Many kids play little league baseball as kids, having the dream of going to the next level, in hopes of one day going to the major leagues. For most kids, this is just a pipe dream to keep young players motivated, but for Michael Schulke (‘24), a starting left handed pitcher on the Varsity baseball team at Cherry Hill East, that dream has become a reality. Schulke, a senior at East, has committed to the University of Delaware to play Division 1 baseball for the Blue Hens.

Located in Newark, Delaware, the university competes in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), facing rivals Towson University and College of Charleston in their conference. So far this season, the Blue Hens are sixth in the CAA standings with a record of 17-14. Schulke hopes to help this already successful team upon his arrival next season.

“I will probably start off as a reliever to start the season, but whatever I can do to help the team I will take advantage of”, said Schulke.

Schulke, who has been working hard with a goal of playing in college, is happy with the outcome, already excited to play for the Blue Hens.

“While I always had the goal to play Division 1 baseball,” said Schulke, “it didn’t hit me until sophomore year that my dream was actually a possibility.”

The recruiting process for Division 1 sports, especially baseball, is very rigorous, as coaches and scouts want to make sure that the players that they are getting for their team will have an ability to translate their success in high school to the next level.

“A lot of scouts started to come to our high school games during my junior year, wanting to see me pitch whenever they could”, said Schulke.

After his junior year, Schulke went to a baseball camp with the Delaware coaches, which allowed them to see his full potential. While the coaches continued to look at his stats, it began to look like the University of Delaware would be a great fit for both the team and Schulke.

“Besides that it was my only Division 1 [school], I really like the school, so this was a win-win for me as I get to go to a great school and play college baseball,” said Schulke

While Schulke felt that he earned this achievement through hard work, he accredited much of what he accomplished was led by support from his family and his coaches.

“My parents, Coach Speller, and all of the assistant coaches who have worked with me have always pushed me to do the best that I could to get to this point”, said Schulke.

Schulke is currently pitching for East to lead them to a conference title and a possible berth in the state playoffs. The team is currently 2-1 in the new season, with Schulke starting the season off strong, recording a win in East’s 10-2 victory over Collingswood in the Camden County Tournament, giving up two runs on six hits in five innings of work, recording five strikeouts in the process.