Luther athletics has just seen another speed record broken and it’s not in track or cross country. It comes from Cullen Stamp (‘24), a fifth-year Luther Baseball player from Plymouth, Minnesota, who passed Jake Vogt (‘19) for the all-time stolen base record. The previous record was 58 stolen bases, and Stamp now has 63. He has also scored 150 times in his long career and is now four runs away from tying Chris Reynolds (‘12) for that record.
Cullen Stamp plays center field and is typically a leadoff hitter. He has started in all of Luther’s 33 games this season. He previously received American Rivers Conference (ARC) All-Conference Second Team honors in 2023, and ARC All-Conference Honorable Mention honors in 2022.
Responses have been edited for clarity and length.
Q: You’re a fifth-year senior, what’s it been like coming back for another year? What’s the school situation been? And just how does it feel to come back and take that fifth year?
Cullen Stamp: I honestly am really happy I decided to do it, it’s been a blast. I wasn’t here for the fall. I got here like late November, so it was a little bit of a transition period, getting to know all the freshmen, doing all that stuff again and getting acclimated to baseball. But once that all got sorted out, I’ve been enjoying my time here. And then class wise I just have my senior project, so it’s super easy.
Q: This year you’re batting .298 and then of course, you’ve stolen 22 bases this year. What has it been like breaking the stolen base record at Luther College? How does it feel to accomplish that and be a leader on this team in a lot of categories?
A: Yeah, it feels good. I didn’t even realize I was close to breaking it. [Before the] game that it happened [in], we were at practice that week and one of my coaches told me I needed one more stolen base to break the record. I didn’t even really realize it at first, but it felt really good to break the record. But it felt even better just to help the team win games this year.
Q: Where does that confidence in your stolen base ability and your baserunning come from?
A: I mean, we work really hard, especially in the speed department and through lifting and all that. it just comes with time and practice. But I mean we do it all the time, base stealing is a big part of our program and on this team, so it’s just kind of come naturally, and I’ve got the confidence.
Q: Have you been stealing bases and playing fast for your entire career?
A: Yeah, I’d say so. I didn’t steal a ton in high school. It’s because it’s more than speed. You need to get a good jump, you need to time the pitchers [and] you need to pick up pitcher tendencies. Picking up on that kind of stuff has come with time. I’ve really improved on that in college.
Q: You have also gotten on base this year. Your on-base percentage is .384, and you’re batting .298. You’ve been pretty productive at the plate. As one of the fifth-years on this team, where do you see this team going and what’s kind of the feeling as you guys head into this final stretch?
A: I’m confident that our team is capable of doing great things [and] winning any game. It’s just about keeping that focus. This last stretch of the season for us is going to be huge. We control our own destiny with the seeding for the conference tournament. So I’m confident that we’re gonna push through this last bit of the season and end up right where we want to be.
Q: [At time of writing] the Norse are currently third in the [ARC standings]. [The ARC Conference Tournament] is coming up. As you head into this final stretch with your fifth Luther baseball team, how do you feel about this team in comparison to some of your previous teams?
A: Every team is different. When one group of seniors leaves, the next one takes over, so it’s been really awesome to see all the seniors that I’ve grown up with and played with come into form as leaders. I’ve loved every team I’ve been on here at Luther.
Q: What are your goals for the rest of the season, individually and as a team?
I guess individually is to just play as hard as I can. I believe in just leaving it all out there, and the best things will happen. Just doing whatever I can to help my team win. I’m confident that we’re going to finish where we want to be and go pretty far.
