The Colorado Rockies sign former WMU flamethrower Luke Thelen from West Michigan

Luke Thelen received the call of his dreams on Tuesday.

The former Caledonia star and hard-throwing Western Michigan pitcher was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 15th round of the 2024 MLB Draft at number 438 overall – the first Bronco selected in this year’s draft.

Thelen, who graduated from Caledonia in 2020, is the 11th Bronco selected in the MLB Draft during head coach Billy Gernon’s tenure and the 115th all-time selection from WMU.

The flaming right-hander had a breakout junior season as a reliever, posting a 3.53 earned run average (ERA) and 58 strikeouts while limiting hitters to a .233 batting average, all of which helped the Broncos win their second Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship this season and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016.

In fact, Thelen managed to get the final outs and help WMU to a 10-3 MAC championship victory over Ball State in late May.

In 25 appearances, Thelen recorded two saves and also dominated conference opponents, posting a 2.19 ERA and striking out 35 batters in 24.2 innings.

The fireball thrower drastically improved his speed in last year’s offseason, allowing him to reach 100 mph this season.

With this dynamic, Thelen not only rose to prominence as a pitcher, but also caught the attention of MLB teams – and of course, the Rockies.

Over the course of his career with the Broncos, Thelen recorded 118 strikeouts in 95.2 innings, for a career strikeout rate of 11.1 per nine innings. In 2023, he spent the majority of the season as a starter, culminating in his six-inning showpiece against Notre Dame, in which he allowed just one run on five hits while recording a career-high nine strikeouts.

As a junior at Caledonia, Thelen went 6-1 with a 1.25 ERA, striking out 64 batters in 44 innings.