SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Graduated pitcher of Santa Clara University baseball team. call kitchenwas one of two University of California student-athletes announced this month as February 2024 CalHOPE Courage Award recipients.
The award, to be presented monthly starting in February 2022, recognizes student-athletes from California colleges and universities who have overcome stress, anxiety and emotional trauma associated with personal hardship or adversity. In addition to being recognized by CalHOPE, $1,000 will be donated in each of her names to support the school's on-campus mental health services.
Cole will receive a CalHOPE from Dave Stewart, former Oakland Athletics pitcher and member of the Governor's Advisory Committee on Physical Fitness and Mental Health, during a pregame ceremony before the Broncos' scheduled home game in April. He is scheduled to receive the Courage Award trophy, a decision to be made yet to be determined. at a later date.
Kitchen faced a heartbreaking setback just before the start of the 2023 season. His younger brother Cade was hospitalized after an accidental drug overdose involving fentanyl.
Cole returned home to be with his family, but soon Cade died. Although Cole was devastated, this was not the first time he had experienced death. Five years ago, Cole's friend, Garciaparra Baseball Group (GBG) travel baseball teammate and high school teammate at El Camino Real Charter, Jesse Eshorst (JE), He died in a traffic accident. From that day on, Cole wrote “JE10” on his cap, and GBG embroidered “JE10” on every player's cap in Jesse's honor.
To ease the emotional pain of his brother's death, Cole turned to his family and Santa Clara University's sports psychology services. Other teammates, members of the track team, and friends shared their experiences of losing a brother and helped Cole recover.
“I am fortunate to be surrounded by such a great support network in Santa Clara,” Kitchen said. “Even though time will tell, this tragedy will never leave us. My family has been very vocal in trying to educate others about the circumstances that led to this tragedy. Last December, my father joined the Los Angeles Police Department and gave a presentation at my former police force.''I hope that by sharing our story, we can prevent other families from suffering.'' I am. ”
Despite the emotional turmoil, Cole found solace and purpose on the baseball field.
Focusing on his grief and wearing a pin on his hat in honor of Cade, he emerged as the staff pitching ace, leading the Broncos to their first West Coast Conference Tournament championship and their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 26 years. The senior right-hander started 16 games and led the team with 81.3 innings pitched and was second with 68 strikeouts.
Cole's excellence goes beyond just baseball. He received his WCC All-Academic honorable mention award and last spring he graduated with a 3.5 GPA and a degree in bioengineering. He is currently enrolled in the Engineering Management Master's degree program to complete his final year of baseball eligibility with the Broncos. This season, Kitchen has pitched 20 1/3 innings and has 14 strikeouts, posting a 2-1 record.
Kitchen's fellow February 2024 recipient was Julia Betti, a junior midfielder for the Sonoma State soccer team. Betty also lost her older brother, Jenna, who was hit by a train when Julia was just 11 years old.
About the CalHOPE Courage Award
The monthly CalHOPE Courage Award is presented by College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) in partnership with The Associated Press. CalHOPE, DHCS crisis counseling and support resources. Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Health. This year's recipients include Jennica Davis (soccer, University of California, Irvine); Jenna Loggins (soccer, San Jose State). Nick Trapani (baseball, San Jose State); Elizabeth Fox (water polo, Delta College). Megan Janikowski (football, Cal Poly Humboldt); Jamel Pink (football, Reedley College); Brett Johnson (football, Cal Poly); Gabby Silva (volleyball, California State University Dominguez Hills). Cameron Nelsen (volleyball, Antelope Valley College); Rezaun Harms Jr. (basketball, Pacific).
“CalHOPE is honored to continue to recognize student-athletes across the state who have overcome challenges and achieved peak performance as academics and athletes,” said California Department of Health Services (DHCS) Strategic Partnership. said Autumn Boylan, the bureau's deputy director. , oversees CalHOPE. “CalHOPE's purpose is to build community resilience and help people recover from disasters and public health emergencies through free outreach, crisis counseling, and support services. We hope that by sharing his story of courage, everyone will be inspired.”
At the end of the school year, two student-athletes will be selected as recipients of the CalHOPE Courage Award. Previous winners are: 2023 – Aneesa and Amaya Gray (soccer, California) and Nigel Wilson (basketball, Pasadena City College). and 2022 – Julia Schwader (lacrosse, Occidental College) and Breyon Jackson (basketball, San Francisco State).
Stories about all CalHOPE Courage Award winners can be found at CalHOPECourageAward.org and on social media @CalHOPE_Courage.
Sports information directors at all California universities are encouraged to nominate deserving student-athletes by March 2024 at CalHOPECourageAward.org. Winners are selected by a panel of writers, editors, Associated Press and college sports communicators.
About Calhope
CalHOPE is a multi-level campaign run by DHCS to provide people with important mental health and wellness resources and information to help them find their way through difficult times. CalHOPE uses a public health approach that focuses on strengths-based strategies to provide critical behavioral health crisis counseling programs, build resilience, and connect people to the supports they need. CalHOPE partners with the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Health to promote the CalHOPE Courage Award. CalHOPE resources can be accessed by calling the program's warm line at (833) 317-HOPE (4673), accessing the live chat feature, or visiting www.calhope.org.
College Sports Communicator: College Sports Communicators is a national organization of more than 3,600 members comprised of sports communications, media relations, digital and creative professionals across all levels of college athletics in the United States and Canada. The organization was founded in 1957 and is her second oldest governing body in intercollegiate competition. The organization's signature program is the Academic All-America program, which recognizes thousands of outstanding scholar-athletes each year. For more information, visit collegesportscommunicators.com.
Associated Press (AP): AP is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to every media platform and format. Founded in 1846, AP is the most trusted source of independent news and information. More than half of the world's population watches Associated Press news every day. For more information, please visit www.ap.org.
