Former Butler baseball player Kyle Kinman was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 25th round of the 2014 Major League Baseball First-Year Draft.
Kinman, who is from Omaha, Neb., played at Butler during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, earning all-KJCCC honors in both seasons as a pitcher and outfielder.
In 2010 at Butler, Kinman went 8-2 with a 2.22 earned-run average and struck out 65 batters in 81 innings. At the plate, he hit .342 with 10 home runs and 38 RBI while scoring 41 runs. He was named the KJCCC Freshman of the Year and received first-team All-Conference honors. In his sophomore year at Butler, Kinman was named to the second-team All-Conference as both a pitcher and outfielder.
After Butler, Kinman transferred to Bellevue (NE) University. In his junior season, Kinman hit .299 with five home runs and 36 RBI in 54 games. He also pitched 15 games, including seven starts, and went 6-2 with a 2.13 ERA and struck out 57 batters in 55 innings. As a senior, Kinman finished with a .387 batting average, nine home runs and 66 RBI in 59 games. On the mound, he went 8-4 with a 1.85 ERA in just 13 starts. He fanned 141 batters in 92.1 innings – averaging 13.7 strikeouts a game.
