Three Gold Gloves, one GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards go to local baseball players

Three college players with Sangamon County ties were named to the American Baseball Coaches Association Gold Glove teams this week.

Chatham Glenwood High School graduates Luke Lehnen and Jake Curtis and Springfield High product Luke Ketchum all brought home the awards handed out to the top defensive players from each division of college and high school baseball.

Another Springfield High grad, Austin Alderman, was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year for baseball.

Lehnen, a two-sport junior-to-be athlete at North Central College, was one of three outfielders to receive the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove from NCAA Division III teams. Lehnen, who graduated from Glenwood in 2020, had a .986 fielding percentage with 145 chances for the Cardinals. He made 135 putouts and assisted on eight others. He committed just two errors in 47 games.

North Central's football starting quarterback led the NCC baseball team with 17 stolen bases, posted a .310 batting average, drove in 29 runs, walked 21 times and scored 56 times — which is fifth in school history for a single season.

Ketchum, a senior center fielder at St. Francis in Joliet, received one of three Gold Gloves handed out to National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics outfielders. In 55 games, the 2016 Springfield High graduate had putouts on 129 of 131 chances and did not commit an error. His two assists led to double plays.

At the plate, Ketchum batted .337 (59-for-175) with 13 doubles, 13 home runs, 45 RBIs and scored 47 times. He led the Saints in homers, RBIs, on-base percentage (1.085), slugging percentage (.669) and times hit by pitch (14).

Ketchum originally attended Delta State University in Mississippi and played 16 games there. He received his degree in 2020 but still had three years of eligibility left. He transferred to St. Francis to play and is in his second master’s program at the school. He plans to return for his final season in 2023.

Lincoln Land Community College sophomore Jake Curtis won the ABCA Gold Glove at second base in National Junior College Athletic Association’s Division II.

In 58 games, Curtis posted a .975 fielding percentage with 198 total chances. He made 96 putouts, assisted on 97, turned 21 double plays and committed just five errors. At the plate, he was second for the Loggers with a .326 batting average (60-for-184) and added 11 doubles, five homers, 43 RBIs and stole 21 bases. He scored 63 runs and had 48 walks against 39 strikeouts.

Curtis is currently playing for the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes in the Prospect League. Following the summer season, he will transfer to the University of Memphis to play baseball.

Alderman became the first University of Illinois Springfield baseball player to earn the GLVC’s Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. It is a merit-based award on both academic and on-field successes. Nominees must have a minimum 3.30 GPA.

In his final season with the Prairie Stars, he batted .354 (79-for-223) in 59 games with nine doubles, 16 home runs and 66 RBIs. He scored 66 runs, carried a .646 slugging percentage and a .459 on-base percentage. He was in the top-50 in NCAA Division II in hits, home runs, runs scored, RBIs and total bases (144). He was a first-team all-GLVC pick and was named second-team all-region. He finished his career with a .351 batting average, 154 RBIs, 27 doubles, 11 triples and 31 homers. He’s UIS’ career leader in triples and is top-three in runs, hits, home runs, RBIs and total bases.

He picked up his fifth GLVC Academic All-Conference award, which included his red-shirt season in 2018. He helped the Prairie Stars go 48-11 in 2022 and reach the NCAA D-II National Championship tournament.

Alderman and Ketchum were teammates when Springfield High finished second in the Class 3A state baseball tournament in 2016.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield area baseball players win GLVC awards, three gold gloves