Collegiate Honors
· All-Horizon League Second Team
(2023)
· College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team
(2023)
2023 | Game-by-Game Statistics
Served as the team’s primary catcher in 2023 and started in 48 games of the 53 he appeared in during his final season in the program … ended the year with a .230 batting average with 37 hits including six home runs … his six home runs was second most on the team while he also scored 37 runs and drove in 19 … led the team with 24 walks and had a .339 on-base percentage to go along with a .379 slugging percentage … defensively he led the team with 387 putouts in a team-high 442 chances and caught a league-leading 27 would-be stolen base attempts against … recorded a .995 fielding percentage to lead the team among position players … recorded his first three hits of the season including a double and home run while driving in three and scoring two runs against Pacific (2/24) … had an RBI on a sacrifice fly off the bench at Southeast Missouri (3/4) … collected his second home run of the season in the series finale against Southeast Missouri (3/5) … had two hits including a solo home run at UIC (3/14) … reached base on a pair of walks and a single in the conference opener at Northern Kentucky (3/17) … had a hit, walk, and was also hit by a pitch to reach base in the team’s home opener against Concordia Wisconsin (3/21) … had a double and scored two runs in the second game of a conference doubleheader against Youngstown State (3/24) … walked five times over a two-game span during the team’s visit to Oakland (3/31-4/1) … connected on another home run and drove in a pair in the finale at Oakland (4/2) … picked up two RBIs in the second game of the team’s home sweep of Wright State (4/7) … had a double and a walk in the opening game of a doubleheader at Purdue Fort Wayne (4/15) … drove in a pair later in the day at Purdue Fort Wayne (4/15) … added another home run while driving in two during the series opener at home against Northern Kentucky (4/21) … walked twice in back-to-back games at Youngstown State (4/29-30) … added doubles in back-to-back games at home against Oakland (5/5-6) … had his lone stolen base on the season in a home game against Purdue Fort Wayne (5/19) … finished the regular season with a pinch-hit two-run home run in the home finale against Purdue Fort Wayne (5/20) … had two hits including a double in the team’s final win of the year during the Horizon League Tournament against Northern Kentucky (5/25).
2022 | Game-by-Game Statistics
Started all 48 games he appeared in including 47 behind the plate... slashed .248/.357/.382... drove in 19 runs and scored 29 more... led the team with 25 walks... recorded seven doubles, a triple, and four home runs... opened the year with a hit in each of the first four games... went 2-for-4 with two runs scored against Alabama A&M in the season opener on February 18... recorded his first home run of the year on March 11 in a 1-for-3 outing to help MKE top Dayton... had a hit in nine of 10 games from April 15 to April 29 to raise his average nearly 100 points... had six multi-hit games during that stretch including a 4-for-4 performance against UIC on April 23... went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in a win over MSOE on April 20... drove in three runs on May 10 against Northwestern, finishing 1-for-4 with a homer... also drove in three runs against Wright State on May 19, going 1-for-3 with a triple... finished fifth in the league with 351 putouts and 10th with a .985 fielding percentage... also was second in the Horizon League with 21 runners thrown out.
2021 | Game-by-Game Statistics
Granted a redshirt year and maintained junior eligibility... appeared in 11 games and made 10 starts before injury ended the season... made nine starts at catcher and another at designated hitter... scored three runs and drove in one more... made his season debut on February 26 at Kentucky... went 2-for-4 on March 7 at Ohio... had back-to-back multi hit games at UIC... finished 2-for-3 with a double and then 2-for-4 with a double on March 12-13.
2020 | Game-by-Game Statistics
Started all 13 games he appeared in... totaled 90 putouts and seven assists behind the plate... opened the year with a 1-for-4 outing against Illinois on February 14... recorded an RBI single in the fifth inning at Sacramento State on February 20... also recorded hits against Sacramento State on February 22 and 23... finished 2-for-3 at Oregon on February 29...season cut short due to COVID-19 pandemic.
2019 | Game-by-Game Statistics
Made big strides as a sophomore, starting 24 times among his 30 games played ... batted .313 on the season ... recorded 30 hits, which included eight doubles and five home runs ... slugged at a .552 clip and drove in 24 runs in those 30 appearances ... walked 13 times and made just one error in 138 chances ... batted .355 with runners in scoring position and an impressive .409 in Horizon League play ... made season debut against Villanova Feb. 16 ... first start, hit and RBI came at Arizona March 3 ... went 2-for-3 in starts against both Wright State March 16 and UIC March 30 ... hit his first home run of the season at Oakland April 6, part of a 3-for-5 day where he scored a career-best four times ... posted his best game of the season at Youngstown State April 13, going 4-for-6 with a home run and six RBI ... the hit total marked a career-best and the RBI total was a season-high for a game for any Panther in 2019 and the most in a game since 2016 ... had a hit and walked three times against WSU April 20 ... had two hits - including a home run - and drove in three runs at UIC May 5 ... went deep again versus YSU May 18 ... ended the season on a high note, hitting safely in 10 of his last 11 games ... named to the Horizon League Academic Honor Roll.
2018 | Game-by-Game Statistics
Appeared in 23 games on the season, making nine starts ... collected seven hits, scored nine runs and knocked in five more ... did not make an error in the field (112 chances) ... made collegiate debut against Ohio State Feb. 18 ... first start came against Sacramento State March 4, finishing the day 2-for-4 at the plate as well ... knocked in a run and scored against Oakland March 30 ... scored twice and had an RBI in a start against Lakeland May 2 ... went 2-for-4 with an RBI in a win over Chicago State May 9 ... scored three runs as the starting catcher against Northern Illinois May 15 ... had a double and drove in a pair against Oakland May 18.
High School: Helped lead the Spartans to an undefeated 33-0 season and a WIAA State Championship as a senior ... a two-time Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association All-State honoree, he repeated on the first team as a senior after batting over .400 with close to 40 runs batted in ... also named to the WBCA 34th Annual All-Star Classic ... hit .360 with 19 RBI as a junior ... a four-time North Shore All-Conference selection ... two-time
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel All-Area honoree ... spent two seasons on the football team, earning second-team all-league accolades as a wide receiver ... also played three season for the Spartans on the basketball court ... graduated with honors.
Personal: Son of Al and Aimee Thelen ... a healthcare administration major ... given name is John ... chose UWM because of its academic reputation, the strong baseball program and it was close to home ... career goal is to become a successful executive at a hospital ... most memorable sports experience was winning the WIAA State Championship and finishing he season with a perfect 33-0 record ... lists hobbies as hunting and spending time with his dog ... has done volunteer work with the Boys & Girls Club throughout high school ... born September 9, 1998.
