“You’ll never hear Kaleb talk about himself,” Taylor baseball head coach Kyle Gould said. “You’ll never see him celebrate his personal success. And when your best player behaves that way, everybody does.”
Senior outfielder Kaleb Kolpien, a graduate of Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, caught Gould’s attention in his second year of high school. Fast forward to his final season, Kolpien is now Taylor baseball’s all-time hits leader.
As a Trojan freshman he was a standout from the beginning. Kolpien tallied 217 hits and a .387 batting average as a freshman. Taylor awarded him with the Male Athlete of the Year Award for the 2022-23 season.
He was far from done and posted an even better 231 hits and .424 batting average the following season. Those numbers were the best in the Crossroads League. His junior year was hampered by an injury that forced him to only play 36 games, but Kolpien was awarded with an NAIA Scholar-Athlete and an Academic All-Crossroads League Award in 2024 as well.
This season, he is posting the best numbers of his career. Through 49 games played, his batting average sits at .427 with 65 RBIs.
Those numbers rank him top 50 in batting average and top 25 in RBIs. Combining his stats through his four years with Taylor, his career average of .402 and 196 RBIs is nothing short of remarkable.
Off the field, Kolpien has experienced spiritual growth during his time at Taylor. It’s something he is very grateful for.
“I think once I came to Taylor, I really started to gain the personal growth side, what it really means to be a follower,” Kolpien said.
Kolpien comes from a family of ballplayers. His father, Dave, played baseball for Purdue Fort Wayne and Kaleb’s older brother Kade also played for Taylor.
The Kolpien brothers were able to share the field together for two seasons. Kaleb Kolpien did not play nearly as much during his junior year due to a shoulder injury. However, Coach Gould highlighted a key moment from last season where he saw true joy from Kaleb Kolpien.
Kade, in his final year as a Trojan, came up to bat and hit a home run. Kaleb said this was a full-circle moment for his brother, who experienced a lot of injuries.
“I’ve never seen Kaleb happier in my whole life, just for his brother,” Gould said. “It was, like, one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen on a baseball field.”
Kaleb Kolpien’s four-year roommate and teammate Mason David said Kolpien is a consistent hitter and person. He’s the same leader to his team every day, regardless of how he’s performing on the field. David also said seeing Kaleb Kolpien make his faith his own has influenced and encouraged him to get in his own faith.
David recalls getting to go out into the silence of the Upland woods and do some fishing with Kolpien. He appreciates that time with his roommate a lot, where the duo was able to sit in silence together.
Kolpien and David will be living together in Indianapolis next year once they both leave the field. Kolpien was accepted into the Orr Fellowship, a group in Indianapolis who seeks to develop future entrepreneurs and business leaders.
His fondest memory from his Trojan career was making the NAIA World Series when he was a sophomore.
“I think everybody loved it, and won’t take it for granted, and hopefully we can experience it one more time,” Kolpien said.
He also said Coach Gould told the upperclassmen at the beginning of the year to not panic. Stay consistent and don’t panic when things don’t go their way. Kolpien said they continue to work hard no matter the circumstances.
He may get to replicate his World Series memories as he drives the Trojans’ batting order in his final season.
