KU’s Baumgartner signs with Rockies as undrafted free agent

By Henry Greenstein     Jul 13, 2023

article image Angilo Allen/Kansas Athletics
Collin Baumgartner of the Kansas Jayhawks pitches during the game between Kansas and Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma.

Missouri will have to wait a little longer to certify its next lawyer.

Kansas right-handed pitcher Collin Baumgartner has been signed as an undrafted free agent by the Colorado Rockies after one season in Lawrence, KU announced in a press release Wednesday.

Baumgartner, who already has an MBA, had been slated to attend Saint Louis University for law school in the fall — the native of Brighton, Illinois, previously pitched at SIUE in the greater St. Louis area for five years before transferring to Kansas — but will instead give pro baseball a go.

“The opportunity to play professional baseball is something I dreamed about as a kid,” Baumgartner said in the KU release. “To think it is a reality is still so surreal. I am incredibly thankful for my family, coaches, and teammates that have helped get me to this point. I’m honored to be signed by a high-caliber organization like the Colorado Rockies and am extremely excited to get to work.”

Baumgartner, who came along from SIUE with pitching coach Brandon Scott, shone as a sixth-year senior for the Jayhawks. He started 15 games on the season, including a 3-0 stretch with a 1.88 ERA in the final five starts of his career, one of which was KU’s memorable Big 12 Conference tournament win over Texas. On the whole, he posted a 3.62 ERA in 79 ⅔ innings pitched for by far the best complete season of his lengthy career.

KU coach Dan Fitzgerald said in the release that Baumgartner “set a new standard for what it looks like to be an elite Jayhawk baseball player.”

“He excelled on and off the field and led in both word and deed,” Fitzgerald said. “There is nobody more deserving of an opportunity in professional baseball than ‘Baum.'”

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Written By Henry Greenstein

Henry is the sports editor at the Lawrence Journal-World and KUsports.com, and serves as the KU beat writer while managing day-to-day sports coverage. He previously worked as a sports reporter at The Bakersfield Californian and is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis (B.A., Linguistics) and Arizona State University (M.A., Sports Journalism). Though a native of Los Angeles, he has frequently been told he does not give off "California vibes," whatever that means.