Park Tudor grad brings thunder as leader of Purdue baseball turnaround

“I think I was probably like 7 years old or something like that, but that started the whole thing,” Richmond said.

Richmond said his parents were never keen on him playing football. He played basketball, the sport his father, Charles, played at Western Michigan, up until high school.

As a left-handed hitter and thrower, though, the Richmonds always saw more long-term upside in baseball. At first, the home runs were infectious – teammates spilling out of the dugout in celebration.

Around his junior year of high school he noticed opponents throwing his teammates a lot more fastballs than he saw. Hard to blame them. They did not often see 6 foot 3, 240 pounds walking to the plate.

Park Tudor coach Courtney Whitehead needed only a split second to recall Richmond’s most impressive high school home run. It came at the same field Whitehead once played on at Crawfordsville. The ball Richmond crushed to dead center was found near a building located about 50 yards beyond the outfield fence.

Richmond hit 10 home runs as a senior to make the Indiana North/South All-Star Game. According to Whitehead, most were no-doubters.

“Every once in a while you run into kids where the ball absolutely flies off the bat,” Whitehead said. “His swing was so powerful – almost a controlled, violent swing. He was one of those kids from the word go – and such a strong kid, too.

“To have a kid who can swing a bat that well but still have a lot of patience and a really good eye at plate and not force things, let things come to him, that’s kind of a rarity.”

CJ Richmond took long, winding road to Purdue baseball

Over the middle and a little bit high – Arizona State pitcher Wyatt Halvorson left a 2-1 fastball there in the ninth inning at Alexander Field on April 14, 2025. When the ball left the right-handed pitching prospect’s hand, the game was tied 6-6. When it landed well past the wall, prompting Richmond to pause in admiration before a casual bat flip, the Boilermakers had an 8-6 walk-off victory.

Richmond pumped his arm to blow an imaginary train whistle as he rounded the bases. It remains his favorite home run – a heroic moment against a program with five College World Series championships and five runner-up finishes to its name.

Not unlike that imaginary locomotive, Richmond made a lot of unscheduled stops over the previous three years.

Richmond originally committed to Butler in the winter of his junior year at Park Tudor. When the COVID-19 pandemic complicated a lot of teams’ plans, Richmond instead decided to join Andy Pascoe, a former Bulldogs assistant, at Western Illinois. He tied for the team lead with four home runs, but decided to move on when Pascoe was fired after the season.

He next picked Western Iowa Community College, a three-time NJCAA national champion. While he was hitting 10 home runs and slugging .581, his sister, Leah, prepared to start her volleyball career at Western Michigan. The volleyball coach told the baseball coach about her new setter’s older brother, and soon, Richmond joined the family tradition in Kalamazoo.

He dominated his second try at Division I. Richmond tied the Broncos’ single-season total base record with 142. He led the Mid-American Conference with a 1.046 OPS and was voted first team all-conference. After helping WMU stomp through the MAC Tournament by a 29-3 margin, Richmond made the all-tournament team at the Lexington Regional of the NCAA Tournament.

Richmond believed more than ever he could play at the top levels of college baseball. Purdue, which did not have him on its radar when he came out of Park Tudor, was among many teams who took notice. He became their No. 1 transfer portal target at first base.

Purdue, though, already had a slugger spending time at first base – Luke Gaffney, the 2024 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Richmond understandably hesitated to make the jump and spend his final season – or so he thought at the time – stuck behind a young star.

Gaffney eventually cleared that up on his own. Purdue coach Greg Goff was holding a youth camp when Gaffney called to tell him he was entering the transfer portal, too. Goff hung up and called Richmond. Gaffney ended up at Clemson, and Richmond finally made his way to the Big Ten.

“He was being called by a lot of different people,” Goff said.  "Just fortunate enough that we had some connection with him and, you know, him being from Indy was a was a good fit for both of us.”

Richmond did not come home with a lengthy stay in mind, though. He planned to make the most of his final season of eligibility and make his case for selection in the 2025 Major League draft.

He started to find his groove in the nonconference season, culminating with his first two Boilermaker home runs against Niagara on Feb. 23. Five days later, he loaded up and swung at a 1-0 change-up against Akron.

Purdue fifth year infielder CJ Richmond swings for the ball on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at Alexander Field in West Lafayette, Ind.

Why Purdue needed CJ Richmond's leadership this season

Richmond’s bat missed the ball, and immediately, his right hand went numb. He did not know what had happened, but knew he could not swing. Few power hitters have ever been more relieved to draw a walk.

He had broken the hamate bone – a carpal bone next to the pinky finger essential for tendon and muscle movement in the hand. While not uncommon in baseball, the injury has cursed the Boilermakers. Two other players suffered hamate fractures this season.

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Richmond underwent surgery and did not play again until April 4. In any other year, he might have pursued a medical redshirt waiver to try to regain his final season of eligibility. However, as a result of the injunction granted to Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia in December 2024, the NCAA allowed all former junior college players one additional year of eligibility.

Goff said Purdue did not merely want Richmond back, it needed him back. On a team which underwent considerable roster turnover in the offseason, Richmond was now a veteran holdover. When Goff instituted “toughness testing” – an offseason fitness regimen he brought from his playing and coaching days at Delta State – Richmond jumped to the front of lines, encouraging teammates to push through.

He’s slugging .505 and ranks second on the team in RBIs and walks. He was one of four Boilers to hit a grand slam on the same weekend against Michigan State. He helped make the team’s home run trophy – a Purdue football helmet – a frequent presence in the dugout.

“Any time in the game you see CJ come up, you know the game can be turned on its head,” Flores said. “That’s something that gives a lot of confidence to our dugout. If we’re behind, we’re one swing away from being back in it. If we’re ahead, we’re one swing away from blowing it open.”

He also transformed himself from defensive liability to solid first baseman. That positional value is crucial for his chances of playing pro ball, but it also allows him to take that leadership onto the field for mound visits and infield banter.

Miami sophomore infielder Jamie Rasmussen, left, runs to first base while Purdue fifth year infielder CJ Richmond defends the base on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at Alexander Field in West Lafayette, Ind.

Later in that Baylor win, Richmond made a diving grab of a liner for the final out in the top of the eighth after the Bears had loaded the bases. The resulting fist pump might have been more exuberant than any of his home run celebrations this season.

“I kind of feel like I'm responsible, too,” Richmond said. “When things go haywire, I need to be the voice of reason, you know – the steady hand. I can't show frustration. I can't get sped up by the game.”

Purdue has already clinched a third consecutive 30-win season. With an RPI of 52 after a weekend sweep on Murray State, a strong finish against IU and Iowa and in the conference tournament may be needed to ensure a regional berth.

Richmond does not plan to stop when the college season ends. If nothing materializes with a Major League team, he’ll look elsewhere. Perhaps he’ll join his former travel ball and Purdue teammate, Enas Hayden, playing pro ball in Australia.

He wants to keep circling the bases, even if it means circling the globe.

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue baseball leader CJ Richmond hits towering home runs, improves defense