In 2021, the Norwich Sea Unicorns began a new adventure following the loss of their MLB/MILB affiliated status. Now playing in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, a summer collegiate baseball league with teams throughout New England, the Sea Unicorns set out to make the best of that first season with very little time to prepare.
Over the next five seasons, the Sea Unicorns have seen many ups and downs, including becoming the first team in Futures League history to win three straight championships (2023, 2024, 2025). However, that first season was not quite the success that fans have grown accustomed to lately.
One of the bright spots on that 2021 team was a high school graduate from Memphis, TN, who was on his way to Kansas State University. The Futures League is one of the few summer collegiate leagues in the country to allow risers (high school graduates committed to playing baseball in college) to join the rosters prior to heading to college in the fall.
During that 2021 season, Kaelen Culpepper would appear in 40 games, playing 2nd base, shortstop and 3rd base. Finishing with a .301 batting average, totaling 40 hits, scoring 30 runs and driving in 19, Culpepper would also appear in the 2021 Futures League All Star Game in New Britain that summer.
As he moved on to Kansas State that fall, Culpepper would continue to develop into a potential professional baseball prospect. As a freshman in the spring of 2022, Kaelen played in 51 games and finished with a .283 batting average, collecting 47 hits, 9 doubles, 5 home runs, 27 runs scored and 22 RBI.
That summer, Culpepper would move on to the Appalachian League, batting .299 for Bluefield. Back at Kansas State for his sophomore season in the spring of 2023, Kaelen batted .325 in 40 games for the Wildcats. In the summer of 2023, Culpepper played 17 games for Harwich in the Cape Cod League, further cementing his status as a prospect that Major League teams would be keeping a close eye on leading into the draft following his junior season at Kansas State.
In the spring of 2024, Culpepper really shined for Kansas State, batting .328 over 61 games. Kaelen finished with season totals of 80 hits, 15 doubles, 6 triples, 11 home runs, 50 runs scored and 59 runs batted in. He also stole a career high 17 bases while helping the Wildcats sweep through the Fayetteville Regional, defeating top seed and host University of Arkansas along the way. The dream season would end at the Charlottesville Super Regional, losing to #12 National Seed University of Virginia. Culpepper was named a second team All American following the season.
That would not be the end of the dream year for Culpepper, however. During the first round of the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft, the Minnesota Twins would call Culpepper’s name when it was their turn at pick number 21. With that, the Sea Unicorns had their second ever former player drafted into the professional baseball world (Colten Bender, who spent the first 2 weeks of that 2021 season in Norwich, was drafted that summer by the San Diego Padres organization. Bender is now out of professional baseball).
Culpepper signed his first pro contract that summer and played in 26 games (9 with Fort Myers at the low-A level, 17 with Cedar Rapids at the high-A level). Hitting .242 with 24 hits, 4 doubles, 3 home runs, 17 runs scored and 12 runs batted in, Kaelen was able to get his feet wet in pro baseball to get a feel for what the next several years of his life will be like.
Following spring training in 2025, Culpepper was assigned back to Cedar Rapids to continue his development. Over 54 games, Kaelen hit .293 with 63 total hits, 9 doubles, 2 triples, 9 home runs, 38 runs scored, 34 runs batted in and 15 stolen bases. The Twins had seen enough to promote Culpepper to the next level, double-A, in Wichita, Kansas.
Typically a player who can succeed at the double-A level has a great chance at ultimately playing in the Major Leagues. Culpepper was up to the challenge. Over 59 games with the Wind Surge, Kaelen batted .285 with 68 hits, 7 doubles, 11 home runs, 39 runs scored, 30 runs batted in and 10 stolen bases. Culpepper was also selected to play in the Major League Baseball Futures Game in July. This game has become a showcase for the best prospects in Minor League Baseball, held at the site of the All Star Game festivities each summer. Kaelen was also named the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year.
Rising up the prospect charts, Culpepper enters the 2026 season as the Twins #2 prospect (these rankings can change drastically during the offseason as trades are made). Kaelen is also listed in the Top 100 prospects list, coming in at #52 overall. Though not expected to make the Major League roster this spring, Culpepper will likely spend some time with the Twins big leaguers during Spring Training.
With another great season, or bad injury luck in Minnesota, Culpepper could make his Major League debut later in 2026, or certainly in 2027. When that happens, Kaelen will become the 2nd former Sea Unicorns player to play in a Major League Baseball game (Jayvien Sandridge, who was on the 2021 Sea Unicorns roster before signing a professional baseball contract, made his MLB debut with the New York Yankees in the summer of 2025).