Kohl Drake named 2022 NJCAA DI Baseball Pitcher of the Year
MORRISTOWN, TN – There've been a lot of great players to go through the Walters State baseball program.
However, only a selected few can say they left the program after winning a national award.
Kohl Drake is one of those select few.
On Monday, the NJCAA announced Drake as the 2022 NJCAA DI Baseball Pitcher of the Year. Drake is the second Senator to be awarded this honor, the first being Jake Miednik in 2016.
"This award is awesome," Drake said. "I've worked really hard the past two years at Walters to become the best pitcher I can be and help the team win as many games as possible. I can't win this award without the help of all my coaches and teammates from the past two years. They made this possible for me."
The award comes following an undefeated season for Drake. In 17 starts, Drake went 14-0 with a 1.93 ERA. Drake struck out 160 batters, breaking the school record for strikeouts in a season and leading the NJCAA by 22 strikeouts. Drake had a K/9 of 15.43 and threw five complete games. He pitched 93.1 innings and had just 17 walks. Opponents hit just .187 against him.
For his two-year career at Walters State, Drake was 23-3 with a 2.71 ERA. He totaled 267 strikeouts, breaking the school record for career strikeouts by 83 punch outs, and tied the career record for wins in a career.
Drake was tied for first in the country in wins in 2022 but was the only pitcher out of the four with 14 wins that went undefeated. He was seventh in innings pitched. He also ranked 10th in the country in ERA.
He, and teammate Jake Knapp, now share the school record for wins in a season with 14.
"Kohl had a special season that was fun to be a part of and witness firsthand," Walters State coach Dave Shelton said. "To strike out 160 batters in a season, and only have 17 walks is truly an amazing feat. To see his improvements from year one with us to year two is a testament to the hard work and dedication he has. He could not be more deserving of this award, and all of us at Walters State could not be more proud of him."
Drake started the season strong with three wins in his first four starts. Things started trending in the right direction for Drake in his fourth start against Rend Lake, striking out 13 and giving up one hit in six innings of work.
After another win against USC Sumter to move to 4-0 on the season, conference play began and Drake didn't let up. Drake opened up TCCAA play with his fifth win, going seven innings against Motlow and allowing one run on three hits while striking out 11.
Drake kept it going with wins over Jackson State, where he struck out 10, Southwest Tennessee, where he struck out 14 in a complete game shutout, Volunteer State, where he struck out 11, Roane State, where he struck out 10 and allowed just one hit and Cleveland State, where he struck out 12 in a complete game shutout.
Drake finished the season with wins over Dyersburg State and Columbia State, extending his winning streak to seven. Entering postseason play, Drake stepped up his game with a victory over Columbia State again, this time throwing a complete game shutout while striking out 16 of the 24 batters he faced.
"I just wanted to go out there and really make a statement here," Drake said on that day. "Winning that game puts us so far ahead now. My goal was to just put our team in that spot that we're in now.
"I was able to throw out my three-pitch mix and had them all working for strikes. I kept all their hitters off-balance with that."
Following the conference tournament, the Senators entered the Appalachian District Series against Georgia Highlands with Drake getting the nod in the opening game. Drake threw 7.2 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits while striking out two in a 4-3 victory.
Drake finished his season with a start against Central Florida in the NJCAA JUCO World Series, throwing 3.2 innings and striking out four.
Drake helped lead Walters State to a 60-7 record, a TCCAA Regular Season Championship, a TCCAA/Region VII Tournament Championship, an Appalachian District Championship and a third-place finish at the JUCO World Series.
For his career, Drake was a part of a class that combined in their two years to go 121-14. They won the conference, region and districts both years and finished with a seventh and third-place finish at the World Series.
For Drake, his legacy at Walters State and his 2022 season will not be forgotten for a very long time.
Rob Harvey
Walters State Community College
Sports Information Director
Cell: (423) 779-8880
Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu
Website: www.ws.edu/athletics