D1Baseball Puts Two Wildcats in Top 100 Draft Prospects List
Oct 09, 2023 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – D1Baseball announced that K-State juniors Kaelen Culpepper and Tyson Neighbors were ranked among the Top 100 2024 MLB Draft Prospects.
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Culpepper came in at No. 21 overall followed by Neighbors at No. 37. K-State was one of nine schools to have multiple players in the Top 50. Nine total players across six programs from the Big 12 were listed.
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Of the Big 12 schools, K-State was the only member to have two players within the Top 50. Culpepper and Neighbors were joined by West Virginia's second baseman JJ Wetherholt (No. 4), Texas' right-hander Tanner Witt (No. 27) and Oklahoma State's two-way player Carson Benge (No. 39). Â
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Culpepper, a two-time All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, is coming off a standout season as the Wildcats starting third baseman. In 40 games, Culpepper turned in a slash line of .325/.423/.576 with 10 home runs and 41 RBI. His slugging percentage led the Cats' offense and was second in batting average. Â Â
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The Memphis, Tenn., product hit his first multi-home run game in Cats' victory over KU to go with a career-high six RBI. He recorded 17 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI efforts.Â
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Neighbors finished a dominant sophomore campaign as he was known as one of the top power relievers in the country. The NCBWA Stopper of the Year Finalist went 5-1 with a league-high 11 saves and 1.85 ERA across 25 appearances out of the bullpen. He averaged 15.9 strikeouts per nine innings, totaling 86 on his way to earning consensus All-American honors.
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The Royse City, Texas right-hander held opponents to a team-best .135 batting average and .78 WHIP. Neighbors broke the program's TrackMan-era pitch velocity record at 99-mph in the series opening win against Texas Tech.
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This summer, Culpepper and Neighbors were selected to compete for the Collegiate National Team and represented the United States in friendship series against Chinese Taipei and Japan.
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Culpepper was the top slugger for Team USA, matching a team-high three home runs to go with two triples. His .471 average led Team USA along with a team-high slugging percentage of .853. Culpepper socked two homers in USA's 17-1 defeat over Chinese Taipei.
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In four appearances, Neighbors allowed just three hits with four strikeouts during his 3 2/3 innings in relief for Team USA. He made two appearances during the national training camp where he struck out five batters during two hitless innings.
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K-State opens the 2024 fall schedule Friday against Iowa Western set for 2 p.m.
Additionally, the Wildcats will put on their annual ALS Halloween Game on October 30 followed by the Fall World Series on November 3-5. The entire fall schedule will take place at Tointon Family Stadium with free admission to all games.
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How to follow the 'Cats: Stay up to date on K-State baseball online at www.kstatesports.com and on the team's social media channels on Twitter and Instagram.
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Culpepper came in at No. 21 overall followed by Neighbors at No. 37. K-State was one of nine schools to have multiple players in the Top 50. Nine total players across six programs from the Big 12 were listed.
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Of the Big 12 schools, K-State was the only member to have two players within the Top 50. Culpepper and Neighbors were joined by West Virginia's second baseman JJ Wetherholt (No. 4), Texas' right-hander Tanner Witt (No. 27) and Oklahoma State's two-way player Carson Benge (No. 39). Â
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Culpepper, a two-time All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, is coming off a standout season as the Wildcats starting third baseman. In 40 games, Culpepper turned in a slash line of .325/.423/.576 with 10 home runs and 41 RBI. His slugging percentage led the Cats' offense and was second in batting average. Â Â
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The Memphis, Tenn., product hit his first multi-home run game in Cats' victory over KU to go with a career-high six RBI. He recorded 17 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI efforts.Â
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Neighbors finished a dominant sophomore campaign as he was known as one of the top power relievers in the country. The NCBWA Stopper of the Year Finalist went 5-1 with a league-high 11 saves and 1.85 ERA across 25 appearances out of the bullpen. He averaged 15.9 strikeouts per nine innings, totaling 86 on his way to earning consensus All-American honors.
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The Royse City, Texas right-hander held opponents to a team-best .135 batting average and .78 WHIP. Neighbors broke the program's TrackMan-era pitch velocity record at 99-mph in the series opening win against Texas Tech.
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This summer, Culpepper and Neighbors were selected to compete for the Collegiate National Team and represented the United States in friendship series against Chinese Taipei and Japan.
Â
Culpepper was the top slugger for Team USA, matching a team-high three home runs to go with two triples. His .471 average led Team USA along with a team-high slugging percentage of .853. Culpepper socked two homers in USA's 17-1 defeat over Chinese Taipei.
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In four appearances, Neighbors allowed just three hits with four strikeouts during his 3 2/3 innings in relief for Team USA. He made two appearances during the national training camp where he struck out five batters during two hitless innings.
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K-State opens the 2024 fall schedule Friday against Iowa Western set for 2 p.m.
Additionally, the Wildcats will put on their annual ALS Halloween Game on October 30 followed by the Fall World Series on November 3-5. The entire fall schedule will take place at Tointon Family Stadium with free admission to all games.
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How to follow the 'Cats: Stay up to date on K-State baseball online at www.kstatesports.com and on the team's social media channels on Twitter and Instagram.
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Players Mentioned
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Thursday, May 21
Wednesday, May 20
