with the Florence (Ky.) Freedom (now known as the Florence Y’alls), Windy City Thunderbolts (Crestwood, Ill.) and Joliet (Ill.) JackHammers.

In 420 pro games, Basham hit .285 (195-of-573) with 50 homers, 39 doubles and 123 RBI.

Now owner of Basham Baseball LLC, a training facility in Whitestown, Ind., Basham still endorses the theory that hitters can have too many voices.

Some players can have many different opinions coming at them from the their head coach, hitting coach, travel coach, father, grandfather and so on.

“They’re all trying to tell them different things,” says Basham. “It happens quite a bit.”

As Basham’s playing career was winding down, he became a coach. He was an assistant to Jim Nohos at Hanover Central High School in Cedar Lake, Ind. He knew Nohos through the Hammond Chiefs and Hammond Seminoles travel organizations.

Basham was an assistant to Mike Kahirsky at Robert Morris University in Chicago.

At 13, Basham was an original member of the Playmakers travel team fielded by Dave Griffin. His instruction career began at Dave Griffin’s Baseball School in Griffith, Ind.

He has also worked with Justin Stone of Elite Baseball Academy, and former major leaguers John Cangelosi, Dean Anna, and the legendary Bo Jackson at the Bo Jackson Elite Sports Dome in Lockport, Ill.

Ryan and Jessica Basham (both 35) moved from Plainfield, Ill., to central Indiana in 2013, landing first in Whitestown then last winter in Zionsville. Jessica, who is also from Lowell, is a human resource business partner for Sales Force. The couple has two daughters — Emelia (8) and Clara (5).

After the move, Basham was an instructor at RoundTripper Sports Academy in Westfield, Wheelhouse Baseball Academy and Zionsville Little League. He coached the Indiana Mustangs prior to his current role as 16U coach with the Indy Titans, an organization that has Justin Kamm as president.

Basham was with the same group in 2019 when they competed in 15U events.

“I love work working up through high school — 15U to 17U,” says Basham. “The continuity year or year is important in their development process.”

While the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic has everyone separated and training on their own right now, the Titans hope to have a 2020 season.

“We want to try to play as much as possible through June and July,” says Basham. “We usually play 6-8 tournaments.”

The tentative schedule includes appearances with Bullpen Tournaments at Grand Park in Westfield and Pastime Tournaments out-of-town.

“I’m going to reach out to families to see comfort level in traveling in a couple of months,” says Basham, who has been communicating with players via email with suggestions for workouts. “It’s almost like going back in time. They have to learn how to train on your own the best you can with what you’ve got.

“You can hit a bucket (of balls) a day if you have the resources.”

The youngest of Jerry and Janice Basham’s four children (following Laurie, Doug and Mike), Ryan fondly remembers spending hours as a kid having Doug throw batting practice on a field in Lowell.

“Throwing and sprinting are the things you can be doing and can do without anybody else there.”

Basham says if this had been a normal year, his team would have been six weeks into training together six days a week.

This quarantine also offers a chance for players to focus on recruiting by reaching out to coaches with notes of interest and videos.

Ryan Basham, a Lowell (Ind.) High School graduate, played three baseball seasons at Michigan State University (2004-06), twice earning all-Big Ten Conference honors. (Michigan State University Photo)

Ryan Basham, a graduate of Lowell (Ind.) High School and Michigan State University, swings for the independent professional Windy City Thunderbolts. Basham played five pro seasons and is now a baseball instructor and coach based in central Indiana. (Windy City Thunderbolts Photo)

The Basham family of Zionsville, Ind., includes Jessica (35), Ryan (35), Clara (5) and Emelia (8). Ryan and Jessica are both graduate of Lowell (Ind.) High School. Ryan is a baseball instructor and coach.

Ryan Basham, a graduate of Lowell (Ind.) High School and Michigan State University, offers baseball instruction. He was a three-time all-state player in high school and twice named all-Big Ten Conference at MSU.

Ryan Basham, a graduate of Lowell (Ind.) High School and Michigan State University, demonstrates the baseball swing to a young player. Basham was a three-time all-state player in high school and twice named all-Big Ten Conference at MSU.

Ryan Basham is the owner of Basham Baseball LLC in Whitestown, Ind. He is a graduate of Lowell (Ind.) High School and Michigan State University.

Ryan Basham is the owner of Basham Baseball LLC in Whitestown, Ind. He is a graduate of Lowell (Ind.) High School and Michigan State University.

Zionsville grad Hurtubise making mark on, off diamond for Army; many from Indiana play on Cape Cod

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Jacob Hurtubise was selected in the 39th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Seattle Mariners.

