Nick Kagel takes a swing during a 12-0 home win over Brookdale on Apr. 8. (Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.)
Nick Kagel was fortunate enough to realize every young baseball player’s dream when he was pursued by Rider University to play Division I baseball. Kagel quickly discovered, however, that sometimes an illusion is a bit more dreamy than reality.
Thus, after one season with the Broncs, the Lawrence High School graduate put his original plan in action and transferred to Mercer County Community College.
Kagel and the Vikings have both benefited from the decision. As of April 12, he was batting .356 with three home runs, three doubles, two triples and 22 RBI. Mercer was 20-7, ranked 18th in the NJCAA Division II rankings and taking aim on a second straight trip to the World Series.
“I knew exactly how it was going to be here,” Kagel said. “I played it out in my mind how everything would turn out, and so far it’s turning out pretty well.”
Coach Kevin Kerins feels it turned out very well.
“He’s producing big time for us, he’s been an anchor and he’s been consistent,” said Kerins, who has turned MCCC back into a national power in his four years at the helm. “He has a ton of talent, a ton of bat speed. We told him we want a certain approach. He bought into that and has had a lot of success.”
Kagel usually hits fifth or sixth, and Kerins said he has yet to be overmatched.
“You’re not going to throw a fastball by him,” he said. “His experience at Rider helped him transition to our program. He came in and competed, and he plays both corners [left and right field] for us.”
What’s interesting about Kagel is that his experience at Rider wasn’t what one would usually expect after a player transitions from an NCAA Division I school to a JUCO program. He didn’t have what you would call a bad experience—it just wasn’t the right experience.
While at Lawrence, his original plan was to attend Mercer. That changed when he exploded to hit .500 with good power numbers as a senior.
“I was thinking of going to Rider early in my junior year but I wasn’t too sure about it, and I decided I would go to Mercer,” Kagel said. “But I had a pretty good senior year and after my senior year [Broncs coach Barry Davis] wanted me to play there.”
He also drew interest from St. Leo, a Division II school in Florida, West Chester and St. John’s. But the prospect of playing Division I ball right up the road attracted him.
“I didn’t really want to go away to school, and when I got offered to play for Rider, how could I pass up playing Division I baseball?” Kagel said. “That’s the goal ever since you’re a little kid, to go DI.”
Kagel got playing time, as he started 13 of the 19 games he played in. He batted just .196 but said his performance did not figure in his decision to transfer.
“I’m not saying anything bad about them, it just wasn’t for me,” he said. “It wasn’t my kind of style of play. They play more small ball, bunting, I’m more of a doubles, home run guy. More of a swinger. It just feels right playing with these guys.”
He knew Mercer would be a good fit just based on who his teammates would be.
“I feel really comfortable playing with Mercer, I know [Dave] Osnato, [Brandon] Kirk, [Eddie] Ashley from when we won the Carpenter Cup [in 2013] and we all played together. It’s a good group of guys and when we totally come together, the sky’s the limit. I feel we can take this thing really, really far.”
Kerins said that Mercer casually recruited Kagel in high school, but when Rider came into the picture, the Vikings backed off. Once Nick decided that MCCC was the place for him, the coach made one thing clear.
“We recruit against teams like Rider and other DI teams,” Kerins said. “We go after draft-eligible kids, and we bring in some darn good players. Those guys who transfer in, need to earn their keep and earn their spot. We talk to them about that, and being ready to take that challenge.”
He added that prospective players don’t look down on JUCO ball like they used to.
“We have some of the best JUCOs in the country in this state,” he said. “We have a transfer from Pitt, a transfer from Rutgers. Sometimes you need a fresh start. DI transfers are higher than they’ve ever been to junior college. If we’re not your first option, we’re a great fallback option.”
Kagel was aware of that and took nothing for granted once he arrived in West Windsor. Because he did not play summer ball, he was rusty during the fall season and went to work on his swing over the winter while also hitting the weight room.
“I wanted to be back to where I was, if not better,” he said. “I knew my potential and what I had accomplished. It was discouraging when I didn’t play to my potential in the fall. That’s what really pushed me to get back to where I was.”
It was that kind of attitude that Kerins liked to see.
Kagel spent the fall immersing himself in Mercer’s philosophy and recognized that nothing was going to be handed to him.
“Sometimes you get a DI transfer and they think the job is automatically theirs,” Kerins said. “They kind of let their guard down. That wasn’t the case with Nick. He worked his tail off and came back with a really good approach.”
Kagel said the thought of being given something never entered his mind.
“I’m not the kind of guy who would do that,” he said. “Nobody likes that kind of guy anyway. You always want to work. I know how good Mercer is and nothing is guaranteed with them, everyone has to earn the right to play. It’s not like Mercer is a joke. I don’t think I’m any better than any of these guys, I just want to come in and help my team.”
He has done that both offensively and defensively. In the outfield, Kagel has displayed a strong, aggressive arm and has thrown out five baserunners so far. Kerins pushes his outfielders to still make plays as often as possible, and Kagel, he said, is doing that well.
At the plate, Mercer’s coaches have worked with Kagel on cutting down his swing and getting him to use the whole field. When he first arrived at MCCC, he was a dead pull hitter.
“Credit to him,” Kerins said. “Sometimes coming from DI with a coach trying to change you, you’re not open to those changes. He made the changes and he’s not only helped himself, but helped us.”
Kagel will be helping another school next year, as he has drawn interest from Division II schools such as Barry in Miami, Newbury and Limestone in South Carolina, and West Chester. He has yet to commit.
With the Region XIX playoffs and another World Series trip still a possibility, Kagel still has a chance to be seen by other Division I coaches as well. But he is not as enamored by that as when he was young.
“I was a little surprised that I would want to transfer, because when you hear DI you’re like ‘Yeah, let’s do it!’” he said. “When you’re younger, DI is like a big, big thing. But when you get there, you see it might not be what you wanted. There is great baseball at every level. DI is just a number.”
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