Baseball Fans Dedicate New Wildcat Park

Members of the USM community gathered together on Thursday, Oct. 28 for the Wildcat Park dedication ceremony. The new facility, which includes a flexible, all-turf baseball field, will be used by all members of the school community and, during their season specifically, our baseball student athletes. Many generous supporters played a role in making this new facility a reality, and they were celebrated and honored at the ceremony.

“We've been working hard this year at USM to make sure that everyone feels like they belong,” said Head of School Steve Hancock. “So creating a spot here on campus, with a prime central location where we can all belong together and celebrate the victories of our baseball team, is really exciting.”

The unique facility enhances USM’s athletics program with a repositioned synthetic turf baseball field, a large outfield that will serve as an additional multi-purpose field, two new dugouts, new stadium-style seats, a new raised press box, and an updated Joe Lubar ’08 Training Facility. Construction on Wildcat Park began in June, and was largely completed in just four months.   

“Student athletic opportunities and experiences are core to USM’s mission and value proposition,” said Steve Guy, president of USM’s Board of Trustees. “We want our students to participate, to try new sports, and to compete at the highest levels. This facility will attract more interest and more participation, which will enhance the quality of our baseball program and other sports.”

Craig Kasten, USM parent and major supporter, was also on hand to help with the celebrations and thank the many people who made Wildcat Park a reality. “Many people were involved, and everyone should be proud of the work they did, but I’d like to give a shout out to Mike ’85 and Kelly Grebe, who couldn’t be here today,” he said. “Kelly is the most valuable player of our team.”

“If I had a glass to toast with today, I would toast the memories that are going to be made on this field and everything that went into this project,” continued Kasten. “Let's toast to our success and enjoy this memory for the rest of our lives.”

Many thanks to those who contributed to the project:

Jeff and Karrie Adix
Heidi and Greg Borca
Mr. Robert L. Burch III MUS’52
The Michael M. ’85 Grebe Family
Mr. Michael W. Grebe and Ms. Patty Perry Grebe
Mr. and Mrs. Scott C. Idleman
Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Kaltenbach
Mr. and Mrs. Craig R. Kasten
Madeleine and David Lubar
Jennifer and Bret Reese
Jen and Todd Schoon
Julie and Bill Sellars
Skygen USA
The Werner Family
Werner Family Foundation