BATTLE CREEK, MI: A new team has a new manager. During the Team Name Reveal Event held on Wednesday, January 26th, the newly named Battle Creek Battle Jacks announced they have a new field manager for the inaugural 2022 campaign.

Caleb Lang, currently the Hitting Coach at Concordia, University in Seward, Nebraska, will be the man charged with leading the Battle Jacks in their first season. Lang is currently in his second year at Concordia, and his first season could only be described as a smashing success. The team broke the school record for wins in a season while reaching the NAIA World Series for the first time in school history. Offensively, the Bulldogs broke the single season records for home runs, runs scored, and hits while four Bulldog hitters were named First Team All-Conference.

Prior to joining the Concordia coaching staff, Lang served as Assistant Baseball Coach at NCAA Division III Flagler College, in St. Augustine, FL. A native of Batavia, New York, Lang spent two years as a graduate assistant at Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Massachusetts where he was also the hitting coach. Additionally, Caleb has experience coaching in the Northwoods League with the Traverse City Pit Spitters in 2019 and was previously the Field Manager of the Niagara Power Baseball Team as part of the New York Collegiate Baseball League from 2017-2018.

Lang played college baseball at NCAA Division III Carin Univesity in Langehorne, PA. He earned numerous honors while being named a two-time NCAA D-III All American, the NYCBL Player of the Year, and a three time first team NCCAA All-American. He was also recognized with the Hank Burbridge Unlimited Potential Award.

In spreading his love for the game of baseball, Lang has spent time as a Miracle League volunteer, which entailed playing baseball with adults and children with physical and mental disabilities. Lang also lived in the Dominican Republic for eight weeks, teaching baseball and providing meals to those in need. Caleb is the son of Kimberly and Michael Lang and has five siblings: Ciara, Hannah, Abraham, Elizabeht, and Levi. Lang  enjoys spending his time hunting in the woods, working out at the gym, and exploring new places while travelling with his wife, Rebekah.

The Battle Jacks also announced that two Michigan State Spartans would be among those taking the field for the team this summer. Dillon Kark, an infielder, and Adam Beghorst, a pitcher, were in attendance for the Team Name Reveal and were able to get a first hand look at how passionate fans are about their baseball in the Cereal City.

Kark was ranked as the number one overall shortstop and the number 4 overall high school player in the state of Michigan in 2019. Through the COVID-19 shortened 2020 and the full 2021 seasons, Kark has appeared in 35 games for the Spartans. A Native of Orchard Lake, Michigan, Dillon chose MSU over offers from Michigan, Penn State, and Wake Forest among others. 

Beghorst has the unique distinction of being the first Michigan State athlete to play on both the football and baseball teams in the same year since 1990. A native of Zeeland, Michigan, where he starred in both baseball and football, Adam was selected in the 14th round of the 2019 MLB Draft but chose to forgo professional baseball to attend MSU. He has appeared in 19 games over his first two seasons with the Spartans, tossing a total of 42.1 innings.

The Battle Jacks will kick off their inaugural season on Monday, May 30th at 6:35pm against the defending Northwoods League Champion Traverse City Pit Spitters. The full 2022 baseball schedule can be found at BattleJacksBaseball.com

The Battle Creek Battle Jacks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 27th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, over 250 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.battlejacksbaseball.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set Battle Creek as your favorite team