GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Long time dreams for one Caledonia and Western Michigan pitcher came true on Tuesday. Luke Thelen was drafted in the 15th round, 438th overall, by the Colorado Rockies in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft.
Luke Thelen:
"It was so surreal. It was insane. I'm still not really feeling it as much as I'm going to feel later tonight. I'm so happy right now. It was awesome being able to hug my mom and my dad. My uncle is here as well because they've been with me through all the ups and downs of my career and they've always believed in me and supported me. It's awesome to do it with them. When they called me they were like 'we love you we want to take you' and I'm like, let's do it. I'm ready to go to Colorado and helped him win."
He said that this was something he had thought about for his entire life. Watching games in the living room with his dad and playing at Caledonia High School, he hoped that his moment would one day happen for him.
The right-handed pitcher played four years for the Broncos and during this most recent season, he made 50 total appearances, including 13 starts, on the mound in three seasons for Western Michigan. He piled up 118 strikeouts in 95.2 innings for a career strikeout rate of 11.1 per nine innings helping WMU reach the College World Series for the first time since 2016.
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