The Bulldog baseball team received the 2023 Union College Community Service Team of the Year Award, and senior utility player Colton Stegman led the way in every campus or community service project where the baseball team contributed. While maintaining a 4.0 fall GPA and a 3.75 spring GPA, the importance of both campus and community service is clear when looking at Colton’s resume. On campus, Colton volunteered his time through many small but important acts – removing weeds, maintaining rock beds, pressure washing and painting athletic stands, volunteering at every football game (parking, grill, chain crew, ball boy), serving as a timer and lap counter at swim meets, and helping to maintain the softball field.

In the Barbourville, Kentucky community, Colton volunteers with the Boys & Girls Club, the City of Barbourville, and the East Barbourville Baptist Church through Halloween and Easter activities, Christmas backpack drives, youth play times, and golf events.

On the field, Colton was a true utility player for the Union Bulldogs in 2023. He was a staple in the outfield, having played in forty-eight of the team’s fifty games, hit .292 with five home runs and fifteen stolen bases, and filled in at first base when the team’s starter went down for close to ten games. Colton was an integral piece of the team that helped Union win their first conference tournament championship in seventeen years, the first thirty-win season in eight years, and the biggest turnaround in program history.

“Colton is as steady as they come. He just takes care of business on a daily basis in every phase of his life. He is a “first and last” type of young man; the first one to show up and the last one to leave. Academically, he earned both Union College Dean’s List and Presidential Laureates Honors, earning his bachelor’s degree in December, and he is currently working on his MBA. On the field, “Steggy” was a huge part of our championship run last season and is a tremendous leader by example.”

—Chris Lewis, Head Baseball Coach, Union College (KY)