Having already invested in three years at Army, the 2016 Zionsville (Ind.) Community High School graduate opted not to sign and resumed his regimented activities at the United States Military Academy while also sharing the field with some of the nation’s top players.

Hurtubise made a visit to West Point in mid-July of 2015. By month’s end, he had committed to Army, fulfilling his dreams of playing NCAA Division I baseball and pursuing a first-rate education and improving himself in the areas of hard work, patience and discipline.

“I’ve absolutely loved my time up here,” says Hurtubise, who is a operations research (applied mathematics) major and a center fielder for the Jim Foster-coached Black Knights. “It’s the relationships you form off the field with guys on the baseball team. You form strong bonds through military training.

“I want to make sure I am as prepared as possible for the future. It’s a degree people don’t look past.”

On the diamond, Hurtubise has gone from hitting .238 with two doubles, nine runs batted in, 32 runs scored, 22 walks and 18 stolen bases while starting 41 times as a freshman in 2017 breaking Army’s single-season steals and walks records with 42 and 50, respectively, in 2018. His 42 swipes led NCAA Division I.

That sophomore season, Hurtubise also set a single-game mark with six stolen bases against Bucknell and was named all-Patriot League first team with two Patriot Player of the Week honors and a place on and all-academic team. He hit .278 with four doubles 22 RBIs, 56 runs in 61 starts (a school record for games played in a season).

In 2019, the lefty-swinging junior batted .375 with four triples, six two-baggers, 26 RBIs, 71 runs, 69 walks and 45 stolen bases (ranked third in NCAA D-I). His on-base percentage was .541.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder was Patriot League tournament MVP for the defending league champions, the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year and PL first-teamer and was also a part of the ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I Second Team All-American and Google Cloud Academic All-District teams.

After the Black Knights’ 35-26 season, Hurtubise and other juniors went through three weeks of culminating summer training.

“We went through missions, ambushes and raids,” says Hurtubise. “It was the first opportunity to lead a platoon through those different missions.”

Many Army athletes are mixed during summer training.

“Everybody knows everybody in a sense,” says Hurtubise. “You may not know them, but you went through training with them. It makes caring for each other a lot cooler.”

After summer training, he headed to the elite Cape Cod Baseball League — already in progress. Hurtubise first landed with the Harwich Mariners. But an overabundance of outfielders saw him switch to the Orleans Firebirds.

In 21 games, Hurtubise hit .313 (20-of-64) with one triple, three doubles, two RBIs, 12 walks and six stolen bases. His on-base percentage was .429.

“I got more exposure and more consistent at-bats,” says Hurtubise of Orleans. “I faced some of the country’s best pitchers day in and day out.”

Hurtubise worked out each day on the Cape, but also found some time to go to the beach and hang out with his family, who he had not seen since January.

Jacob, 21, is the youngest son of Francois and Lisa Hurtubise. His older brother, Alec, is 24.

Many other players with ties to Indiana competed on the Cape this summer.

Right-handed pitcher Kyle Nicolas (who completed his sophomore season for Ball State University in 2019) helped the Cotuit Kettleers to the title, saving two games in the playoffs. During the regular season, the Massillon, Ohio, resident went 1-2 with four saves, a 6.28 ERA, 31 strikeouts and 21 walks in 24 1/3 innings.

Right-hander Bo Hofstra and left-hander Matt Moore also pitched for Cotuit. Hofstra wrapped his sophomore year and Moore his redshirt sophomore season at Purdue University in 2019.

Illiana Christian High School product Hofstra went 4-1 with one save, a 6.31 ERA, 20 K’s, 11 walks and 15 2/3 innings during the regular season.

Avon (Ind.) High School graduate Moore went 1-0 with an 0.67 ERA, 11 K’s and five walks in 13 1/3 innings. He also pitched in the CCBL All-Star Game.

Two University of Notre Dame players — infielder Niko Kavadas and lefty pitcher Joe Boyle — performed for Harwich. Both were CCBL all-stars coming off their second seasons for the Fighting Irish.

Lefty swinger and Penn High School graduate Kavadas hit .252 with nine homers, six doubles and 30 RBIs during the regular season.

Boyle went 1-2 with, two saves a 1.92 ERA, 28 K’s and 12 walks in 14 regular-season frames. The 6-foot-7 hurler from Goshen, Ky., also saved one game in the playoffs.

Third baseman Riley Tirotta was also with Harwich. Coming off his sophomore season at the University of Dayton, the South Bend St. Joseph graduate hit .222 from the right side with 0 homers, two doubles and one RBI during the regular season.

Two players from the University of Louisville — second baseman/right-handed pitcher Jared Poland and catcher/outfielder Zach Britton — also competed on the Cape.

