Feb 02, 2025

Great Bend's Wetzel inducted into Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame

Posted Feb 02, 2025 6:30 PM
Randy Wetzel
Randy Wetzel

Great Bend Post Sports

Administrator. School board member. Umpire. Now, Great Bend's Randy Wetzel can add another title: Kansas Baseball Hall of Famer. This weekend, Wetzel was inducted into the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame for his 35 years of work as an NCAA Div. I baseball umpire.

Wetzel umpired Missouri Valley Conference and Big 12 baseball. He officiated basketball in the KCAC and Jayhawk Conferences and football in the MIAA, RMAC, KCAC and Jayhawk Conferences.

Wetzel umpired the 2011 College World Series, during which he met former President George W. Bush, who threw the ceremonial first pitch.

Wetzel attended Great Bend High School, Barton Community College and received degrees from St. Mary of the Plains College and Kansas State University.  Upon graduation, Wetzel coached basketball at Ell-Saline High School in Brookville, winning a state championship in his three years.  He then spent three years at Russell High School, followed by three years as an assistant coach for the Seward County Community College men’s basketball team. Wetzel then served as an assistant for the University of Texas-Pan American (now University of Texas Rio Grande Valley).

When he returned to Great Bend is when he got into officiating.  Wetzel worked more than 120 Big 8/Big 12 tournament games before retiring in 2014.  In 2018, he was elected to the Kansas Collegiate Officials Hall of Fame.  He retired from education in 2021.