35 Karson Bender

Class: Freshman Hometown: Delphi, Ind. High School: Delphi Height / Weight: 6-0 / 175 Position: OF Birthdate: 01/19/1994 Bats/Throws: L/L

Purdue Personal Preferences
Favorite Coach: Pat Lowery
In His MP3 Player: Brantley Gilbert
Favorite Actor & Actress: Will Ferrell & Mila Kunis
Favorite Month: July
Favorite Holiday: Fourth of July
Favorite Food: Ribs
Favorite Purdue Building: Owen Hall
Favorite Big City: New York
Unique Travel Locale: Mexico
Country He'd Most Like to Visit: Italy
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Hunting & Wakeboarding
Another Sport He Enjoys Playing: Football
Furry Friend: Trigger, Lab

High School
Bender was a four-year varsity letter-winner for coach Pat Lowery at Delphi High School... also played three years of football and two years of basketball... four-time All-Hoosier Conference honoree... also a two-time all-conference selection in football... .412 career batting average, 8 home runs, 50 stolen bases (including a school record 26 in 2010)... three-year team captain... led the team with a .389 batting average and .564 on-base percentage as the team MVP his senior year... center fielder and cleanup hitter on DHS's 2010 Class 2A state runner-up team... also helped lead DHS to a sectional title as a junior... batting champion (.700) at the 2010 Colt World Series in Lafayette... National Honor Society... Spanish club, key club and honor roll student... Wendy's High School Heisman candidate.

Personal
Full name is Karson Matthew Bender... born in Lafayette, Ind.... parents are Kevin and Denis Bender... family also includes older brothers Kyle and Kris... his father is a Purdue alumnus and his brother Kevin is a student... brother Kyle played baseball at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind.... majoring in sales and marketing with career ambition of traveling the world as a salesman for a large company.