Brandon Caipen was one of the most versatile position players and maybe most consistent in the history of the YSU baseball program.
After four strong seasons he became the 15th YSU baseball player to be selected in the Major League Baseball Draft. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 28th round as the 849th overall selection in June 2006.
Caipen was a two-time first-team All-Horizon League selection as a utility player and became the first YSU player to earn First-Team All-Horizon League honors twice in a career. As a senior, he earned accolades for having strong academics receiving Second-Team CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors.
He finished his career with a .314 batting average, 247 hits, 785 at bats, 338 total bases, 139 runs scored, 122 RBI, 45 doubles, 37 sacrifice bunts, 12 sacrifice flies, 10 home runs and eight triples in 213 games played. Caipen was in the starting lineup for 207 contests.
As a senior in 2006, he was named First-Team All-Horizon League as a utility player. Caipen posted career-best numbers in batting average (.332), total bases (111), hits (76), home runs (5), RBIs (45) and runs scored (47). His 76 hits were tops on the squad and the fourth most in school history.
He started 33 games at catcher and 22 in the outfield and posted 23 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI games. He hit .345 in Horizon League contests, and led YSU in league games in RBIs (31) and runs scored (24). He drove in a career-high six runs in a 5-for-6 performance at Milwaukee (4/16). He again posted five hits against the Panthers on May 14 to become the first player in YSU history to have two five-hit games in a career.
In 2005, he was also named First-Team All-Horizon League as a utility player. He made 30 starts at catcher and 20 in right field. He had a .301 batting average with 53 hits in 176 at bats. Caipen scored 28 runs with 20 RBI, six doubles, two triples and 63 total bases. He had a .370 batting average in league games.
Caipen had an 11-game hitting streak from March 26 to April 10 over which he hit .462 with 10 runs scored.
As a sophomore in 2004, he appeared in 51 games and started 49. He was second on the team in hitting with an average of .299 with 56 hits in 187 at bats. He had 29 runs scored, two homers and 24 RBI while recording 18 multiple-hit games and seven multiple-RBI games.
He had one of the biggest at bats of the season when he hit a key two-run single up the middle in the top of the ninth inning against Butler in the first round of the Horizon League Championship that tied the score at three. YSU went on to win the game 4-3 and rode that momentum to win the tournament and earn the first NCAA Division I Regional appearance in program history.
Caipen relished the big stage by going 5-for-8 with two runs scored and two RBIs in the NCAA Tournament in games against Texas and TCU. He had three hits against the Horned Frogs.
As a freshman in 2003, he was named to the All-Horizon League Newcomer Team by posting a .321 average in 53 games for the Penguins. He had 62 hits in 193 at bats with 12 doubles, four triples, three homers, 35 runs scored, 33 RBI, a .472 slugging percentage and 10 sacrifice bunts. He was consistent all season as his average did not drop below .306 after his second game. He had 17 multiple hit games on the season, starting 39 games in right field, six in left and six behind the plate. He had a three-run homer and a three-run double for a career-high six RBI at Toledo (5/14).
A graduate of Tallmadge High School, he was named to the All-Ohio Muzino All Star team, All-Akron Beacon Journal team and All-Plain Dealer team. He also was named All-Northwestern Ohio and All-Suburban League. He set the Tallmadge home run and RBI record leading the program to three straight appearances in the state championship game, including a title in 2002.
He earned his degree from YSU in Integrated Social Studies Education and is working towards his masters in Instructional Technology at the University of Akron.
He is a seventh and eighth grade history teacher in the Kent City School District.
Brandon, and his wife, Kristen, reside in Tallmadge. They have a son, William, and are expecting their second child in October.
