BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Bellevue University baseball coach Duane Monlux announced today the signing of Kole Bennett (Maple Valley, Wash./Bellevue College) to a letter of intent to continue his academic and athletic careers at BU beginning in the fall.
Bennett, a 6-5, 185-pound right-hander, joins the Bruins from Bellevue College in Bellevue, Wash. While with BC, Bennett helped the Bulldogs to a 63-43 record including a 41-13 mark in league play, the 2023 North Division title, back-to-back Super Regionals, and an appearance in the 2023 NWAC Championship.
He featured regularly out of the Bulldog bullpen, racking up 40.1 innings across 22 appearances over the past two seasons. This past spring, Bennett produced a 2.16 ERA and held opponents to just a .211 batting average. For his career, Bennett owns a 3.35 ERA, .200 opponent batting average, four saves, and a 2-0 record on the hill.
Coach Monlux on Bennett:
"Kole comes to the Bruins from a very strong program at Bellevue College in Washington. He was a solid bullpen arm for the Bulldogs the last two years. Kole is a sidearm right-hander that gives a different look to the hitters when he comes into the game. We are anxious to see where he will fit into our pitching staff this next season."
Bennett joins the previously announced Brady Toth (RHP, Boise, Idaho/Columbia Basin College), Jace Wessels (RHP, Clarkston, Wash./Columbia Basin College), Danny Spongberg (OF, Omaha, Neb./Southeast CC), Steven Elsner (1B/OF, San Francisco, Calif./College of Marin), Nick Johnstone (C, Brisbane, Australia/South Suburban College), Jayden Vinson (LHP, Portland, Ore./Mt. Hood CC), Brody Burnette (RHP, Kansas City, Mo./Hesston College), Bryce Zimmerer (OF, Creighton, Neb./South Dakota State), and Sam Fortier (Quebec City, Que./Southwestern Oklahoma State) in the Bruins' 2023 recruiting class.
Bellevue is coming off a 2023 season in which the program reached the Avista NAIA World Series for the 16th time in program history. During the campaign, the Bruins posted a 48-10 overall mark, going 25-3 in conference play while sweeping both the NSAA Regular-Season and Tournament titles. BU parlayed the league's lone automatic bid into the program's 25th NAIA National Tournament Appearance, hosting their fifth Opening Round at Don Roddy Field and defeating Oklahoma City in the Championship Game to reach the Avista NAIA World Series for the third time in four seasons.
