Bio

A 2007 D3baseball.com All-American and the 2007 ASC West Division Co-Most Valuable Player, Jacob "Jake" Kaase helped the Bulldogs to three consecutive American Southwest Conference Championships. Kaase also was a part of three consecutive TLU appearances in the NCAA Division III West Region Championships. He played on regional runner-up squads in 2005 and 2006 (twice coming within a victory of an NCAA World Series appearance). A native of Austin and a product of Manor High School, Kaase was drafted by the Texas Rangers after his junior season at TLU. (He played four seasons in the Rangers organization and appeared in 306 career minor league games. He hit.260 and had 16 home runs and 124 RBI.) At the conclusion of his baseball career, he came back to TLU to finish his degree and graduated in 2012. Kaase, the 2007 TLU Male Student-Athlete of the Year, was a three-year letterman and two-year starter for the Bulldogs. In his three years with the Bulldogs, Kaase hit .389 with 99 RBI, 102 runs scored, six home runs and 15 stolen bases. In the 2007 season with TLU, Kaase enjoyed career-bests in nearly every offensive category. He hit .422 with 56 RBI, 15 doubles, two triples, and four home runs. He had a slugging percentage of .583 and an on-base percentage of .477. Kaase was also one of the top defensive shortstops in the country. He recorded 146 assists, 69 putouts and 15 errors in 230 defensive chances, and he was involved in turning 25 double plays. Kaase was named a 2007 D3baseball.com Honorable Mention All-American and a 2007 ABCA All-West Region Second Team selection for NCAA Division III. He finished second in the voting for 2006-07 ASC Male Athlete of the Year. Kaase also was a 2006 ABCA All-West Region Second Team choice. He was named to the All-Tournament teams at the ASC Championships and the NCAA West Region Championships. At the time his TLU Baseball career ended, Kaase shared the single-game triples record (2), and his career average of 389 was second all-time for players with three years of playing experience. Kaase also ranked third all-time in single-season at-bats (192 in 2007), second all-time in hits in a single season (81 in 2007), fifth all-time in single-season RBI per game (1.22 in 2007) and sixth all-time for total bases in a single season (112 in 2007). He still ranks in the top five in all of those categories.