All his life, Kale Wemer dreamed of playing division I baseball. As of last Friday that lifelong dream is now a reality for the Athenian senior. Wemer signed with Purdue University to continue his baseball career as he will now get follow in the footsteps of former Athenian and Boilermaker Trent Johnson. The decision to sign with the Boilermakers came in late October when Wemer participated in a showcase hosted by Purdue. At the showcase Wemer hit 91 miles per hour on his electric fastball and Purdue offered him shortly after.
“This is a huge accomplishment for me and something that I’ve wanted ever since I was little,” Wemer said. “I’ve always wanted to go pro and the first step to doing that is D1. The amount of work that I’ve put in to get to here has finally paid off.”
Crawfordsville head coach Brett Motz had high praise for his ace pitcher and knows it’s a proud day not only for the Athenian program but for Wemer and his entire family.
“In all my years of playing and coaching, I’ve not been around someone who is as determined as Kale,” Motz said. “His work ethic is second to none and that’s a very big statement I know, but he lives up to it. There’s nobody that I’ve had the chance to be around that deserves this opportunity more than he does. He’s going to continue to pursue the best version of himself for however long he plays this game.”
Wemer also mentioned how he talked with Johnson the night before he committed. Having an inside edge into the program was an added benefit for when Wemer ultimately chose to wear the black and gold.
“Having someone like Trent who you can talk to get an idea of what the program is like and what to expect was really nice,” Wemer said. “I asked about the coaching staff and how he enjoyed his time there. He also majored in business which is what I want to get into so being able to chat with him about everything was pretty cool.”
