The Air Force Falcons baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of the United States Air Force Academy in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, north of Colorado Springs.[2] The team is a member of the Mountain West Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. Air Force's first baseball team was fielded in 1957. The team plays its home games at Erdle Field on the Academy grounds. The Falcons are coached by Mike Kazlausky.
| Air Force Falcons baseball | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1957 |
| University | United States Air Force Academy |
| Head coach | Mike Kazlausky (14th season) |
| Conference | Mountain West |
| Location | USAF Academy, Colorado |
| Home stadium | Erdle Field (Capacity: 1,000) |
| Nickname | Falcons |
| Colors | Blue and silver[1] |
| NCAA Tournament appearances | |
| 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1969, 2022 | |
| Conference tournament champions | |
| 2022 | |
| Regular season conference champions | |
| 2024 | |
- For information on all United States Air Force Academy sports, see Air Force Falcons
Major League Baseball
editAir Force has had eleven Major League Baseball Draft selections since the draft began in 1965.[3]
Another former Air Force player, Paul Skenes, was the first overall pick in 2023. He played two seasons at the Academy before transferring to LSU after the 2022 season.
| Air Force Falcons in the Major League Baseball Draft | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Round | Team |
| 1972 | Brad Fulk | 1 (2nd overall) | Rangers |
| 1974 | Jeffrey Brown | 20 | Phillies |
| 2001 | Mike Thiessen | 42 | Diamondbacks |
| 2007 | Karl Bolt | 15 | Phillies |
| 2013 | Garrett Custons | 10 | Blue Jays |
| 2015 | Ben Yokley | 29 | Cardinals |
| 2016 | Griffin Jax | 3 | Twins |
| 2016 | Jacob DeVries | 38 | Guardians |
| 2017 | Adam Groesbeck | 38 | Braves |
| 2019 | Nic Ready | 23 | Marlins |
| 2023 | Sam Kulasingam | 17 | Blue Jays |
Mountain West Tournament history
editThe Falcons have appeared in twelve Mountain West baseball tournaments since it began in 2000.
| Air Force Mountain West Baseball Tournament History | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Seed | Record | Pct. | Placing |
| 2000 | 6th | 2-2 | .500 | 2nd |
| 2001 | 6th | 0-2 | .000 | 6th |
| 2002 | 4th | 0-2 | .000 | 5th |
| 2003 | 6th | 0-2 | .000 | 6th |
| 2004 | 6th | 1-2 | .333 | 5th |
| 2005 | 6th | 0-2 | .000 | 6th |
| 2006 | 7th | 0-2 | .000 | 7th |
| 2013 | 6th | 0-2 | .000 | 6th |
| 2014 | 6th | 0-2 | .000 | 7th |
| 2015 | 5th | 1-2 | .333 | 5th |
| 2016 | 5th | 2-2 | .500 | 3rd |
| 2022 | 4th | 3-0 | 1.000 | 1st |
| 2023 | 3rd | 2-2 | .500 | 2nd |
NCAA tournament history
editAir Force has been to the NCAA Division I baseball tournament 7 times in its history.
| Air Force NCAA tournament History | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Record | Pct. | Notes |
| 1961 | 0-2 | .000 | Lost to Wyoming in the NCAA District 7 Regional Upper final. Eliminated by Colorado State College in the Lower final. |
| 1962 | 2-2 | .500 | Eliminated by Colorado State College in the NCAA District 7 Regional final. |
| 1964 | 2-2 | .500 | Eliminated by Arizona State in the NCAA District 7 Regional finals. |
| 1966 | 1-2 | .333 | Eliminated by Idaho in the NCAA District 7 Regional finals. |
| 1967 | 2-3 | .400 | Eliminated by Arizona State in the NCAA District 7 tournament finals. |
| 1969 | 0-2 | .000 | Eliminated by Idaho in the NCAA District 7 tournament semifinals. |
| 2022 | 2-2 | .500 | Eliminated by Texas in the NCAA Austin Regional final. |
Head Coaches
editIn 65 years of play in college baseball, the Falcons have had fifteen head coaches.
| Air Force Falcons Head Coaches | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tenure | Coach | Record | Pct. |
| 1957 | Glenn Mackie | 6–9 | .400 |
| 1958 | Jack Schwall | 9–9 | .500 |
| 1959–1963 | Wendell Lawrence | 69–52 | .570 |
| 1964–1967 | John Sparks | 65–36 | .643 |
| 1968 | Rene Miller | 14–17 | .452 |
| 1969–1970 | Terry Goewert | 37–20–1 | .647 |
| 1971–1975 & 1977–1985 | Joe Robison | 282–255–2 | .525 |
| 1976 | Ron Hudak | 17–24 | .417 |
| 1986–1988 | Jim Hanley | 56–89 | .386 |
| 1989–1994 | Paul Mainieri | 152–158 | .485 |
| 1995–1998 | Eric Campbell | 74–137 | .351 |
| 1999 | Joe Giarratano | 19–32 | .373 |
| 2000–2003 | Reed Peters | 88–134 | .396 |
| 2004–2010 | Mike Hutcheon | 78–287 | .213 |
| 2011–Present | Mike Kazlausky | 291–380 | .434 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Air Force Athletics Style Sheet" (PDF). March 12, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
- ^ "Air Force Falcons". d1baseball.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-15. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
- ^ "MLB Amateur Draft Picks who came from "United States Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs, CO)"". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
External links
edit
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