Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Austin Callahan, the leading hitter of the 2021 Jayhawk West champion Hutchinson Community College baseball team, was named NJCAA All-American Honorable Mention on Wednesday.

Callahan, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound freshman from Fremont, Nebraska, had a huge season and became the sixth NJCAA Baseball All-American in the Ryan Schmidt era, which started in 2013.

Over 54 games of a Covid Pandemic-shortened season, Callahan – primarily a third baseman for the Hutchinson this season – put together a season that produced six Top 10 Blue Dragon single-season statistical finishes.

Most notably, Callahan hammered 21 home runs this season, third most in Hutchinson single-season history (Caden Doga had 31 in 2016 and Zane Schmidt had 22 in 2019). Callahan ranked second in the Jayhawk Conference and tied for seventh in the NJCAA in home runs. His 24 career homers are fifth on the Blue Dragon career list.

For the season, Callahan hit a team-high .422, going 84 for 199 this past season. That included 19 doubles, two triples, 21 home runs, 75 RBIs and 69 runs scored.

His 84 hits and 19 doubles both tied for eighth in Blue Dragon single-season history. He ranked seventh on Hutch's single-season RBI list. And his .854 slugging percentage was fifth-best in team single-season history.

Callahan hit safely in 45 of 54 games played. He put together a season-high 15-game hitting streak, which was fifth-longest in team history. Callahan had 26 multi-hit games, including nine of three or more hits in a single game.

The Blue Dragon third baseman had a career-high seven RBIs against Dodge City on May 8. His 10 total bases in that game tied for seventh most in single-game history. Callahan had three four-hit games this season against Coffeyville, Pratt and Allen. He had three two-home run games against Cowley, State Fair and Dodge City.

Callahan is 1 of 6 Jayhawk Conference baseball players to earn NJCAA Baseball All-America honors in 2021.