Photo illustration by Steve Muscatello

NEW ULM — When New Ulm Cathedral’s Kasey Kuck was growing up playing baseball in Searles, he was a third baseman and outfielder.

But he decided his freshman year with the Greyhounds that he wanted to try to become a pitcher.

“My freshman year of playing B-squad was when I figured out I liked pitching,” said Kuck, who was selected the 2017 All-Journal Baseball Player of the Year. “I just stuck with it. I pitched in one B-squad game and it turned out well and I did well so I thought that maybe I should keep doing this. It turned out pretty well.”

And he did exceptionally well. This year, Kuck went 4-2 for the Greyhounds and had a 3.83 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 47 innings in being named the Tomahawk Conference Player of the Year.

For his career, the three-year starter and two-time All-Conference selection went 13-6 with 126 strikeouts and a 3.90 ERA.

Kuck also was a good hitter, batting .369 with 24 hits, 22 RBIs and 16 runs scored. His career batting stats include a .290 batting average with 40 RBIs, 30 runs scored along with 45 hits and nine stolen bases.

Kuck has the DNA of a baseball player. His initials, K.K., are one of a baseball player.

His dad, Dan, grandfather, Tom, and his great uncles, LaVerne and Kenn,y all had baseball in their blood.

“They were all good ballplayers,” Kasey Kuck said.

When he first started pitching, Kuck did not have a curveball.

“I just threw fastballs,” he said. “And that got me as far as it did. I started to throw harder and I developed a curveball and changeup and it got better over the years.”

And he got some help from then-Cathedral pitching coach Sam Clyne.

“I pretty much owe everything to him,” Kuck said. “He helped me so much and he is why I am the pitcher I am today.”

Clyne said Kuck was coachable.

“Kasey was all ears all of the time,” Clyne said. “He loved the game and he would listen to anything and he would come and ask questions and he wanted to learn so much. I would be working with other pitchers and he would come over and listen just to learn.”

Kuck also said that his head coach Bob Weier pushed him to be the best that he could be.

“There are a number of things that stand out about Kasey,” Weier said. “One is his demeanor — he stays calm and he accepts challenges. He has also improved offensively for us. We brought him up in his sophomore year and he worked very hard and he checked out a lot of YouTube films to learn how to hit. And he listened to our instruction intently. He also turned into a decent hitter.”

Weier also recalls that sophomore year when Kuck made the jump to the varsity.

“We brought him up in the middle of the year and he found out right after school that he was going to be the starting pitcher in a game against Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s,” Weier said.

How did Kuck respond to the challenge?

“He pitched a complete game and got the win and he got better from there,” Weier said.

Weier also said that Kuck’s maturity showed this season.

“He knew that we were going to be young coming into this season and that he was the only senior that hard some varsity experience,” Weier said. “He was going to have a lot of the responsibility especially with the leadership. He did well for us. He accepted the challenge.”

Kuck will now take his next step in his education and baseball career when he attends Division II Northern State in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where he will major in business and pitch for the Wolves.

“It is a big challenge,” Kuck said. “But you have to go into it with a positive attitude. I like challenges because if everything is easy it is not fun. But if you overcome the challenges, it is a bigger win.”