The NJCAA baseball All-America teams were announced recently, with five former Iowa high school standouts being named.
All five came out of the Div. II ranks, led by first-team All-American Cal Sullivan from Kirkwood. Joining him were teammate Boede Rahe, Ellsworth’s Boston Doeschot and Caden Sammler, and Iowa Central’s Cooper Nicholson.
Sullivan, a sophomore from Ely who played catcher and third base for Kirkwood, hit .438 with 13 home runs, 74 RBI, 72 runs scored and seven steals in 58 games. As a senior at Cedar Rapids Prairie, he hit .387 with two homers, 47 RBI, 17 doubles and 20 runs scored.
Rahe, a redshirt sophomore from Marion, went 6-4 with five complete games, striking out 97 batters with an earned run average of 2.58. He was limited his senior year at Marion, but went 11-0 with 90 strikeouts as a junior.
A sophomore from Kingsley who played for Kingsley-Pierson, Doeschot hit .401 with 22 homers, 80 RBI, 73 runs and six steals this past season. As a senior in high school, he hit .505 with four homers, eight doubles and five triples, driving in 48 while scoring 52 runs with 63 strikeouts on the mound.
Sammler, a sophomore who played for Waukee Northwest, sported a .389 average with 10 homers, 63 runs scored and 53 RBI. He was limited as a senior on the field but hit .292 with 20 RBI as a junior.
Nicholson, a sophomore from West Des Moines, helped Iowa Central finish in the Top 4 at the NJCAA Div. II World Series. He hit .324 with 21 homers, 88 runs, 65 RBI and 20 steals this past spring. As a senior at Dowling Catholic, he hit six homers with 11 doubles, 23 RBI and 46 runs scored.
