THE JHU BOMB SQUAD

The JHU Bomb Squad is organized each year by The Kutcher Foundation and its Hopkins alumni board members to enter a team in the annual Home Runs for the Homeless competition. It's a fun event in which over the years, several Hopkins baseball players have showcased their hitting talents. However, our mission extends beyond the competition itself. By raising funds for Blue Jays Unlimited, we contribute to the support of athletics at Johns Hopkins, and specifically the baseball program. Additionally, we raise funds for the competition's entrance fee, which benefits Harford Family House, who works to end homelessness for children in Harford County, MD.

Throughout our history, we have had a few name changes. We have since re-named the team JHU Bomb Squad, in recognition of the popular hashtag used by fans of the Hopkins Baseball program to tag long-ball videos. Year after year, we have consistently ranked among the top three teams in the Home Runs for the Homeless competition, solidifying our status as one of the top competitors in this annual 12-hour derby.

Together, let's all help get a team in the batter's box for this event - hitting some dingers for a greater cause and making a difference that resonates beyond the confines of the baseball field.

The 2024 event will be taking place on July 23rd at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium. We are once again putting  together a team of current and past Hopkins sluggers.  We will update the information for this year's team and event as we get closer, but the same form can be used to help us carry on this fun and worthwhile program. 

Follow along on derby day!

JHU Alumn Tim Kutcher ('19) has provided a real-time iPad app to the derby organizers that feeds a Leaderboard that will be updated during the day on the Home Runs for the Homeless site.  Click to access the Event Center.

While The JHU Bomb Squad is up to bat, Harrison Swartz (former Hopkins Baseball play by play announcer) will go "Facebook Live" so that you can watch the guys in real time!  

The live feed link will not appear until Tuesday, July 25th at around 10:00 AM ET (when the team takes to the field), at which time it will remain on the facebook feed of Alumni Coordinator John Kutcher for viewing thereafter.

Scroll down to see the 2023 Recap from this fun event and to meet our team members from last year, many of which will be participating again.

Help us get in this year's derby lineup for the annual Home Runs for the Homeless derby event. Your generous contribution to this Kutcher Foundation program will help fund the entrance fee for the derby which benefits The Harford Family House, with any remaining proceeds raised going to Blue Jays Unlimited, the fundraising program for Johns Hopkins University Athletics, for direct support of the baseball program.

Together, let's hit it out of the park both on and off the field.

Help our team participate annually! A $100 donation would go towards registration fees for Home Runs for the Homeless, with additional proceeds being donated to Blue Jays Unlimited in support of the baseball program.

CURRENT SPONSORS

• Steve Murfin
• Patrick & Stacia Reynolds

2023 SPONSORS

• Michael French
• Tom & Paula Mee
• Steve Murfin
• Patrick & Stacia Reynolds

Help get our team in the batter's box! A $200 contribution would go toward the registration fee for Home Runs for the Homeless. Any additional proceeds will be donated to Blue Jays Unlimited in support of the baseball program.

CURRENT SPONSORS

• Ray Ainsworth
• Steve & Kim Keever
• John & Sue Kutcher
• John & Jennifer McRae

2023 SPONSORS

• Dave & Judy Cooper
• Brad & Laura Frank
• Steve & Kim Keever
• John & Sue Kutcher
• John & Jennifer McRae
• Jim & Michele Peterson

A $400 contribution would be split equally between the following: Harford Family House, Blue Jays Unlimited, The Transformation Guild (our Mentoring Program affiliate), and Baseball 4 Causes (our Baseball Philanthropy affiliate).

CURRENT SPONSORS:

• DCMSBL (Larry Lombardi)
• DICORP, Inc. (John Kutcher)

2023 SPONSORS:

• Ray & Diane Ainsworth
• DCMSBL (Larry Lombardi)
• DICORP, Inc. (John Kutcher)

Get in on the fun! You can make a pledge for every home run hit by the Bomb Squad. Let us know your pledge using the button below. All proceeds will be donated to Blue Jays Unlimited in support of the baseball program.

