Detmers Carrying On Family Pitching Tree At Millikin

On April 29, Drew Detmers threw seven innings to help lead Millikin to a big conference win on the road at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin. About 30 minutes east, his older brother Reid was facing off against Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers, making his 35th Major League start, in his 3rd professional season.

Both Drew and Reid are products of Chatham Glenwood High School, as is the youngest of the three brothers, Parker, a pitcher committed to Louisville. The Detmers are far from the first players to come out of Glenwood High School. Current Major Leaguers Nick and Phil Maton of the Tigers and Astros, respectively, also played at Glenwood. Perhaps the most famous Major Leaguer from the school is Jayson Werth, a 2008 World Series champion with the Phillies who received MVP votes in 2009, 2010, 2013, and 2014.

Drew Detmers has been an integral part of the Big Blue's success during the 2023 season as a member of the starting rotation. He has posted a 3.03 ERA over 12 starts, ranking within the top three among CCIW pitchers in innings pitched, strikeouts, and wins.

Among the many pitches in the arsenal of the junior right-hander is a big curveball, reminiscent of that of Reid Detmes, who was selected 10th overall in the 2020 MLB Draft.

"It was actually my dad's," states Drew Detmers. My dad played too, and he taught Reid the curveball, and he got the hang of it really quick and I did too, so me and him throw the same one."

The curveball wasn't the only thing Reid picked up pretty quickly, Drew says.
"You kinda always knew there was something different about him. With younger kids there's always some that are better than everybody else, but he was always a lot better. It didn't matter what we were doing, whether it be baseball, basketball, football, wiffle ball… it was pretty cool growing up just having that older brother that was kind of the guy in everything that he did."

Drew Detmers credits his brother three years his senior with providing him an example to follow growing up. "I definitely learned a lot from him growing up, just seeing how he did things, he was definitely a good role model," he said. "Seeing how humble he was... He was kind of a quiet dude so it was pretty easy for him in the first place, but he's very humble- you'd never know he was going to Louisville, if you see him in the summer you'd never know he's in the MLB now, so that was always something I took away is just staying level."

Although pitching has turned into the family trade, Drew hasn't always had his sights set on taking the mound at this level. Growing up, he found himself more often at shortstop.

"Actually growing up I was always an infielder. I played shortstop because I was a smaller kid and didn't really grow until I was in about 8th grade. I always wanted to be a shortstop and a hitter. David Eckstein was one of my first favorite players, even though I'm a Cubs fan," he said. "As I started maturing physically, I wasn't as nimble at shortstop and got moved to third base. And then as my velocity started to pick up on the mound I decided that was probably the route I was gonna go"

As Drew got older, he started to attract the attention of college coaches, including right here at Millikin. The combination of school, location, and baseball made Millikin the right fit.

"The main reason was it wasn't crazily far from home, which was something I wanted, but it's far enough where I didn't feel like I was still at my parents' house, adds Drew. "Obviously I knew Coach Townsend and I knew a lot of people over here that were connected to the Millikin program, so it made it more comfortable for me."

On what he's enjoyed the most about his time here, Detmers cites the ascending trajectory of the program as a major part of it.

"Obviously I think baseball… the winning program that I'm a part of now is the best part. Just coming in and obviously we won the conference tournament my freshman year, and I wasn't a huge part of that team but it was still fun either way, just seeing and hearing stories about what guys had gone through to start their career, and how bad they were, but now they had turned it into a winning program."

Detmers threw 18 innings over 10 appearances as a freshman for the 2021 team, with 3 starts. That number rose to 7 in 2022, when his 17 appearances ranked second only behind Aaron Agee, who set the Millikin single-season record with 24. In 2023, Detmers has taken another leap forward as a front-line starter for Millikin, anchoring the rotation alongside fellow junior Matt Wilson.

Drew credits the continued development to the increased comfortability as the years have gone on. "I think I've grown the most with being comfortable with who I am, not trying to do too much. I think when I was younger, freshman year, I put a lot of pressure on myself to be someone who I wasn't at that time, so I think being in the program, developing, changing my mechanics a couple times, getting stronger, have all led me to feel more confident on the mound also… just being who I am out there, having passion for what I'm doing."

Detmers won the CCIW's Pitcher of the Week award on February 27th, and has tallied 6 wins thus far through 2023. He was Millikin's recipient of the CCIW's RESPECT Award in 2022, and was also an Academic All-Conference selection.

Detmers and the Big Blue will finish up their regular season this weekend with 3 games at home at the Workman Family Baseball Field, hosting Illinois Wesleyan on Friday, May 5th at 3 p.m., and North Park on Saturday, May 6th for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Aaron Agee: INF/P; 5' 10"; Senior; R/R

#24 Drew Detmers: RHP; 6' 2"; Junior; R/R

#39 Matt Wilson: RHP; 6' 1"; Junior; R/R

Players Mentioned

#3 Aaron Agee
: 5' 10"; Senior; R/R
: INF/P

#24 Drew Detmers
: 6' 2"; Junior; R/R
: RHP

#39 Matt Wilson
: 6' 1"; Junior; R/R
: RHP

Players Mentioned

#3 Aaron Agee

#24 Drew Detmers

#39 Matt Wilson

Players Mentioned

#3 Aaron Agee

#24 Drew Detmers

#39 Matt Wilson