COLUSA, CA (MPG) – As a pitcher, Colusa’s Luke Kalfsbeek is familiar with a changeup, but last month the recent graduate had one thrown in his direction that altered his plans for continuing to play baseball in college.
As a junior, the back-to-back Northern Section Most Valuable Player verbally committed to the University of Washington, then made it official last November, becoming the first baseball player since Maxwell’s Tyler Wells in 2011 to sign with a Division I school.
However those plans changed last month when the Huskies’ head coach Jason Kelly left for a position on the Texas A&M staff.
With that occurrence many of the Washington players entered the transfer portal, leaving Kalfsbeek in an uncomfortable position on a team that was very different from what he anticipated.
Having officially signed with the Huskies, Kalfsbeek initially thought that his only option would be junior college due to NCAA rules, but he soon found out that special circumstances such as his create exceptions.
“The rules say that if your coach leaves, you can be released from your contract,” Kalfsbeek said. “So I decided to leave and thankfully it all worked out.”
And so it did as the lefty spent a frantic couple weeks talking with and revisiting some of the schools that had previously recruited him.
In the end though, he decided on Cal Poly, for a number reasons as he explained, “ I really liked Coach Larry Lee and pitching coach Seth Moir, and they have a good record of getting guys to the next level. But I also really loved San Luis Obispo. Its closer to home, but not too close and I like the value Cal Poly places on academics.”
Kalfsbeek added that he plans on majoring in kinesiology with an emphasis on sports studies in the hope of being a scout or analytical advisor for a baseball team when his playing days come to an end.
It was Alexander Graham Bell who coined the phrase “when one door closes another opens” and it’s an applicable one to Kalfsbeek’s situation given what he and his family have been through over the past month.
Yet, knowing his determination to succeed and competitive spirit, it is a safe bet that he will make the most of this new opportunity.