Rollercoaster Career Ends With National P-O-Y Honors

Last summer, Luke Ullman was contemplating whether to continue his collegiate baseball career, certainly not entertaining thoughts of becoming the 2005 NCAA Div. III National Player of the Year.

Ullman, who transferred from Div. I baseball power Coastal Carolina University after a freshman season that ended prematurely for him as a medical red-shirt, had had three productive, but eventful years as Wooster’s starting shortstop. After batting .298 out of the No. 9 hole on the Scots’ 2002 team, which was ranked No. 1 in Div. III for four weeks and defeated Ohio State University 9-7, Ullman ascended into the leadoff spot, hit .370, and earned all-region and all-conference honors in 2003 but Wooster was bounced early from the playoffs.

That was followed by a summer full of wooden bat league games, which resulted in Ullman suffering from a serious case of burn out. It got so bad that halfway through fall ball, he and coach Tim Pettorini decided it be best for him to leave the team.

“I told him, ‘Luke, if you’re going to play like this, you’re wasting your time and mine.’ With the standards and traditions we have here, I don’t want somebody out there just going through the motions because that’s a bad example to set for the younger players,” explained Pettorini. “And to his credit, he agreed.”

Ullman rejoined the team for January workouts and played a prominent role again, finishing with a .375 batting average, 17 doubles, and 12 homers on a squad that reached the regional championship game, which at that time, was the farthest Wooster had advanced since 1997. He once again was lauded with all-region and all-conference recognition.

So, coming off a career-best season for himself as well as one of the most successful in program history, Ullman, who had the ability to take summer classes and then complete his academic requirements by December 2004, could’ve said enough is enough without anyone thinking anything of it. Ultimately, though, he wanted to take the opportunity to play ball with his friends one more spring.

“I decided to play because of the other returnees and that I knew we would have a really good team, thinking we would win the World Series. We ended up in third-place, a couple of games short of that goal, so that’s still pretty good,” Ullman summarized. “I really came back to play with my friends.”

Ullman’s 2005 season started out in his typical offensive fashion, hitting .421 with seven doubles, eight home runs, and 23 RBI during the 16-game spring break trip, but all was not perfect. Ullman’s defense had been atrocious to put it mildly, as he committed nine errors and was sporting a fielding percentage of .804, well below his career average of .904 entering the season.

“The first ball of the year hit to me was an error. I didn’t have my confidence that I needed to be consistent everyday.”

Returning north didn’t solve Ullman’s defensive problems, as he had two more miscues in the field over the first three games, and it was beginning to effect the team’s entire confidence. It had evolved into such an issue that Pettorini was forced to do something.

“It was never the intention to keep him out, but we felt like at that point, we needed a change and to give him a different perspective. I didn’t do it to motivate him. I did it to make us better at the time.”

So, Ullman was demoted to designated hitter to see if one of the reserves could handle the most difficult defensive position in the field. That met with little success as well, with the Scots uncharacteristically losing games to Kenyon College and Muskingum College, and five games later, Ullman, who had been taking extra groundballs during practice in the meantime, was back at shortstop.

Whether it was the demotion or the chance to clear his head or something else, Ullman played nearly flawless defense the rest of the way while continuing to bat at a torrid pace. He ended the conference season as the league leader in both on-base (.520) and slugging percentage (.848), while hitting .420 overall with 16 doubles, 13 home runs, 50 RBI, and having committed just three errors in the 16 games since his demotion en route to picking up North Coast Athletic Conference Player-of-the-Year honors.

Then, Ullman was able to take his game up another level in the NCAA Tournament. He combined to hit .452 (14-for-31) with 10 runs scored, seven doubles, two homers, and 13 RBI during the eight NCAA tourney games. His most impressive accomplishment may have been not making an error in 28 chances at the regional, as part of a tournament MVP performance there. He also landed all-tourney honors at the national championship series.

“Anybody who saw him play, it wasn’t hard to see that he was the focal point coming down the stretch,” said Pettorini. “I can’t imagine anybody playing much better, offensively, defensively, and in the dugout (in the postseason).”

Despite receiving the top award in Div. III at the banquet prior to the national championship series, Ullman’s name was not among the 30 Div. III players drafted into Major League Baseball this past June. He did receive an offer to play for the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League, a group of 12 independent teams, but after weighing his options, thought it be best to enter the regular workforce.

“I was (surprised) a little bit,” said Ullman in regards to not getting drafted. “But, when they’re mostly taking 16-to-18 year olds based on potential, 23-year olds who have had arm surgery aren’t too attractive to teams.”

Currently, Ullman’s planning a career in law enforcement.