-courtesy of JMU-
HARRISONBURG, Va., May 30, 2007 – James Madison University junior outfielder Kellen Kulbacki (Palmyra, Pa./Hershey) was selected as a Louisville Slugger Second Team All-American as announced by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
Kulbacki is just the second player in JMU history to earn All-America status twice, joining first baseman Eddie Kim, who was honored on Collegiate Baseball’s third team in 2002 and 2003. Kulbacki’s 2007 honor comes after earning first team honors from the organization in 2006 and being selected as its National Co-Player of the Year.
After a record-breaking sophomore season, Kulbacki was equally impressive in 2007, leading JMU (22-31 overall, 11-17 CAA) in nearly every offensive category while being named Colonial Athletic Association Co-Player of the Year. He joined Kim as the only players in CAA history to repeat as the conference’s top player.
Kulbacki led the CAA with a .538 on-base percentage, a .785 slugging percentage, and a JMU single-season record 56 walks. He was also third with a .398 batting average, second with 19 home runs, and third with 150 total bases.
Kulbacki is JMU’s career record holder in home runs (51), extra-base hits (105), and slugging percentage (.755). He has set or tied records for game home runs (3), season home runs (24), season extra-base hits (43), season RBIs (75), season total bases (183), game walks (5), season average (.464), season slugging (.943), and season on-base percentage (.568). He ranks second all-time in batting (.400), 10th in hits (238), 10th in doubles (50), 11th in RBIs (158), second in total bases (449), and fifth in hit by pitches (25).
The Louisville Slugger All-America teams are the first of at least six such honors to be handed out by various organizations following the season. Kulbacki is one of 16 semifinalists for the 2007 Dick Howser Trophy as the college baseball national player of the year. He was a semifinalist for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award but did not make the list of five finalists. He was also among the list of 30 candidates for the Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award but did not reach the list of 20 quarterfinalists.
Kulbacki is among several Dukes who could hear their name called during the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft to be held Thursday June 7 and Friday June 8. The draft will be televised for the first time in MLB history on Thursday afternoon from 2-6 p.m. on ESPN2. The entire first round will have picks revealed live on air. Live pick-by-pick coverage will be available for the entire draft at MLB.com on MLB Radio, whose hosts include JMU baseball alumnus Billy Sample.
