Augustana University Athletics

Tom Kessinger is among the top hitters in Augustana and South Dakota amateur baseball history.

During his senior season as a Viking, he recorded 27 hits, a school record. With that effort, he set the school career record for hits with 95, a record that stood for fourteen seasons. Tom twice led the team in batting, with a .324 average in 1972 and a mark of .317 in 1973. In 1974 as a senior, he tied a school record when he stroked two doubles in a game. At one point, he shared third place in the NCC in career triples with five. Tom was an All-NCC player in both 1972 and 1973, and was included in the Outstanding College Athletes of America in 1973 and 1974.

In 1971 he was the leading hitter in the South Dakota State Amateur tournament, posting a .667 batting average with the Renner Monarchs. He had five hits in one game during that tournament and reached base a record 14 consecutive times. He continues to play on Renner's (Dare we say?) 35-and-over team. Tom played for his dad, Ken, throughout his Augie career; even he
could not find an action picture of Tom. Tom says his dad was "...the best coach I ever had." He also wrote that the doubleheader sweep of UNI in 1973 and beating SDSU in the last game of 1974 were particularly memorable; both teams were ousted from title contention by the Vikings.

With majors in biology and mathematics, he was included in Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, and graduated cum laude in 1974. Tom attended the Southern California College of Optometry from 1978-1982.