Career Awards & Honors:
2x MIAA Hitter of the Week -
2/26/24,
3/25/24
D2CCA 1st-team All-Region SS (2023)
ABCA and NCBWA 2nd-team All-Region SS (2023)
4x All-MIAA selection (1st-team SS in 2023 and 2024, 3rd-team 3B in 2021 and HM 3B in 2022)
2x MIAA Gold Glove at SS (2023, 2024)
3x MIAA Scholar-Athlete (2023, 2022, 2021)
4x MIAA Academic Honor Roll (2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020)
MIAA first year or transfer Academic Excellence Award (2020)
Tied a MSSU Single-Game record scoring 5 runs against Newman (Apr. 10, 2021) in Joplin
2023 - Kusiak appeared in and started in all 62 games the Lions played in at short stop ... Finished the season with a .313 average, 249 at-bats, 63 runs scored, 78 hits, 18 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, 58 RBIs, 29 walks, 13 HBPs, two sacrifice flys, two sacrifice hits, five stolen bases in eight attempts, 69 putouts, 154 assists and helped turn 30 double plays ... Kusiak finished with a .550 slugging and .410 on-base percentage for a .960 OPS.
2022 - Kusiak appeared and started in 50 games for the Lions mostly at third base but capable of playing across the infield ... Finished the season with a .352 average in 199 at bats, 51 runs scored, 70 hits, 13 doubles, five triples, 10 home runs, 46 RBIs, slugged .618, walked 21 times for a .443 on base percentage while having 26 putouts and 87 assists.
2021 - Kusiak appeared and started in all 43 games for the Lions in the infielder ... Hit .341 with 62 hits, scored 37 runs, 41 runs driven in, 107 total bases with seven doubles a triple and 12 home runs ... Owned a .588 slugging percentage along with a .404 on-base percentage, drew 17 walks and went 5-of-7 in stolen bases ... Defensively posted a .962 fielding percentage with 36 putouts and 91 assists.
2020 - Kusiak appeared in 18 games starting in 17 for the Lions primarily at third base... Hit .306 with 15 hits, 15 runs scored and 11 runs driven in... Had six extra base hits with two home runs to go along with three doubles and a triple... Defensively posted a .952 fielding percentage with 14 putouts and 26 assists...One of 17 Lions to land on the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and earned the Academic Excellence Award with a 4.0 GPA in biology.
Prior to Southern - Kusiak was a two-year letter winner at Grant Community High School where he played for coach Dave Behm ... also a member of the basketball team ... Kusiak was a two-time All-Conference pick in both baseball and basketball ... His senior year he hit .415 with 13 doubls and was an All-Area pick ... Also an All-Area pick in basketball.
Personal - Kusiak is the son of Kevin and Kathy Kusiak ... he is a biology major at Southern.
