Luebcke and McKenna Sign Professional Contracts to Play for Tucson Saguaros

TUCSON, Ariz. — After storied careers with the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) baseball team, Brian Luebcke '16 (Astoria, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) and Thomas McKenna '15 (Bellerose, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) have signed contracts to play for the Tucson Saguaros in the Pecos League, an independent professional baseball league based in the southwestern United States.

The duo are the first known SJC baseball student-athletes to continue playing professionally. The Saguaros are the newest expansion club in the Pecos League, beginning its sixth season of operation with 10 teams spread across Arizona, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado.

"I am so proud of both of them. Their hard work over their four years has paid off," remarked Bears head coach Jerry Sidman. "These are the two finest young men I have and will ever coach in my career. I consider them my other two sons. Words cannot explain my happiness for them."

Luebcke enters the pro ranks fresh off a senior campaign that saw him collect Skyline Conference Player of the Year honors, leading the Bears to third place in their first season in the league. Named to the Skyline All-Conference First Team as both a pitcher and utility player, Luebcke started in all 42 games this season and rewrote numerous single-season Bears records finishing with a team-leading .389 batting average with a Skyline-best 47 RBI and seven home runs. On the mound, he worked a league-high 76.0 innings and compiled a 7-2 record, matching the league-lead in victories. The right-handed hurler ended his career as SJC's all-time leader in winning percentage (14-5) and lowest ERA (3.06).

The 2015 Association of Division III Independents Player of the Year and a two-time United States Collegiate Athletic Association All-American, McKenna still holds multiple Bears career hitting records in batting average (.377), on-base percentage (.451), hits (210), runs (161), triples (12), stolen bases (64), total bases (303), games played (151) and games started (150). He also holds the program record assembling a 25-game hitting streak his senior campaign and led the Bears to three USCAA Small College World Series appearances, capturing fourth in 2015.

Luebcke and McKenna are slated to play a packed 72-game schedule with the Saguaros, who open their inaugural season tonight against the Santa Fe Fuego at 7 p.m. (PDT). More information on the team and the Pecos League can be found at www.saguarosbaseball.com and www.pecosleague.com.