Hall of Fame
John Tritz, a catcher, was a three-year letterwinner for former Briar Cliff coach Jim Ellwanger. A 1981 graduate of Heelan High School, Tritz attended Indiana State and Iowa Central Community College before transferring to Briar Cliff. He garnered first-team all-region honors as a freshman at Iowa Central. Tritz earned all-NAIA District 15 honors as a senior at Briar Cliff, leading the team in hits (69) and doubles (18), while batting .352 with 29 RBI and 10 stolen bases. Tritz finished his career with a .310 batting average and a .956 fielding percentage. Briar Cliff won the NAIA District 15 championship in 1983, Tritz's sophomore year, and finished second in district play in both 1984 and 1985.
Following his graduation, Tritz established the Jim Bertelson Scholarship in memory of his teammate who lost his life in an automobile accident. Tritz had four individual tryouts with four different major league teams in 1985 and 1986.
