Kaelen Culpepper is staying in the Midwest after being drafted by the Minnesota Twins. Granted he will be a little further North than he was in Kansas, but nonetheless, he is making his way to the big league.
Culpepper made Kansas State baseball history last night by being the first positional player in the draft's first round. He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins with the 21st overall pick and is just the second Wildcat to ever be selected in the first round.
"I can do everything, I can do everything on the field, you are gonna get a dawg out of me," Culpepper said in an ESPN interview after being selected. "I'm just ready to go, I'm ready to start my journey."
This kind of emotion is the #MLBDraft.
— MLB (@MLB) July 15, 2024
Kaelen Culpepper, chosen 21st overall by the @Twins. pic.twitter.com/wEAb0hzsC1
The Memphis, Tennessee native was the third player from the Big 12 selected and the fifth shortstop taken in this year's draft. Culpepper finished this past season with a wealth of accolades and an impressive stat line.
He ranked fifth in RBIs (59), sixth in hits (80), led the conference in triples with six, had 15 doubles, and a career-high 11 home runs. He finished the season with a .328 batting average and a .574 slugging percentage and started all 61 games for K-State.
He capped off his great season by hitting for the cycle in K-States massive 19-4 win over Louisiana Tech in the Fayetteville Regional in which he was also named the MVP for the regional after hitting .474 with three doubles, one triple, and two home runs along with a 1.575 OPS and a team-leading 10 RBIs.
Culpepper was a generational talent at K-State coming in as a third baseman, but the coaches felt he would make a better shortstop and they were spot on. Culpepper became an All-American shortstop and will now hopefully work his way up to the Big Leagues to show the Twins how we do it in Manhattan.
This moment. All the feels. 🥹 pic.twitter.com/OTTngzlYZS
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 15, 2024