Brad Barkema

Former BCLUW all-state catcher Brad Barkema has signed to continue his baseball and academic careers at Saint Peter’s University, an NCAA Division I program in Jersey Park, N.J.

Barkema, a Conrad native, played in 43 games over two seasons at Rochester Community and Technical College in Rochester, Minn., accumulating a .346 career batting average for the Yellowjackets.

As a freshman, Barkema was named to the Minnesota College Athletic Conference’s All-Southern Division honorable mention team as voted by the league’s coaches. He led RCTC with a .357 batting average, going 30-for-84 with three doubles, one home run and 20 RBIs. He had a .450 on-base percentage and committed just one error defensively as a catcher and an outfielder.

The Yellowjackets advanced to the NJCAA Region XIII Tournament championship game before falling one win shy of nationals with a loss to St. Cloud Technical and Community College.

Barkema’s sophomore season in Rochester was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, but he was batting .300 with two doubles, one triple, one home run and seven RBIs before the Yellowjackets’ season ended on March 13. He threw out three potential base-stealers from behind the plate as well.

Barkema joins a Saint Peter’s program that went 1-15 before the pandemic canceled the spring season. The Peacocks compete as members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in their first season under head coach Lou Proietti.

Barkema was a two-time all-state selection in his BCLUW High School career. After earning second-team infielder honors in 2017, he was named to the inaugural Iowa Print Sports Writers Association Class 1A first team following the summer season of 2018. In his last campaign as a Comet, Barkema batted .412 with 29 runs scored, 11 doubles, a triple and 20 RBIs as BCLUW won a share of the NICL West Division title and he split the conference’s Most Outstanding Player honor.