NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Lipscomb baseball skipper Jeff Forehand announced Friday the signing of six student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to continue their academic and athletic careers in Nashville beginning this fall.
Forehand and his staff reached heavily into the Junior College ranks to pull four pitchers to go along with another pitcher and an infielder from high school.
“This recruiting class fills some specific needs as we continue to add the necessary players to compete in our conference and towards a national championship,” Forehand said.
“As a group I think we have a very solid class. These guys are good players, and they are going to fit right into Lipscomb’s culture and our baseball culture. We are thankful for them joining our family here at Lipscomb and we believe this is the start of something special.”
The class includes players from the states of California, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Kentucky and Indiana, and another from Puerto Rico.
Here’s a quick look at the six signees and Coach Forehand’s thoughts on each:
Caleb Brenczewski | Fr. | INF | R/R | 6-2 | 210 | Fishers, Indiana (Fishers High School)
- Perfect Game rated him the 28th-best overall player and the 2nd-best third baseman coming out of Kentucky in 2017.
- Named a Rawlings-Perfect Game Honorable Mention All-American, and Central Region Honorable Mention in 2017.
- Also selected as an Underclass High Honorable Mention All-American in 2016 by Perfect Game.
- Earned three letters in baseball at Fishers High School.
- Voted an Indiana All-State Honorable Mention in 2017, as well as All-Hamilton County and All-HCC All-District.
- Led his team in batting average, hits, doubles, slugging percentage and stolen bases as a senior.
- Helped the Tigers to their first-ever Sectional Championship in school history.
- Chose Lipscomb over Purdue, and Cincinnati.
- Plans to major in Finance.
- His father, Brett, played baseball at St. Joseph’s University.
- Favorite musician is Travis Scott.
- Favorite movie is Major League.
“Caleb is a corner player that should fill a hole at third base and possibly first base as well. He was a guy that we were excited to pick up late and he should make an impact early on.”
Joshua Colon | Jr. | RHP | R/R |6-0 | 160 | Carolina, Puerto Rico (Western Oklahoma State College)
- Transferred from Western Oklahoma Community College after leading his team to a 42-12 record in 2017.
- As a sophomore the righty appeared in 22 games where he went 3-2 with a 3.28 ERA. In 49.1 frames on the mound, he struck out 53 batters and walked 27.
- In his freshman season, Colon was 5-2 with two saves and a 4.62 ERA. In 50.2 innings he struck out 46, walked 23 and allowed 26 earned runs.
- Helped WOSC to a Plain District championship and World Series.
- Won five National Championship and two World Series’ with the Vaqueros of Carolina in Puerto Rico.
- Rated as the 37th-best overall and 10th-best RHP coming out of Puerto Rico in 2015.
- Named Best Athlete by his peers in High School.
- Plans to major in Nursing.
- His dad – Roberto – played professional baseball in the Detroit Tigers’ organization, while his uncle – Marlon – was with the St. Louis Cardinals.
- Favorite professional athlete is Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees.
- He most admires his grandfather.
“Joshua is another guy we feel has a wealth of experience. He is someone that came to us highly recommended and should help us fill a big hole on the mound that we lost in the draft. I am excited to see what’s going to be able to do for us.”
Erik Gutierrez | Jr. | RHP | R/R | 6-4 | 190 | Palos Verdes, California (Los Angeles Harbor College)
- The right-hander transferred to Lipscomb from Los Angeles Harbor College where he spent the last two seasons.
- As a sophomore he tossed one complete game while piling up a 4-4 mark with a 4.61 ERA. He led the team in innings pitched (82.0), strikeouts (50) and wins.
- In 2016 he finished 2-5 with one save and a 5.76 ERA. In 65.2 innings he struck out 24 batters.
- Was named the Pitcher of the Year twice – once in 2015 at Palos Verdes High School and the other last season at LA Harbor.
- Named IBay League, CIF and South Coast Conference All-District.
- Chose Lipscomb over Eastern Kentucky, Manhattan University, Lynn University and Sacramento State among others.
