Marcel Kulik has become a key piece of Auburn’s pitching rotation, arriving and helping the team whenever his number is called. However, he is still working on sharpening his craft to become the best player he can be.

Kulik’s love of baseball began at age four playing Little League. He would go on to play high school baseball at Iona Preparatory School. As his career at Iona began, he knew he needed to improve as a pitcher. Through a mutual friend, he started training with Velo University.

Kulik attributes much of his growth to his work with VeloU. Training with VeloU was something he had to consider carefully. In 2021, COVID-19 was still a major issue around the world. Everyone, including Kulik, was still prioritizing safety by staying at home and keeping their distance from others. Despite COVID-19 safety measures, Kulik had an eagerness to improve, and through conversations with his father, he knew that in-person training with VeloU was the best course of action.

Since Kulik began training with VeloU, he has seen improvements in his strength, mechanics and health. VeloU started by fixing his base, and once that part of his pitching was fixed, everything else followed. 

When Kulik started with VeloU, he was only throwing 72 mph. A few months after intense work to improve his strength, he was throwing up to 87 mph. Two years later, he was up to 93 mph. Adding strength has given him greater comfort in throwing different types of pitches. “I have a pretty good fastball that has some ride on it, and that meshes well with a curveball,” Kulik said. “With a batter’s eyesight, it can get him mixed up when you go between those two pitches.”

With the improvements he made to his game, Kulik became a heavily recruited prospect out of high school. He eventually committed to Virginia Tech University. Schools such as Duke University and the University of South Carolina recruited him. 

As a freshman, Kulik made 13 appearances and pitched 14 innings. Even with limited opportunities, Kulik attacked each day with a hardworking mentality. “I went in there with a mindset that I really had nothing to lose,” Kulik said.

After a year at Virginia Tech, Kulik wanted a new opportunity, so he entered the transfer portal. He committed to Auburn University for his sophomore season and looked forward to playing in the Southeastern Conference. He was a late addition to Auburn, so he didn’t get much playing time, but the coaches took him in, and he improved from his freshman year to his sophomore year.

Several statistics improved for Kulik. His ERA dropped to 4.85 from 7.07 his freshman year, and he allowed fewer runs.

Kulik appreciates Auburn for constantly working on pitch development and giving him high-pressure situations, which have given him experience in late games.

Throughout his two years in college as a relief pitcher, Kulik has had to adopt the mindset of staying ready so that whenever his number is called, he can come in and be effective. As he returns to Auburn for his junior year, he continues to look for ways to improve his game. “Finding smaller tweaks in my mechanics that I can make,” Kulik said. “It’s really about inches, and it could be the smallest tweak that helps you out.”

Kulik is looking to continue to grow as a pitcher, which played a part in his decision not to play this summer. “I can get some time to really hone my craft and work on what I incorporated this past year,” Kulik said. “The mindset is to train as hard as I can.” 

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