THUNDERCAT
Sports Academy
THUNDERCAT HISTORY
The club was initially formed after Kyle Hans was offered a U9 coaching position with a club in Milwaukee, and Spencer (Kyle's son) was offered a guaranteed roster spot. After numerous meetings, Kyle was given his budget for the team. He had to raise a total of $20k between registration fees and fundraising for his team. After considering it, he decided that if he was going to have to raise the money anyway, he might as well control the whole process. Thus, started his own club.
Softball was formed in 2012 because Payton (Kyle's daughter) was playing for another softball organization. Kyle didn’t care for their coaching styles, driving to their facility when he had one with TCats, couldn’t control her schedule and hated paying them when he knew he could do it better. Ultimately, TCats started because Kyle was a disgruntled parent who thought he could do better. He liked baseball and softball more than his kids did. Their primary sports at the time were both hockey. To get them to play softball and baseball, he wanted to control their schedules so he could work around their year-round hockey commitments.
Thundercats has not only been a huge part of Kyle's life, but to the hundreds of athletes/coaches who have walked in and out. This not only created better athletes/coaches, but better men and women. With 14 years and counting, we will continue to strive in developing athletes and help them achieve their goals.
2009
- Thundercat Independent Boys Baseball Club, Inc (TIBBC) was registered with the state of Wisconsin as a non-profit organization.
- Logo was designed based on the University of New Hampshire. Kyle Hans sketched it and a graphic designer finalized it. Kyle developed the mission statement and philosophy afterwards.
- Kyle liked the logo and knew the mascot was going to be a cat. AC/DC “Thunderstruck” happened to be playing while Kyle was sketching the logo, so he stole the “Thunder” part from AC/DC.
- Formed our first team at the U9 level consisting of 11 players.
- Practiced weekly in a local HS gym.
2010
- Played in our first tournament at an indoor event in January.
- Added teams at the U10 & U11 levels for baseball.
2011
- Added a U12 baseball team.
- Opened our first facility in Johnson Creek – 2500 SqFt building with two cages.
2012
- Kyle Added TCats first softball team at the U10 level
- 10u softball won the first tournament championship as a club
- Hosted first annual Thundercat “Cat” Classic tournament consisting of 32 teams
- Hosted first annual golf outing
- Relocated facility to Lake Mills – Renovated a 6000 SqFt shed to consist of 2 cages & a green space
2013
- Opened current facility – leasing 9000 SqFt initially – 3 cages and green space
- Dissolved Thundercat Independent Boys Baseball Club, Inc and formed Thundercat Baseball & Softball of WI, LLC.
2014
- Acquired Hatters Baseball & Softball out of Madison increasing our number of teams to 17 – 10 baseball and 7 softball.
- Added a 7500 SqFt addition to our facility increasing to 6 cages, green space, weight room and offices.
- Hired a full time Director of Player Development.
- Added first high school baseball showcase team.
- Won U10 ASA Class A Softball State Championship, U10 USSSA Baseball State Championship, U11 USSSA Baseball State Championship, U13 USSSA Baseball State Championship.
- Won U10 Baseball GameDay USA National Championship.
2015
- Added 4 coaches at the HS showcase level.
- Won U12 USSSA Baseball State Championship.
- Won U14 GameDay USA Baseball National Championship.
- Had first 2 high school players commit to play college baseball.
2016
- Transferred management of club over to Brooks Graff Baseball, LLC doing businesss as Thundercat Baseball & Softball.
- 4 high school players commit to play college baseball.
2017
- Transferred management of club over to Collin McBride and Charles Davis. The new owners changed the name to Thundercat Sports Academy, LLC.
- 6 high school players commit to play college baseball including first Division I athlete.
2018
- Thundercat Baseball & Softball of WI was officially dissolved with the state of Wisconsin and all assets were transferred over to Thundercat Sports Academy, LLC.
2019-2022
- In 2019, TCat had a record-breaking 16 players commit to further their education and play baseball at the college level
- TCats launch the Dairyland Collegiate League in 2021.
- TCats Owner Collin McBride accepts a hitting coaching position with the Texas Rangers. Collin will be the Single A Hitting Coach for the Down East Wood Ducks in North Carolina.