For reference, the derby-high for home runs hit by the Bomb Squad is 10. Each of the four players gets 15 swings for the fence.

CURRENT PLEDGES

• Anvilor Solutions (Tim Kutcher) - $20/HR
• Michael French - $10/HR

2023 PLEDGES

• Anvilor Solutions (Tim Kutcher) - $20/HR
• Tom & Paula Mee - $10/HR
• Jim & Michele Peterson - $10/HR

Harford Family House has been providing housing, support and resources to families with children in Harford County who have been experiencing homelessness since 1989. Over the years, Harford Family House has helped more than 2,000 people in more than 700 families, thanks to dedicated board members, professional staff, volunteers, churches, civic agencies, donors, business leaders and others in our community.

Presented by Harford Mutual Insurance, Home Runs for the Homeless is a charity home run derby that raises both funds and critical awareness for Harford County's families and individuals experiencing homelessness.

The Johns Hopkins Athletics fundraising program (Blue Jays Unlimited), provides support to all 24 Hopkins varsity intercollegiate sport programs. 

Proceeds from the JHU Bomb Squad competing in the 15th Annual Home Runs for the Homeless event at Ripken Stadium on July 25th supported 3 great causes.  First the 2023 entrance fees for the derby and golden arm competitions were covered which resulted in $1620 going to Harford Family House to help the homeless. Second we raised $960 for Hopkins Baseball that will be allocated to priorities selected by the head coaching staff.  Lastly, $395 was raised for the mentoring program that develops and donates web sites sites for many charitable initiatives, including the Hopkins Baseball Parent & Alumni portals, the Home Runs for the Homeless event, and more. 

Looking ahead, we have $230 "on deck" towards fielding next year's team in this impactful & fun competition.  Together, Let's raise even more for BJU next year!

Our 2023 JHU Bomb Squad team came out firing early setting a very solid 2615 points to pace the leaderboard.  We blasted 12 home runs, led by Matt Cooper who hit 6, including one clear over the clubhouse behind the left field wall.  Coop scored a team record 800 points.  Tim Kutcher scored 700 points with two home runs and several long balls to the track which score high as well, including homering on the 15th swing golden ball (which counts double).  One of Tim's shots bounced off the far right back corner of the clubhouse roof almost going entirely out of the stadium as well.  Conor Reynolds was way out in front of the pitching machine and hit several out just foul (which count zero).  In a truly heroic effort, however, Conor finished with one of the grittiest comebacks, homering the golden ball, then hitting another in the 5 swing mulligan round to post a solid score of 585.  Conor's younger brother Emmet filled in for Sam Frank and alternate Caleb Cyr when neither of them (or any other JHU sluggers) were around and able to participate due to work or travel.  

In nearly every other year of the competition 2615 would have held up for the win.  But not this year.  The winning team batted a few hours after ours, and belted 17 home runs and scored an unprecedented 3130 points.  Then two teams later, Team Maryland wound up edging us out of 2nd place with 2725 points.  How that happened was amazing.  Their last batter homered in all 5 consecutive swings of their mulligan round, setting an all-time single batter record of 1075 points. 

So, it's "game on" next year to break all of these records and reclaim the crown.  While not the exact outcome we were shooting for, the JHU Bomb Squad team had a tremendous showing at this highly competitive event, and it was a lot of fun.  The top teams are stocked with D1 and even some previous professional talent, so it's definitely turned into a local rivalry.  When we entered a JHU team several years ago and came out of nowhere and won the event, it inspired the other teams to recruit even more.  Most important, it's all for a good cause!  And it's cool to see our current and former Hopkins players showcase the program to the local community in this annual marquis event.

Conor Reynolds won the event's "Golden Arm" competition. In this fun competition, participants are positioned approximately 60 feet away from the target.  Each participant was granted the opportunity to make an unlimited number of throws within a 20 second timespan. The scoring system awarded three points for balls that sailed through the center target hole and one point for those landing on the target's outer edges. In this contest, Conor Reynolds emerged as the Golden Arm champion, scoring an impressive 21 points. His high score was a result of his consistent ability to hit the mark while under pressure.

