(West Burlington, IA)-Southeastern Community College under head coach Justin Schulte has a long, proud tradition in baseball. In Schulte's 14 previous seasons as head coach, there have been 10 All-Americans, numerous All-Region players, and every single player that graduated from SCC under Schulte had the opportunity to go on to play baseball at a four year school. With a new decade starting in 2020, it serves as a good time to reflect back on the best Blackhawks from the past decade that made the cut for the 2010-2019 All-Decade team. Among the group are four guys that went on to play professional baseball, 14 that went on to D1 schools, and another eight that signed with D2 or NAIA programs after finishing their stellar careers at Southeastern. Included on the squad are two catchers, 11 pitchers, 10 infielders, four outfielders, and a designated hitter.
The starting 9:
Catcher- Jon Pierre "Jumpy" Garcia (2010) - "Jumpy" set the standard behind the dish for the 2010's during his lone season with the Blackhawks. He hit a ridiculous .436 with 20 HR's and 91 RBI's, earning All-Region and All-American honors during the 2010 season. Following the 2010 season, Garcia went on to play at Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
1st Base- Brett Sanders (2011-2012)-Sanders, a two-year player for the Blackhawks, had a career average of .389 earning All-Region honors twice and an All-American nod in 2012. During his career, Sanders accumulated 20 homeruns, 116 RBI's, and 33 extra base hits while manning the bag at first base. After SCC, Sanders signed with Oakland University.
2nd Base- Braeden Brown (2017-2018) - Brown, a two-time All-Region performer, led the conference in Homeruns as a freshman as a second baseman. For his career, he hit .309 with 23 homeruns and 99 RBI'S, earning him the starting not at second on the All-Decade Team. Brown continued his Career at South Dakota State.
3rd Base- Ian Texidor (2010-2011) - Texidor started off the decade with a bang at 3rd base, earning him the top spot at 3rd base. For his career, he hit .341 with 15 HR's, and 95 RBI. Texidor was a two-team All-region selection and
Shortstop- Yhoxian Medina (2010-2011) - There have been some elite shortstops to play under Coach Schulte though the years, but none better than the do-it-all Medina. Medina not only hit .391 with 109 RBI's during his career, but he also stole 67 bases and was voted the Defensive player of the year in 2011. He also was the leading run scorer of the decade touching home a school record 136 times. Medina was also a two-time All-Region player, Conference player of the year in 2011, and a first team All-American, and ICCAC defensive player of the year that same season. Following his career with Southeastern, Medina was drafted by the Cleveland Indians.
Outfield- Luis Vargas (2016-2017)-Leading the way in the outfield is Luis Vargas, a career .386 hitter that hit 22 homeruns while driving in 132 runs. For his efforts, Vargas was voted a first team All-American and Conference player of the year in 2017 and was named All-Region both seasons at SCC. Vargas signed to play at NAIA Mid-American Nazarene after leaving Southeastern.
Outfield- Jay Feliciano (2014-2015) - Of all the supremely talented outfielders to suit up for the Blackhawks, Feliciano may be at the top of the list. Feliciano was a career .355 hitter at SCC with 29 HR's and 137 RBI's. He also hit a whopping 49 doubles, leading the nation in that category as a freshman. The following season, he voted a first team All-American, leading the nation in RBI's during the 2015 season. As a result of his efforts, he was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers that same year.
Outfield- Marcos Sanchez (2018-2019) - Rounding out the starting outfield is Sanchez, who had a great career in his own right. He was a career .387 hitter with 17 homeruns, and 100 RBI's, all while stealing 38 bases. Sanchez was a two-time All-Region player for the Blackhawks and went on to play at Texas Wesleyan after departing SCC.
DH- Zach Nichols (2011-2012) - Nichols, who serves as the starting DH for the All-Decade Team, was a career .391 hitter for the Blackhawks. He also hit 14 HR's and drove in 91 runs, to go along with 27 doubles and 23 stolen bases. Nichols was named a first team All-American in 2012 and was voted All-Region both seasons at SCC. He was also an All-Region closer during his sophomore campaign allowing just 6 runs over 19 innings while striking out 25. His ERA that season was a diminutive .047. Following his career with the Blackhawks, Nichols signed with Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
The Starting Pitchers:
Chas Sagedahl (2018-2019) - Sagedahl, was a dominant starter during his two years at SCC. He has a paltry career ERA of 1.75 over 160 innings, while striking out 219 against only 35 walks. In two seasons, the crafty lefty racked up 15 wins for the Blackhawks before taking his talents to Dallas Baptist University. Among his many accolades, Sagedahl earned Conference player and pitcher of the year honors as a freshman and was voted to the All-Region team in both of his seasons at Southeastern.
Dakota Bacus (2010-2011)-In his two seasons, Bacus racked up 122 strikeouts, 12 wins, and an ERA of 2.86 in 145 innings, good for All-Region honors two years in a row. Following his time at SCC, he was drafted by the Oakland A's. He's currently in AAA for the Washington Nationals.
Justin Hill (2014-2015) - The lefty Hill went on to Indiana State following SCC, but not until after he racked up some impressive career numbers in two seasons with the Blackhawks. Hill struck out an astounding 163 in just 134 innings. He also allowed just 97 hits on his way to 14 career wins. He also holds the honor of being the only former SCC pitcher to start in a World Series win.
Grant Spranger (2015-2016)- All Spranger did during his time at SCC was win, going 16-3 for his career, including 7-0 in conference in 2016 when he earned pitcher of the year honors in ICCAC. Spranger also tallied 121 strikeouts in 128 innings while walking just 33. The Lefty went on to Creighton after his career at Southeaster and later signed with the Seattle Mariners.
