Hall of Fame video
“I knew after seeing him hit four pitches he was something special.” These words were spoken by then Panther head baseball coach Mark Stratton when an unknown high school kid from Iowa took batting practice on his recruiting visit to Drury. Truer words may have never been spoken. All Nick Thimesch did over his four-year Drury baseball career was establish himself as one of the most outstanding players in program history. For his phenomenal career as a Drury student-athlete, and for his marvelous college baseball career, Nick Thimesch is being inducted into the Drury Sports Hall of Fame.
Four years after that recruiting visit, the name Nick Thimesch would be sprinkled throughout the Drury baseball record books. His accomplishments put him among the elite, if not at the top. While Nick epitomized the Drury motto of “excellence in athletics and academics,” he was also a leader on the campus and active in the community. His true character and abilities were recognized in 2014 by the GLVC when he was named the recipient of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Paragon Award. That award is given annually to one male and female student and is based upon academic excellence, athletic ability and achievement, character and leadership. These individuals represent the best student-athletes the GLVC has to offer. Meet Nick Thimesch.
An all-state player, Nick came to Drury from Marshalltown, Iowa, and he hit the Drury diamond running...literally. In his first Drury game, played on February 19, 2011 he was 3-for-5. He scored two runs, had a double and stole a base. By the end of his storied career he became Drury’s first-ever First Team NCAA-II All-American and was a two-time All-American. In 2014 he was the GLVC player of the year and he finished his career Drury’s all-time leader in five categories. Nick is the program’s all-time hit leader with 314, which also ranks 17th all-time in the NCAA-II record books. He graduated with the highest career batting average (.377), most hits (314), runs scored (198), stolen bases (77) and career at bats (832). It was not all about hitting, either. He was one of the best defensive players around. The slick-fielding outfielder was an ABCA Midwest Region Golden Glove recipient.
Nick started 214 of 218 games over his career. He hit .315 as a freshman, .333 as a sophomore and .387 as a junior. His senior season he averaged an unbelieveable .464, the second-best batting average in the nation that year. Over his four years he had 832 plate appearances and struck out only 53 times. His senior year he had 224 plate appearances and struck out just nine times.
Individual accomplishments were not important to Nick. It was team first. Nick made his teammates better by his example and his quiet leadership. For Nick team success was always more important than personal accolades. Over his four-year career, that translated into one conference championship (2014), two NCAA-II national tournament appearances, a four-year conference record of 95-41 and a .699 winning percentage. Overall, the Panthers were 147-71 when uniform #2 was on the field.
Nick Thimesch has been a winner his entire life. While he has the talent, his work ethic has been the underlying reason he has enjoyed so much success. He carried that focus in all that he did in high school, college and as a medical student. For all this, Nick is joined today by his new bride, Cassi, and his parents, brother, friends and fans, as one of Drury’s greatest baseball players is forever enshrined as a member of the Drury Sports Hall of Fame (Class of 2019).
NOTE
Nick is currently doing his residency in Family Medicine in Omaha. This follows his four years of study at the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, Mo. This residency is a three-year program with graduation scheduled for the summer of 2021. He is undecided on a permanent practice location. Nick met his wife, Cassi, while she was in dental school in Kirksville. They were recently married (December 7, 2019) in Cassi’s hometown of Burlington, Wisconsin.
