"The passion I have for the game will never go away until the day I die, maybe not even then, and I will always be around it in some form."

His numbers may not jump off the page, but when those words come out of Evan Kohli's mouth, they take on a different meaning.

The Hutchinson, Minnesota, native spurned numerous offers to play at NCAA Division II and III schools, as he had eyes on playing at the Division I level. Kohli saw Madison College as the perfect means to that end.

"Coach (Mike) Davenport had a big influence on me after meeting him at a Chicago White Sox Camp hosted at Robin Roberts Field," recalled the 13-time letter winner and three-sport captain at Hutchinson High. "He was very honest throughout the entire recruiting process, had previous success with student-athletes, and had an unbelievable wealth of knowledge for the game of baseball."

In 2008 he helped Madison College to a 42-15 record, earning third-team All-America honors from the NJCAA.

At the plate, Kohli hit .375, scored 39 runs and drove in another 29. His 15 doubles were second on the team and are still tied for 13^th all-time for a single season. On the hill, he started more games (10) than anyone in the rotation, posting a 3.46 ERA and a 5-3 record with one save.

"Being named an All-American in the sport I love is still the best individual honor that I have received to this day in my life," boasts Kohli. "It was a confirmation of the amount of work that I had put into the game both on and off the field."
In his two seasons at Madison College, Kohli helped extend a string of Wisconsin Technical College Conference championships to 18 straight and contributed mightily to back-to-back NJCAA Region XIII titles. However, despite compiling an 81-33 overall record, the WolfPack never made it past the NJCAA Northwest District Tournament.

From Madison, the game of baseball and Kohli's passion for it took him around the world.

He accepted a scholarship to play at NCAA Division I Illinois State University, where he set the school wins record and helped the Redbirds to a Missouri Valley Conference title, earning all-tournament honors in the process.

Upon graduation, he took his game to baseball's independent leagues, first playing for the now-defunct Lake County Fielders (Zion, Illinois) of the North American League before moving on to the Santa Fe Fuego (Santa Fe, New Mexico) in the Pecos League.

Kohli was an all-star with the Fuego, finishing in the top three in all of the major offensive categories. It was good enough to draw interest from Brisbane Bandits of the Australian Baseball League. He would hone his skills for seven months in the land down under.

"The competition was actually very good for the two leagues that I played in, and I was pretty amazed at their playing level," says Kohli, who also spent many 85-degree days at the beach or working part-time in a chocolate shop, as baseball was "only played on Friday and Sunday with two practices during the week."

Set to return stateside to play for the Rockford Aviators of the Independent Frontier League in 2012, Kohli received news that changed the course of his life.

"A few days before the season started I was released (from my contract). From here I contacted all of the professionals that I knew."

Hearing nothing in return, Kohli hung up his cleats.

"Calling it quits was bittersweet to be honest. I looked back at where I had been since Madison College and was able to come to terms in the fact that I had a great career and put forth my full effort every step of the way."

Evan Kohli moved back to Madison where he is now a Senior Account Manager at InfoSec Institute, putting to good use his Economics degree from Illinois State University.

Though done playing for money, Kohli is still very active on the diamond, suiting up for the DeForest Deacons of the Home Talent League and playing alongside other former members of the WolfPack like Mac Wichman, Kendall and Kyle Frank, and Matt Kabele.

Kohli follows closely the results of Madison College baseball, hoping all involved seize as much from their opportunity as he did.