WINTER HAVEN – After serving as a player and an assistant at Polk State College, Casey Kulina is off to coach at college baseball's highest level.
Kulina, 29, was formally announced on Wednesday as a new assistant coach at the University of Delaware, an NCAA Division I program in the Colonial Athletic Association. Kulina will serve as the pitching coach for new head coach Greg Mamula's staff.
"We're excited for him, but he will certainly be missed," said Al Corbeil, Polk State head baseball coach. "We've been incredibly fortunate to have him. He maximized everything he had on the mound, and he brought that same mentality to the coaching staff. Casey did a tremendous job as a recruiter and with our pitching staff."
A 5-foot-9 left-handed pitcher and native of Pennsylvania, Kulina's collegiate career began at Penn State. After appearing in 20 games in 2012, injuries limited Kulina to just seven games in 2013. Kulina sought a change of scenery and found Polk State.
"It was one of the best decisions I ever made," Kulina said. "Coach Corbeil and his staff challenged me every day – not just as a baseball player but in life. It really molded me and prepared me for this opportunity. I reinvented my career at Polk, and it will always hold a special place in my heart."
Kulina's impact for the Eagles was instantaneous. During the 2014 season, Kulina finished one win shy of the program record, finishing 12-1 with a 2.61 earned run average. He was named the FCSAA Pitcher of the Year and an NJCAA All-American as Polk State claimed its third Suncoast Conference championship in four years.
"He was a leader as a player from the moment he got here," Corbeil said. "What made Casey special was that he was such a competitor. He was that same guy as a coach."
Following a stellar season at Polk State, Kulina shined at Jacksonville University. After being redshirted in 2015, Kulina posted a 10-1 record over his final two seasons and a career ERA of 2.81. Kulina went undrafted but his stellar college career and ability to effectively mix a fastball, curveball, slider, and changeup earned him an opportunity to play professionally in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.
Kulina continued to shine in the minor leagues, posting a 3-1 record and 2.37 ERA in the Pioneer and Arizona League in 2017. In the offseason, however, an injury to his pitching arm prompted Kulina to transition from pitching to coaching.
"At 24, I was older than most of the guys I was playing against," he said. "I was looking to get into coaching. Coach Corbeil gave me a call and it happened pretty quick."
The transition, however, had its challenges.
"I came to the realization that I didn't get to pitch myself anymore," he said. "For me, it was about learning to communicate effectively. As a coach, you just guide them the best you can."
From 2019 to 2022, Kulina oversaw the Polk State pitching staff. Over the last two seasons, five different Polk State pitchers have earned All-Suncoast Conference honors.
"Handling a pitching staff, every guy is unique," Kulina said. "You may have eight different pitchers and they each need to do something different to be successful. As a coach, it's important to get to know each of them and develop those relationships to help them maximize their potential."
Kulina will be looking to revive a Delaware staff that ranked seventh out of nine CAA teams in ERA last season. The Blue Hens have reached the NCAA Tournament just once (2017) since 2002.
"I really try to live in the moment," Kulina said. "As coaches, we're always telling our players to work to get better. We should hold ourselves to the same standard. I just want to be the best coach I can be."
Under Corbeil, Polk State Baseball has prided itself on hard work and having a blue-collar mentality. That's a mentality, Kulina said, that will stick with players long after their playing careers are over.
"Baseball is a hard game and you're going to struggle at times," Kulina noted. "I try to tell the players that it's easier to deal with if you're working hard every day and giving it the best you got. We're trying to prepare them for more than just baseball. I want them to be able to handle adversity when they get in the workplace, when they're husbands, when they're fathers."
At Delaware, Kulina will be coaching less than 90 minutes from his hometown of Hummelstown. His time at Polk State, however, won't soon be forgotten.
"I'm really appreciative of everyone at Polk. I've been very fortunate to work with Coach Corbeil and his staff and the guys who came before me and coached me when I was a player," Kulina said. "It definitely shaped the way I coached the guys who came to Polk. Everyone from (Athletics Director Stanley) Cromartie to Bing Tyus, the athletics director when I got there, to (Vice President for Student Services) Reggie Webb to Dr. (Angela Garcia) Falconetti have been so supportive and just fantastic to work with. Polk is a special place. It was bigger than baseball."