Wesley Estrada (2013)-Estrada was dominant in his one year at SCC with a 1.75 ERA in 77 innings, tops among all decade team performers. He had 8 wins against only 3 loses while striking out 48 with only 20 walks earning him conference Pitcher of the Year honors in 2013. Estrada finished his playing career after the 2013 season.
Relief Pitchers:
Matt Duncan (2010-2011) - Relievers don't get much better than Duncan, who earned conference reliever of the year honors in back-to-back seasons and All-American honors in 2011. Duncan had 44 appearances totaling 55 innings with 78 K's against only 26 walks. He also had 24 saves in two seasons and a 1.8 ERA. Duncan went on to Moorehead State after leaving SCC.
Trace Hoffman (2017-2018) - Another in the line of top Closers from SCC, Hoffman threw 62 innings in 53 appearances with 26 saves in two seasons. For his career, Hoffman had an ERA of 2.32 while striking out 64 against only 22 walks. Following his stellar career with the Blackhawks where he earned conference pitcher of the year honors in both seasons, Hoffman signed with in-state Iowa and will be a senior for the Hawkeyes in 2020.
Kyle Amendt (2019) - Amendt is a testament to hard work and development in the SCC program under Coach Schulte. After coming to SCC as a walk-on from a IA high school in Iowa,
Amendt signed a LOI to national power Dallas Baptist after a dominating Freshman season for the Blackhawks. During his freshman campaign, he had a ridiculous .045 ERA in 40 innings pitched over 25 appearances. He also accumulated 64 strikeouts against just 17 walks on his way to ICCAC reliever of the year honors. Before heading south, Amendt will again serve as a formidable force at the back end of the SCC bullpen for the 2020 season.
Sam Noel (2016-2017) - While not serving as the closer during his time at Southeastern, Noel was nonetheless a formidable arm out of the Bullpen during his two year career. Noel had 69 innings pitching on 51 appearances on his way to a 9-1 career record. He also stuck out 77 while walking only 36 with a 3.13 ERA. Noel was named to the All-Region team in 2017 before continuing his career at Minnesota State Mankato.
Adonis Lao (2015-2016)- Lao, a two-way star that earned two-time All-region honors as an outfielder and left-handed pitcher, also served as the team's closer in 2016 and for his career he racked up 16 saves with a 2.31 ERA over 39 innings. Lao had 36 appearances during that span before heading to Bethune-Cookman to continue his career.
Bryan Callaly (2017-2018) - Callaly had a career ERA of 3.91 in 53 innings. He also had a perfect career record of 3-0 on the bump and made 47 career appearances. For his efforts, he earned All-Region honors in 2018 and a scholarship to Marshall University where he will be a senior for the Thundering Herd in 2020.
The Reserves:
Catcher- Ben Schanding (2015-2016) - Backing up Garcia behind the dish on the All-Decade team is Ben Schanding, who earned All-Region and All-District honors in 2016. For his career, Schanding hit .337 with 44 RBI's and 34 walks against only 31 strikeouts. Schanding went on to the University of Illinois Springfield following his time with the Blackhawks.
Infielder- Zeb Adreon (2017-2018) - Adreon, a career .358 hitter, also hit 13 homeruns and drove in 105 runs from his post at first base. He also tallied 41 doubles and four triples for his career, earning second team All-Region twice. Adreon is entering his senior season at Iowa in 2020.
Infielder- Jesus Carrera (2014-2015) - Carrera not only produced at the plate for the Blackhawks, but he was also a two-time defensive player of the year at 1st base. Offensively, he hit .362 with 78 RBI's, 27 doubles, and swiped 19 bags. Carrera went on to play at Moorehead State after finishing his career at Southeastern.
Infielder- Ryan Kaczmarski (2009-2010) - Kaczmarski provides some offensive punch of the bench for the All-Decade Squad, after hitting .396 during his sophomore season at SCC. He also knocked in 39 runs, hit five bombs, and swiped 18 bases while starting at second base. For his career, he was a .364 hitter with nine doubles, six triples, and 8 homeruns. He was also swiped 30 bases on 32 attempts. Kaczmarski went on to Indiana State after departing Southeastern.
Infielder- Dayson Croes (2018-2019)- Croes was a versatile star for the Blackhawks during his two seasons with the Blackhawks, earning All-region honors at 3B as a freshman and 2B as a sophomore. For his career, he hit .348 with 3 homeruns, & 91 RBI's. Croes continued his career at Quincy University.
Infielder- Gabriel Montero (2015-2016) - Montero was a two-year starter at SS for SCC, where he showed some pop by hitting 10 bombs during his career. He also hit .348 with 71 RBI's, seven triples, and 34 stolen bases. Following his stellar career at SCC, he signed with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
Infielder- Oswaldo Calderon (2016-2017) - Calderon's career as a Blackhawk started off with a bang as he won the conference batting title as a freshman while manning 3rd base. He showed his versatility by moving over to SS his sophomore year where he earned ICCAC defensive player of the year honors. The two-time All-Region performer hit .350 with 83 RBI's and four homeruns for his career before heading off to Lindsey Wilson College.
Outfielder- Jose Cruz (2012-2013) - Cruz, a two-time All-Region performer, put up some stellar offensive numbers during his SCC career. In total, he hit .365 with 13 homeruns, 94 RBI's, 18 doubles, and stole 12 bases. Cruz went on to play at NAIA Northwestern Ohio after graduating from SCC.
While there was undoubtedly some supremely talented players that were left off the All-Decade team, these 28 former Blackhawks help set the standard of excellence that future Blackhawks will strive to reach in the decades to come.
