Jamie Germano/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

College baseball pitcher has ridiculously high leg kick

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated Apr 2, 2025 9:09 PM ET

A college baseball pitcher went viral recently for his ridiculously high leg kick from the windup.

James Capellupo is a sophomore pitcher at St. Bonaventure. The Hilton, N.Y., native pitched at UMass-Lowell last year before transferring to the Bonnies. Capellupo has made six starts this season and leads the team with 34 innings pitched. He received attention in March when facing No. 1 Tennessee. It was during that series where his high leg kick went viral.

We've seen enough: St. Bonaventure pitcher James Capellupo is the next Nolan Ryan. pic.twitter.com/oaOjeyy8Gm
— College Sports Only ⚾️ (@CollegeSportsO) March 8, 2025

Yes, Capellupo gets his leg higher than his head from the windup.

Capellupo does not lift his leg nearly that high from a stretch.

Fire us up, @james_capellupo‼️ pic.twitter.com/t3LLAKlaXd
— Bonnies Baseball (@BonniesBaseball) March 29, 2025

The extreme leg kick is something new that Capellupo added last year. A video clip of him from high school in 2023 shows him with a more typical leg kick.

2023 UMASS-Lowell comitt RHP James Capellupo had his slider and curveball working today. Was around the zone with all of his pitches, ran his fastball up to 86

FB 83-85, topped at 86
CB 72-74
SL 74-76 pic.twitter.com/RkpohokaZC
— Prep Baseball New York Scouting (@PB_NY_Scouts) May 2, 2023

Capellupo said in an interview that he’s always had a herky-jerky motion dating back to when he was young and that his leg kick has been higher than most peoples’. He says that he was looking to increase his pitching speed, and his velocity increased with a higher leg kick, which is why he does it.

Receiving all the attention was “pretty cool” for Capellupo, who even got a shoutout from MLB’s X account.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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