ORANGE, Calif. – Four former Chapman pitchers were selected to the D3baseball.com 50th Anniversary Team. Three of those pitchers are already in Chapman's Hall of Fame and the fourth will join them this fall.
Brian Rauh led the star-studded selections as one of the five starting pitchers on the First Team. Fellow Hall of Famer Devin Drag was selected as a Second Team starting pitcher. Kurt Yacko, another Hall of Famer, was selected as the Third Team reliever. Finally, Wayde Kitchens was slotted in as a Third Team starting pitcher. Kitchens will join the other three selections in Chapman's Hall of Fame as a member of the upcoming Class of 2026.
Rauh's 30-1 record, 1.78 ERA and 355 strikeouts over three years placed him amongst the best to ever take the mound in Division III baseball. He had previously been recognized on the D3baseball.com All-Decade team for the 2010s. Drag's Second Team selection comes after a dominant career that was also remembered on an All-Decade Team for the 2000s. His career spanned four seasons from 2004-07 with a 30-2 record, a 1.79 ERA and 240 strikeouts.
With one reliever on each team, Yacko's Third Team selection established him as a top-5 reliever in the last 50 years of Division III baseball. When he was drafted after his junior season, he left with 26 saves, a 12-1 record, a 1.22 ERA and 180 strikeouts in just 154.2 innings. Kitchens' dominant career finished with a 27-4 and a 1.93 ERA. He also struck out 270 over 284 innings from 2006-09. Both were also mentioned in the 2000s All-Decade Team.
With four teams honored on the "Golden Team," 68 former Division III baseball players earned a selection. To select members of the team, All-American, Gold Gloves and Players of the Year awards won in 2026 and before were considered, along with those players who were drafted. Point totals were applied and a cut line was determined so that there was approximately three candidates for each of the positions on the four teams that were compiled. Voting among media members determined which players were added to the Golden D3baseball.com Team.