Righty swinger Poland hit .271 with 0 homers, four doubles and seven RBIs and also went 3-1 with a 3.37 ERA, 18 K’s and four walks in 10 2/3 regular-season innings for the Bourne Braves. He was 1-0 during the playoffs.

Lefty batter Britton hit .286 with five homers, six doubles and 19 RBIs during the regular season for the Orleans Firebirds.

Indianapolis Cathedral High School graduate Poland and Batesville (Ind.) High School graduate Britton are both coming off their sophomore campaigns at Louisville.

Lefty-swinging all-star first baseman/catcher T.J. Collett (a Terre Haute North Vigo High School graduate coming off his junior season at the University of KentuckyUniversity of Kentucky) hit .281 with nine homers, six doubles and 32 RBIs during the regular season for the Brewster Whitecaps.

After finishing at West Point and completing officer training school, Hurtubise must serve two years as active military. It’s possible that if he goes into professional baseball that he can do it through the world-class athlete program and be a promotional tool while he is paid ballplayer.

Hurtubise played his first organized baseball at age 7. His first two seasons were spent at Eagle Creek Little League in Indianapolis. His family then moved when he was a third graders and he participated at Zionsville Little League.

From the fifth through eighth grade, he played travel ball for coaches Terry Bohl and Ken Elsbury and the Zionsville Longhorns (which became the Zionsville Baseball Club).

In high school, Hurtubise played two summers for the Indiana Nitro and one for USAthletic.

Ten days after Zionsville lost to Roncalli in the 2016 IHSAA Class 4A state championship game2016 IHSAA Class 4A state championship game, Eagles lead-off man and L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award recipient Hurtubise was off to West Point for six weeks of basic training.

Then as now, Jered Moore led the ZHS program.

“He was an awesome coach,” says Hurtubise of Moore. “That team we had my senior year was one of the best not only in the state, but in the country.

“They made it to semistate the next year. That shows what a good program Zionsville has and a bright future moving forward.”

While visiting daughter Macy Moore, a Purdue manager and an intern with Brewster this summer, Jered Moore saw Hurtubise play two CCBL games with Harwich and later two playoff games with Orleans.

“He was a leader,” says Moore of Hurtubise’s time at Zionsville. “He’s one of my favorites I’ve ever coached. He got it started for us. He immediately put the defense on their toes.

“He was a threat to run any time he was on-base.”

The Zionsville Class of 2016 produced six D-I players — Hurtubise, Jordan Cox (Dayton), James Meyer (Valparaiso), Jack Pilcher (Butler), Nick Prather (Florida Atlantic) and R.J. Wagner (Dayton). Prather has since transferred to Lynn University.

All but two of the Zionsville players who got into the state championship game in 2016 went on to play college baseball. Besides those already mentioned there were seniors Drew Bertram (Purdue) and Jacob Hurd (Taylor) and sophomores Riley Bertram (Michigan), Sam Egdell (Otterbein) and Nick Nelson (DePauw).

Moore says Chad Garisek, a Zionsville junior in 2016, is hoping to play at Indiana University-Kokomo. Senior Nolan Elsbury went on to be a student at Purdue. Senior Stephen Damm is a student at Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis and a member of Moore’s Zionsville coaching staff.

Hurtubise is now back at West Point going through organization week. The first day of class is Monday, Aug. 19. He will also be preparing for his final baseball season with the Black Knights.

Army left-handed hitter and center fielder Jacob Hurtubise was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 2019, but opted to go back to the United States Military Academy for his final  year. He is a graduate of Zionsville (Ind.) Community High School. (Army West Point Athletics Photo)

Through three seasons (2017-19), Zionsville (Ind.) Community High School graduate has 101 stolen bases for the Army Black Knights. He paced NCAA Division I with 42 in 2018 and was third with 45 in 2019. (Army West Point Athletics Photo)

Jacob Hurtubise hit .375 with four triples, six two-baggers, 26 RBIs, 71 runs, 69 walks and 45 stolen bases (ranked third in NCAA D-I) for Army in 2019. The on-base percentage for the graduate of Zionsville (Ind.) Community High school was .541. (Army West Point Athletics Photo)

With his speed and batting eye, Jacob Hurtubise has been a threat at the top of the order for the Black Knights of Army baseball since 2017. (Army West Point Athletics Photo)

Jacob Hurtubise, a 2016 Zionsville (Ind.) Community High School graduate, played his third season of NCAA Division I baseball at Army in 2019 and was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. He opted to stay in school and played in the Cape Cod Baseball League this summer. (Army West Point Athletics Photo)