PRODUCTIVE SUMMER: Will Kraemer takes a big swing during his career with the Hun School baseball team. Standout infielder Kraemer has enjoyed a big summer as he gets ready to continue his baseball career at Pepperdine University. Playing for Worcester Bravehearts of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), Kraemer batted .460 with 23 hits and 17 runs in 16 games. This week, Kraemer is taking his game overseas, playing for Great Britain in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-23 Euro Baseball 2025 championships in Trebic, Czech Republic. (Photo by Steven Wojtowicz)
By Bill Alden
Coming off a superb senior season for the Hun School baseball team this spring and looking forward to starting his college career at Pepperdine University, Will Kraemer wasn’t about to take it easy after graduation.
“The biggest thing for me this whole summer was getting as many college at-bats as possible,” said star shortstop Kraemer, who batted .385 in his final campaign for Hun with 27 runs, 25 hits, and 20 RBIs. “The more college at-bats, the more seasoned I can get and hopefully that will be a good outcome for me.”
To that end, Kraemer got the chance to play for Worcester Bravehearts of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL). Making the most of that opportunity, Kramer batted .460 with 23 hits and 17 runs in 16 games. He was selected for the league’s All-Star game and went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs, and a game-record five RBIs in the contest.
This week, Kraemer is taking his game overseas, playing for Great Britain in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-23 Euro Baseball 2025 championships in Trebic, Czech Republic.
For Kraemer, joining Worcester came about through his connection with a baseball confidante.
“My mentor in baseball and role model is Chris Colabello, who played with the Twins and the Blue Jays,” said Kraemer. “I ended up meeting him a couple of years ago. I talk to him once a week to get advice from him. He lives right around Worcester, so he got me connected with that league.”
As a bonus for Kraemer, he was reunited on the Worcester squad with his older brother Jackson, a former Hun standout who is playing for the University of Richmond.
“He was playing with the Vermont Lake Monsters last year and he was going to play for some other team, and it didn’t work out, so he ended up coming and joining me at Worcester,” said Kraemer. “It was really, really cool because at Hun I got called up late my freshman year so I got to play a couple of games with him, but I never got to be on the field with him. Being with him the whole summer was amazing, just picking his brain and seeing how he went about his business. He has been playing college baseball for a couple of years now.”
Playing in the FCBL required the younger Kraemer to pick up his game.
“It was a really big jump,” said Kraemer. “Everyone makes the routine play in the field. The pitchers don’t miss their spots that much. I think the biggest thing is that everyone is physical, physicality is a big thing. I would say from a hitter’s perspective, the velocity is anywhere from 88 mph and guys run it up to 92, 93, and maybe popping 95. It is a really good fastball, a really good secondary pitch, and some guys could land a third pitch.”
Kraemer got off to a really good start with the bat, going 9 for 20 in his first five games.
“My whole life I have been able to hit it the other way — pitchers like to throw the ball away which is right up my alley,” said Kraemer. “I feel like for me it was understanding how pitchers were going to get me out. They would go more sinkers inside, that is when I found a little bit of trouble but also just maintain the approach of hitting the ball the other way. I think the biggest thing was that I had nothing to lose up there. I was going out there and playing free.”
In Kraemer’s view, his Hun career helped lay the foundation for his success at Worcester.
“I would say I am in a good groove; I think the last four years have really just prepared me for this moment,” said the 6’2, 190-pound Kraemer. “I have done all of the work. I have continued to learn. It is being comfortable with being uncomfortable. The guys who have gotten me there like coach Monfiletto (Hun head coach Tom Monfiletto) and Chris Colabello, those guys have really just prepared me for the moment. I give all of the credit to them.”
In addition to putting in the work, Kraemer has learned to better deal with the ups and downs of baseball.
“The biggest areas of progress for me, more than playing-wise, was accepting failure in practice or BP,” said Kraemer. “If I boot a ball, don’t think it is the end of the world. The first month I was up there, I wasn’t playing every day. I would play on a Monday and then I would play on a Thursday. I felt most proud that when I didn’t see live pitching for a couple of days and then I come off the bench and get two hits. I was proud that I could stay hot in a pinch-hitting role and then it eventually opened up to playing every day.”
Getting a stomach bug before the FCBL All-Star game didn’t keep Kraemer from a producing his record-breaking performance.
“I lost like 12 pounds. The game was on a Tuesday and I ended up getting sick Friday night,” recalled Kraemer, who was able to get through a workout hours before the game. “I really didn’t leave my bed until Tuesday morning. We had a draft workout that morning. I was out of shape so I just ended up hitting BP and taking ground balls. I took some medicine, and it was just go out there and give it my best. When I stepped on to the field, it is go time. All of these players are there because they are good. I got the privilege to be selected. It was a blast. Playing the best competition, that is what you want to do when you want to be the best.”
This week, Kraemer is facing international competition as he plays for Great Britain in the U-23 Euro Baseball 2025 championship tournament which runs from August 5-9. Last summer, Kraemer played for Great Britain in the U18 tournament and batted .429 with nine hits in 21 at-bats, four doubles, seven runs, and four RBIs in the tourney to help the team finish fourth in the competition.
“It is going to be a blast, I am the youngest on the team,” said Kraemer, whose mother was born in London, enabling him to get a British passport. “It is going to be a real challenge; it is a lot of minor league guys. The coaches over there have prepared us the last couple of months, whether it is scouting reports or hot zones, cold zones. We have had Zoom meetings every other week for the last month or two. The goal for this U23 team is to get a gold medal. That is it, nothing else. We are all excited.”
Kraemer is excited that he will joined by his brother at the tournament.
“Jackson is on the team too, it will be a lot of fun playing with him again,” added Kraemer. “We will get to room together which will be cool.”
A day after coming back from the Czech Republic, Kraemer will be heading west to Pepperdine looking to get it together on the college level.
“I want to keep my head down and just work every day,” said Kraemer. “The biggest thing for me is accepting failure. Failure leaves clues, success doesn’t. Another big thing for me is picking every coach’s brains there and picking all of the older guys’ brains and hopefully that information can get me on the field. Whatever happens, happens. I am just excited to go out there and compete.”