- Plans to pursue a degree in Marketing.
- Favorite movie is End of Watch.
- Favorite musical group is the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
- Has one brother – Joey.
“Erik is another junior college guy who pitched a lot of innings the last two seasons. His experience on the mound will add big strength to our bullpen.”
Chris Kachmar | Jr. | RHP | R/R | 6-3 | 187 | East Greenville, Pennsylvania (Palm Beach State College)
- Transferred from Palm Beach State College after helping the team to a 38-15 overall record.
- In 2017 he was 3-2 with one save and a 3.79 ERA in 14 appearances. Over 57.0 innings of work he struck out 48 and walked 19.
- Selected as both team captain and team MVP as a senior at Upper Perkiomen HS in 2015.
- His top athletic memory is pitching a complete-game shutout against their conference rival.
- Named All-Region Honorable Mention.
- Earned the Citizenship Award and was a 4-time honor roll student in high school.
- Has two sisters – Kim and Jill.
- His father, John, pitched in junior college.
- Plans to major in business.
- Favorite television show is Prison Break.
- Favorite professional sports team is the Philadelphia Phillies.
“We are excited about the experience Chris brings to our staff after pitching well in a very good junior college in Florida. He should provide some much needed and immediate depth.”
Robert Knox | Jr. | RHP | R/R | 6-0 | 180 | Woodstock, Georgia (Chipola College)
- Transferred from Chipola Community College where he helped the team to a 51-9 record and a Junior College National Championship in 2017.
- In his sophomore campaign he posted an unblemished 5-0 ledger in 23 appearances with a 3.29 ERA. Over 41.0 innings, he struck out 43 batters, walked 12 and allowed 15 earned runs.
- As a freshman he appeared in 16 games where he struck out 20, and walked 13 over 18.0 innings.
- Led the Indians to a Florida Junior College State Championship in 2017 and the Panhandle State Championship in both 2016 and 2017.
- Selected to the Panhandle Conference All-Academic Team in 2016.
- Was named All-Region in 2013 and 2015 at Etowah High School.
- Earned three letters in football and baseball, two letters in basketball and was a 3-time Academic Letterman at EHS.
- Named the Cherokee County Athlete of the Year and Cherokee Ledger Athlete of the Year in 2015.
- Earned MVP honors of the Cherokee County Senior Bowl in football in 2015.
- Chose Lipscomb over North Florida and College of Charleston.
- Plans to pursue a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
- His cousins graduated from Brentwood High School.
- His grandfather played football, baseball and basketball in college before serving in the war. He then returned to college and played tennis for two seasons before playing in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ minor league organization.
- Favorite book is Green Eggs and Ham.
- Favorite professional sports team is the Atlanta Braves.
- His hidden talent is drawing.
“Robert is another bullpen piece that we’ve been waiting on. He is a sidearm guy who should fill several roles from the pen. He is a middle-to-late inning arm that comes from the Junior College National Champion.”
Noah Thompson | Fr. | LHP | L/L | 6-1 | 200 | Louisville, Kentucky (Male High School)
- Named a 2017 Central Region Honorable Mention by Perfect Game.
- Ranked the 29th-best overall player and the 8th-best left-handed pitcher in the state of Kentucky by Perfect Game.
- Selected in the Super 25 by Perfect Game.
- Named All-State in 2017.
- Named All-Region and All-District in both 2016 and 2017.
- Was voted at team captain and team MVP as a senior.
- His best career marks in high school include a 1.10 ERA, 80 strikeouts on the mound an eight home runs at the plate.
- Carried a 3.96 GPA, was named Salutatorian and scored a 32 on his ACT while attending MHS.
- Plans to pursue a degree in Civil Engineering.
- Also recruited by Marshall, Army, Navy and Murray State.
- His dad, Jason, played baseball at Trevecca.
- Has two sisters, Charli-Anne and Jadyn.
- Favorite television show is Impractical Jokers.
- Favorite movie is Top Gun.
“Noah is a left-hander we are very excited about having in our program. Adding him is going to provide depth we have lacked in the past.”
