Lukas Kaufmann leaves no doubt about his love of baseball.
As he’s asked questions about his journey in the game, he’s eloquent and thorough, making sure to pay tribute to where he’s been while expressing excitement about where he’s going.
The Regina native has played on every team he could, including training at Going Yard Academy as well as Regina’s Martin Academy and was part of the Baseball Sask contingent at the 2024 Canada Cup.
A two-way player as a pitcher and first baseman, he even won a Golden Arm Award for his efforts on the Martin Academy mound three years in a row.
Kaufmann’s passion and determination were also part of the magic in landing a commitment to the University of British Columbia, where he will head after graduating high school in a couple of months.
The 6-foot, 200-pound southpaw was more than happy to take a few minutes recently to answer a few questions for our 1 Thru 9 series.
1. How excited are you about heading to UBC?
I couldn’t be happier about attending UBC next year. Almost everyday I catch myself in thought and wonder if this is really all true. I set some goals earlier on in my life after going to a tournament in Las Vegas and touring a JUCO, that I wanted a similar path for myself.
Over the years, my ideas and perspectives have changed on the type of school I wanted, the focus of my educational goals, the climate I wanted to live in, the level of ball I wanted to play – so many things have to come together to finalize this decision. I’m really pumped about how it came together and feel really confident that it will be a great fit.
2. What was it about that school that made you want to go there?
I’d say I fully realized UBC was where I wanted to be during their prospect camp that I attended in early September. All of my goals and principles line up so perfectly with UBC, it honestly still seems too good to be true. Finding a school with a top academics program was a big thing for my family and I.
On both of my trips to UBC, the coaches were very highly praised continuously by the players that I met and after meeting with them, later on, I can very much see why. They helped me to feel comfortable and at ease going through some evaluations, which made me feel really good about my choice. I also love the opportunity to live in a beautiful part of the country and experience something really different than Regina, but also tour the U.S. playing top colleges of the NAIA level. It’s going to be awesome.
3. You had a pretty stellar 2024 including repping Baseball Sask again. What does it mean to you to put on the green-and-yellow?
Playing for Team Sask is a tremendous honour that I am extremely lucky to have been able to do. As a mosquito and peewee player, Team Sask was on my vision board when I was 11 years old. Team Sask has grown to be a goal for every Saskatchewan kid who loves ball. There’s a lot of pride in wearing your province’s name on your jersey and besides losing some tough games, it has been everything I hoped it would be.
The guys I’ve met, the experiences I’ve had, the ball parks and cities I’ve visited – it’s been a huge part of building who I am as a ball player and a teammate. I really feel like our 2007 group is a special group of guys, we’ve had a tonne of fun and we will be friends long after we’re done baseball. We get one more chance to play together in the spring, and I can’t wait.
4. What were the goosebumps like the first time you ever repped Sask?
The first time I ever played on Sask was a lifelong dream come true. At first, I was pretty nervous but after I threw my first pitch, I realized that it was still the same game and I deserved to be there just as much as anyone from B.C. or Ontario. Coming from a small province sometimes might make you feel a step behind, but Team Sask has proven over the years that we can compete and win against the big guys.
5. Looking back on the young career, what’s your favourite memory or moment on the field?
I have made so many great memories through my career so far. But the one that tops all the rest is playing with some of my best friends on the 15U “Moneyball” A’s. It was a team that, for me, was never recreated with the amount of fun and success we had. We didn’t have a tonne of regular season wins but, in tournaments, our great chemistry and banter helped us to stick together when times got tough and we brought home two big tournament championships and a tonne of memories. To this day, my friends and I still talk about funny stories from that summer and they are times that I look back on with great pride and happiness.
6. Conversely, what’s the biggest challenge or hurdle you’ve had to overcome?
Being overlooked for the Canada Cup team in my first year 18U was an incredibly surprising and disappointing time in my young career. However, this disappointment turned into motivation for me. I worked tirelessly over the following offseason to become the very best version of myself. The training was intense, but I enjoyed every minute of it as I knew it would assist me in my end goal of making my way back to Team Sask and eventually committing to a college baseball program.
Although being cut was extremely upsetting, I look back at this time now with plenty of pride as it ended up making me a better baseball player physically and mentally. I drove to Going Yard in Saskatoon 3-4 times a month to train and build myself as a pitcher and a hitter. Jordan (Draeger) and the other coaches were a huge support and helped to build my confidence and consistency to even higher levels than the year prior.
7. You’re a Martin guy and you’ve also gone through Going Yard. What have those programs meant to you?
Going to Martin Academy was one of the greatest decisions of my life. I have learned so much about baseball and life. Stepping into Martin, you immediately have a sense of belonging that everyone is always searching for. I spend my time around others that have similar goals to me which allowed for many of my classmates and I to hit it off instantly, creating friendships that will last a lifetime. Without a doubt, Mr. Cherepuschak and Mr. Eiswirth have both taught me so much about how to be my best on and off the baseball field which is something I am incredibly grateful for. Those teachers are incredibly dedicated to the program, and to the students and players. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to be a member of the Martin Baseball Academy.
Going Yard was another incredible stepping stone towards UBC. They provided me outstanding coaching and advisory towards playing college baseball. I honestly can’t thank Dregs enough for everything he has done for me this past year. He’s always reaching out, seeing how I’m doing and checking in, even though he has to be one of the top-10 busiest people in the world. Along with Dregs, the other coaches at GY immediately made an out-of-towner like myself feel as though I was where I should be. It was a big commitment for my dad to drive me there every week. I had to make arrangements to stay caught up with my schoolwork. But having that time with Dregs and Going Yard training, fall tournaments and JUCO trips continued to add the experiences I needed to get me where I wanted to be.
8. What’s the one piece of advice or words of wisdom you’d like to impart on young athletes looking to get to where you’re at now?
I would have to tell them to just have fun and enjoy the moment. When I was younger, all I did was wish I was older and now I’m older wishing I was younger! When you love the game as much as I do, it rarely seems like work. Bullpens, batting practice, strength training, stretching, teamwork … if you truly love the game of baseball and have fun, these things become something you want to do, not something you have to do. This mindset helps me stay in the moment and appreciate every second I’m around the game of baseball.
9. What does the game of baseball mean to you?
It means perseverance, resilience, and fun! No one loves to have laughs on the bench more than me. Baseball is a fun game with fun guys and funny moments. Hanging in the bullpen, talking about the game, ribbing the guys, – it’s about enjoying those small moments that eventually take you to the big games and the highlights and special moments that are with you forever. The bus trips, the pre-game warmups, the team suppers, hotel rooms, the awesome plays, the screw ups, the laughs. Baseball has given me so much and there’s still hopefully more to come.
Tales of Baseball 