How family played role in Mike Pelfrey becoming high school baseball coach at Kapaun

Playing 12 years in Major League Baseball fulfilled a dream for Mike Pelfrey, who cemented his status as one of the best ball players to come out of Wichita.

Following his retirement, he chased another dream: returning to Wichita State, his alma mater, and serving as the pitching coach for five seasons.

With those dreams came sacrifice, namely missing out on family time with his three children during the spring and summer when baseball season was in full swing. His son, Chase, is a baseball player just like his pops and Pelfrey guessed he only caught four games a summer when he was a college baseball coach.

After a coaching change at WSU in May, Pelfrey was able to watch his son play 60 times this summer.

That fulfillment was fresh on his mind when Kapaun Mt. Carmel athletic director John Heise called him in August to gauge his interest in becoming a high school baseball head coach.

“All of my kids go to Magdalen, which is a feeder school for Kapaun, and my son is an eighth-grader and going to be a freshman at Kapaun next year,” Pelfrey told The Eagle. “So the opportunity to be around him, getting to spend time with him and getting to teach him the game was obviously special. That’s something I’ve always looked forward to, helping him grow as a person and as a player.”

The 2002 Wichita Heights graduate was a highly touted pitching prospect in the City League. At WSU, he was a two-time All-American and two-time Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year.

“We are excited to have such a high caliber coach as Mike leading our baseball program,” Kapaun athletic director John Heise said in a statement. “From his experience playing baseball at the highest level and then moving on to coaching, we know he will do great things here at KMC.”

After splashy hires in football (Weston Schartz) and boys basketball (Steve Eck) that have resulted in immediate success, Kapaun hopes the same will be true for its marquee spring sport. Pelfrey has no head coach coaching experience, but an All-American playing career at WSU, 12 years in MLB and five years as an NCAA Div. I pitching coach to fall back on.

Family was important to Pelfrey in deciding to coach at Kapaun, but so was the opportunity to win. The Crusaders are coming off a 17-win season that fell short of the state tournament.

“I talked to the guys (Tuesday) and I made it pretty clear, I’m coming here to win,” Pelfrey said. “I went to the state tournament all four years when I was in high school and that was the bar. It wasn’t even a big deal when we made it to state because that was the expectation. We all knew we were going to do it. I tried to tell our guys to start thinking that way and start believing that we have a chance to win it all every year.”

There will be a strong Wichita State connection at Kapaun, as Pelfrey is bringing Nate Brisco, who was video coordinator and director of analytics the past four seasons for the Shockers, and Tyler Grimes, a former WSU standout player and another City League graduate (from Wichita North).

Since transitioning to coaching, Pelfrey has been targeted by other major-conference college programs and professional teams as a pitching coach. But following the coaching change at WSU, he was adamant about remaining in Wichita to raise his family.

The opportunity at Kapaun will allow him to remain around the game he loves and spend more time than ever with his family.

“My heart has always been in Wichita and I’m excited about being back in the City League and seeing how much things have changed in 20-plus years,” Pelfrey said. “I’m excited about the guys on the coaching staff that are going to help me do this and I know they’re pumped to give these kids what they need and to win some games.

“Baseball has always been my platform where I feel like I have the opportunity to give back and make an impact in these young men’s lives and that’s what has me excited the most.”

Pelfrey was drafted in the first round by the New York Mets in 2005. He played 12 seasons in MLB with the Mets, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox. After retiring, he was a volunteer coach at Newman University before being hired by WSU as a pitching coach in 2019.

Pelfrey has been inducted in the Wichita State, Wichita Sports, Kansas Baseball and Kansas Sports Halls of Fame.