Kyle L. Walter (2021) - Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame

Kyle L. Walter

Induction:
2021
Class:
2006

Kyle Walter was recruited by Hall-of-Fame baseball coach Gene Depew from just down the road in Mifflinburg, and Walter put together a terrific four-year career for the Bison. He became the first player in Bucknell history and just the second in Patriot League history to earn four All-Patriot League citations.

Walter was just the third player in team history ever to amass over 200 career hits (210), a total that ranked second on Bucknell’s all-time list at the time of his graduation, only seven behind fellow Hall-of-Famer Tyler Prout. Walter also broke the school record for career doubles (45), and his career batting average of .337 ranked seventh all-time at graduation. Walter enjoyed a huge senior year, hitting .335 with a team-best 37 RBIs, 33 runs scored and 17 doubles.

Walter made an immediate impact at Bucknell, hitting .308 with 30 runs scored and 24 RBIs as a freshman in 2003, helping the Bison to a Patriot League championship and a trip to the NCAA Regionals in Austin, Texas. He earned Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America honors that season.

Walter played center field all four years as a Bison, and as a senior he was also thrust into action as a left-handed pitcher. In 10 innings of work he struck out 13 batters, and later that summer he was drafted as a pitcher in the 18th round of the MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. Walter played three years of minor league baseball, and he was later named to the Patriot League 25th Anniversary Team.