FROM THE NEST | FALL 2023 | 33 ATHLETICS NOTES LEHIGH IN THE SHOW Levi Stoudt, a 2019 third-round pick by the Seattle Mariners, made his major league debut April 19 with the Cincinnati Reds. The right-hander spent a majority of the year with Triple-A Louisville but pitched in four games (two starts) for Cincinnati, going 0-1 with a 9.58 ERA. He’s the first Lehigh player to make his MLB debut since Matt McBride joined the Colorado Rockies Aug. 12, 2012, and first Lehigh pitcher to reach the majors since Paul Hartzell debuted with the California Angels April 10, 1976. Here’s how the five other former Lehigh baseball players in the professional ranks fared this season, with their draft round and year in parenthesis. Mason Black (3rd, 2021): Black split his season between Double-A Richmond and Triple-A Sacramento (San Francisco Giants affiliates), going 4-9 with a 3.71 ERA in 123 2/3 innings. Adam Retzbach (14th, 2022): He appeared in 32 games between Single-A Delmarva and High-A Aberdeen (Baltimore Orioles), batting a combined .208 with four doubles, two triples, two homers, 13 RBIs and 14 walks. Matt Svanson (13th, 2021): He was traded Aug. 1 by the Toronto Blue Jays’ organization. He finished the season with Double-A Springfield (St. Louis Cardinals), going 2-0 with a 4.29 ERA in 21 innings. Carlos Torres (20th, 2022): Torres went 6-1 with a 3.50 ERA in 61 2/3 innings with Single-A Fresno (Colorado Rockies). Mark Washington (25th, 2017): At Triple-A Oklahoma City (Los Angeles Dodgers), he was 4-1 with a 3.69 ERA in 46 1/3 innings (30 games). Former baseball standouts Lee Butz ’55 and Mitch Smith ’79, lacrosse great Lauren Dykstra ’11, former football coaches Kevin Higgins and the late Andy Coen, and NBA star CJ McCollum ’13 have been inducted into Lehigh’s Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2023. Judy Turner Baxter, a leader in the emergence of women’s athletics at Lehigh, was initially scheduled to be inducted but was unable to attend. The former coach and administrator will be part of the May 2024 ceremony. Butz, a top pitcher for the men’s baseball team, holds a program single-season record with a 1.16 ERA in the 1954 season. He earned five victories for Lehigh that year. Smith is the most statistically accomplished pitcher in Lehigh baseball history. He led Lehigh in innings pitched and complete wins during his four years. He is second in wins and strikeouts. Dykstra, an all-time leader in goals and points, earned multiple Patriot League awards during her lacrosse career. In 2008, she was recognized as the Patriot League’s Rookie of the Year. Higgins led Lehigh football’s resurgence in the ’90s. Under his leadership, Lehigh secured multiple Patriot League titles and made three consecutive Division I-AA playoff appearances from 1998 to 2000. He is currently general manager of Wake Forest’s football program. Coen, who died in 2022 after coaching 19 seasons at Lehigh, won a school-record 85 games and five Patriot League championships. He was a two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year. McCollum is the Patriot League’s all-time leading scorer and played a key role in Lehigh’s NCAA tournament victory over Duke University in 2012. In 2013, he became Lehigh’s first-ever NBA draft pick by the Portland Trail Blazers. He currently plays with the New Orleans Pelicans. ATHLETICS Standout Class Inducted to Hall of Fame Inductees include baseball, football, basketball and lacrosse greats. From left, Lee Butz ’55, Laura Coen (Andy Coen’s widow), Lauren Dykstra ’11, Kevin Higgins, CJ McCollum ’13 and Mitch Smith ’79. DYLAN BUELL/GETTY IMAGES / BRENT HUGO
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