To see the full event recap for the 15th Annual Home Runs for the Homeless event, click here.  The recap and web site were donated to Harford Family House for the event by our mentoring program of young writers who wrote the recap and developed the web site.  There is a nice mention of Matt Cooper in the full event recap.  Check it out.

Fellow teammates on our adult team, former MLB pitcher and local St Paul standout Steve Johnson threw our batting practice. Steve and John Kutcher took swings on the IncrediTek team earlier in the day, and helped put up a solid 1625 score. You can see the clubhouse in the background that Cooper clear and both he and Tim hit a few times. Steve Johnson also placed 2nd in the Golden Arm competition, which as we said earlier was won by Conor Reynolds. 

The JHU Bomb Squad was organized by Kutcher Foundation Executive Director, John Kutcher (JHU '86). The team is comprised of veteran participants including Conor Reynolds (JHU '17) and Tim Kutcher (JHU '19), who have been instrumental players in this competition since 2016, as well as second-time participants Matthew Cooper (JHU '23) and Isaiah Winikur (JHU '23). This team is looking forward to competing in this year's event.

Outfielder ... 2023 graduate of Johns Hopkins University

Collegiate Summary

Single season HR leader at Johns Hopkins (25)

Most career HR's in Johns Hopkins History (43)

2023 First Team CSC D3 Academic All American

2023 First Team D3 All American

2023 Centennial Conference Player of the Year

2022 D3Baseball.com Third Team All-Region

2022 Second Team All-Centennial Selection

2022 Centennial Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year

Centennial Academic and CAA Commissioner's Honor Roll

JHU Baseball Captain (2023/2024)

Outfielder ... 2023 graduate of Johns Hopkins University

Collegiate Summary

Began his college career at Towson University

Played 29 games, making 22 starts at Towson

All CAA Conference Honor Roll

At Johns Hopkins: 55 games / 52 starts / .330 AVG / 12 HR

JHU Team Captain (2023/2024)

Outfielder ... 2017 graduate of Johns Hopkins University

Collegiate Summary

167 Games Played - 165 Games Started

.363/.470/.560 - 226 Hits - 192 Runs - 109 RBI - 61 SB - 48 2B - 19 HR - 9 3B

2017 D3baseball.com Second Team All-American

2017 D3baseball.com Regional Player of the Year

2017 D3baseball.com First Team All-Region

2015 ABCA First Team All-Mid-Atlantic Region

2017 ABCA Second Team All-Mid-Atlantic Region

2016 D3baseball.com Second Team All-Region

2017 Centennial Conference Player of the Year

Outfielder ... 2019 graduate of Johns Hopkins University

Collegiate Summary

Played 124 games, making 98 starts

.281/.416/.438 - 106 Hits - 91 Runs - 65 RBI - 23 SB - 17 2B - 14 HR

2018 CoSIDA Academic All-District

3x Centennial Academic Honor Roll

JHU Team Captain (2019)

Walk-off, two-run double in Game 1 of the 2019 DIII World Series

The JHU Bomb Squad has a rich team history in this highly competitive event. They have finished in the top 3 each year they participated and won it all in 2016, their first year in the competition. 

The Kutcher Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private operating foundation, which runs a number of innovative, community charitable programs that promote youth development, mentoring, and making a positive difference in the world. The foundation also partners with other community and national charitable programs with shared operating objectives. The foundation facilitates its own programs within Harford County and Baltimore, Maryland.

The Kutcher Foundation has sponsored the centerfield camera for Hopkins Baseball to help provide one of the best viewing experiences in D3 baseball and provide additional real world video production experience for Hopkins students working on the broadcasts, as well as enhanced video analysis for player development.

The Kutcher Foundation also seeks to support networking events to help promote life long relationships amongst parents, players, and alumni with a vision of promoting mentoring programs and professional networks that can help make a positive impact to the community and members of the baseball program.