Justin Schulte has had some great players and great teams during his 20-year tenure as head baseball coach at Southeastern Community College.

The 2024-25 class of sophomores is at or near the top in shear talent, ability and leadership.

And they are certainly near and dear to Schulte’s heart.

This year’s group of graduated sophomores had a combined 93-34 record and qualified for the NJCAA Division II World Series twice. The Blackhawks had a cumulative .324 batting average and scored 10.6 runs per game this past season.

A total of 19 graduated sophomores are set to continue playing baseball at four-year schools this fall. That includes seven at the NCAA Division I level, six at the NCAA Division II level and three each at the NCAA Division III and NAIA levels.

Not only were the 19 student-athletes standouts on the baseball diamond, they also excelled in the classroom.

And they pass on a legacy that will live on in years to come.

“They are a very special group,” Schulte said. “They are a great group of people and great students. They believe in the standards we have here and they held everybody to it. We are really going to feel that leadership void this coming season. You can always replace people, but it’s hard to replace their leadership skills.”

Moving on to NCAA Division I programs are Maddux Frese (Iowa), Michael Farina (Illinois), Caleb Klein (Southeastern Missouri), Trey O’Neil (Southern Indiana), Owen Thomson (Oakland), Kade Schneider (Northern Illinois) and Finn Ells (Southern Indiana).

Players committed to NCAA Division II schools are Abrahan Rios (St. Leo), Owen Sikkink (Minnesota State-Mankato), Joey Ward (Drury), Jace Figuereo (Quincy), Sheppard Graf (South Carolina-Aiken) and Connor Gruel (Winona State).

Players advancing to the NCAA Division III level are Luke Wallace (North Central College), Dylan Stockdale (Wartburg) and Connor Maiers (Coe).

Players committed to NAIA schools are Eddy Eveland (Cumberland), Colten Clarahan (Mount Mercy) and Kale Day (Morningside).

“This is a really good class of guys going to a lot of really good programs,” Schulte said. “One of my favorite parts about graduating sophomores is watching them play at the next level. That is really fun for me as a coach to watch them continue and progress.”

SCC opens the fall campaign with a home game against Spoon River College at 4 p.m. on Aug. 29.