SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Missouri State baseball head coach Keith Guttin announced Friday (Nov. 17) the receipt of official commitments from 12 high school standouts and one junior college transfer during the NCAA's early signing period. The Bears' signing class features four players ranked among the top 30 prep seniors in the state of Missouri, as well as six additional standouts rated among the top 16 recruits in their respective states, according to Prep Baseball Report.

The new additions to the Bears' 2018-19 roster include eight pitchers, highlighted by Forrest Barnes (Ozark, Mo.), Peyton Carson (Topeka, Kan.), Ben Cruikshank (Fairview Heights, Ill.), Hayden Juenger (O'Fallon, Ill.), Trey Riley (Edwardsville, Ill.), Nick Schmidt (Wentzville, Mo.), Wyatt Sparks (Aurora, Mo.) and Logan Thomazin (Walnut Grove, Mo.). Additionally, MSU added infielders Anthony Herron, Jr. (Chicago, Ill.), Mason Hull (Effingham, Ill.) and Tommy Woods (Florissant, Mo.), as well as outfielder Dakota Kotowski (Channahon, Ill.) and two-way standout Javier Ramos (Vian, Okla.).

"I feel that Coach (Paul) Evans did a great job with both the quality and depth of the pitching in this class," Guttin stated. "Thanks to Coach (Matt) Lawson's efforts over the summer, we've also added some potential power bats, if you look at the size and the numbers the position players put up to this point;"

Forrest Barnes - RHP               
Ozark, Mo. - Ozark High School
Barnes, a right-handed pitcher, has helped Ozark (Mo.) High School to a pair of Central Ozarks Conference Large titles in his three prep seasons. He earned first-team All-COC honors as a sophomore after going 5-4 with a 2.14 ERA for OHS's 20-11 squad, before picking up second-team all-conference recognition this past spring. Barnes also competed for Team Missouri's Junior Sunbelt Classic championship squad this past June.

Peyton Carson - LHP               
Topeka, Kan. - Shawnee Heights High School
Carson enters his senior season at Topeka's Shawnee Heights High School as one of the top prep hurlers in the state of Kansas. The left-hander earned second-team KABC Class 5A All-State honors as a junior after helping the T-Birds to a state tournament appearance. He struck out 11 as part of a three-hit shutout in Shawnee Heights' regional championship game last year. Ranked as the top Kansas prep left-hander in the class of 2018 by Perfect Game, Carson ranked among the city of Topeka's leaders in victories, earned run average and strikeouts to earn first-team All-Centennial League and all-city honors.

Ben Cruikshank - RHP 
Fairview Heights, Ill. - Belleville East High School
One of the top left-handed pitching prospects in the state of Illinois, Cruikshank will wrap up his prep career at Belleville (Ill.) East High School this spring after racking up 105 strikeouts over the last two seasons. Ranked as the top lefty and the No. 3 overall recruit in Illinois by Perfect Game, he was a 2017 PG Preseason Underclass All-America High Honorable Mention choice, as well as an all-tourney selection at the WWBA World Championship in October.

Anthony Herron, Jr. - 1B/OF
Chicago, Ill. - Mount Carmel High School
Herron will bring a reputation as a right-handed, power-hitting corner infielder to the Bears program after completing a standout prep career at Chicago's Mount Carmel High. As a junior, he hit .485 with three homers and 34 RBIs, to earn Prep Baseball Report's top ranking among all Illinois first basemen in the class of 2018. Herron also earned Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason High Honorable Mention All-American recognition in 2017.        

Mason Hull – IF
Effingham, Ill. - Effingham High School
Hull enters his final season for Effingham High School looking to build on a strong junior campaign that saw the middle infielder hit .349 with three homers and 26 RBIs to earn second-team All-Apollo Conference recognition. Hull also hit .366 as a sophomore for the Flaming Hearts and picked up Perfect Game Preseason Underclass All-America honorable mention laurels in 2017. He ranks as the No. 8 Illinois prep shortstop in the class of 2018, according to Prep Baseball Report.

Hayden Juenger - RHP            
O'Fallon, Ill. - O'Fallon Township High School
Another highly regarded Illinois product in this year's recruiting class, Juenger enters the 2018 season as the top right-handed pitching prospect and No. 10 overall senior in the state, according to Perfect Game. The O'Fallon Township High School product went 7-2 with a 2.20 earned run average and 62 strikeouts in 63.2 innings pitched to earn first-team all-conference and St. Louis All-Metro honors as a junior. Juenger helped the Panthers to a 32-6 mark and a regional title last spring, after logging a 1.67 ERA as a sophomore.

Dakota Kotowski - OF/1B         
Channahon, Ill. - Providence Catholic High School          
Kotowski, a two-sport standout at New Lenox (Ill.) Providence Catholic High School, will give the Bears yet another big, physical right-handed hitter in this year's class. The corner outfielder/first baseman helped the Celtics to a pair of Illinois 4A state titles his first two prep seasons and ranks as the No. 11 overall prep prospect in the state, as well as the No. 3 Illinois outfielder in this year's recruiting class, according to Prep Baseball Report. Kotowski, who also competes as a wide receiver on the gridiron, earned all-tournament honors this past July at Perfect Game's WWBA 17U National Championship after hitting .429 with a pair of steals for the tournament.

Javier Ramos - RHP/IF
Vian, Okla. - Vian High School
A dual threat on the mound and at the plate, Ramos has helped Vian High to a pair of Oklahoma Class 3A Regional titles during his prep career, earning Big 8 Conference player of the year honors in each of the last two seasons. As a junior, he posted a 7-4 mound mark with a 1.79 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 62 innings to earn honorable mention all-state honors from The Oklahoman. The No. 2 overall Oklahoma prep prospect in the class of 2018 according to Perfect Game, he also hit .426 as the Wolverines' shortstop as part of a squad that advanced to the state semifinals.

Trey Riley – RHP
Edwardsville, Ill. – Edwardsville High School/John A. Logan College
A right-handed pitcher, Riley will join the Bears as a junior transfer from John A. Logan College. The Edwardsville, Ill., product began his collegiate career at Oklahoma State after going 2-3 with a 3.59 ERA in 28 innings pitched as a senior at Edwardsville High. Riley, the No. 5 right-hander among all Illinois graduating seniors in 2016 according to Perfect Game, was an all-metro third-team pick of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, as well as a PG Honorable Mention All-American and Honorable Mention All-Central Region selection.

Nick Schmidt – RHP
Wentzville, Mo. - Holt High School
A talented right-handed pitcher for Wentzville Holt High School, Schmidt posted a 6-1 mound mark to go along with a 2.43 earned run average and 64 punchouts in 40.1 innings pitched last spring as a junior. The two-time All-Gateway Athletic Conference honoree helped the Indians a league title in 2017 after Holt won a school-record 22 games during his sophomore campaign. Rated as the No. 2 right-hander in Missouri and No. 7 overall in the state by Prep Baseball Report, Schmidt picked up all-tournament honors as both a pitcher and infielder at this summer's Perfect Game WWBA 17U National Championship.

Wyatt Sparks – RHP
Aurora, Mo. - Aurora High School
Another two-way standout who figures prominently in the Bears future mound corps, Sparks is coming off a breakthrough junior campaign that saw the right-handed pitcher/infielder earn first-team all-state and Springfield News-Leader All-Ozarks Player of the Year honors. The No. 9 recruit in the state, according to Prep Baseball Report, he led Aurora to its first Missouri Class 4 state title with an 8-2 record, 0.87 ERA and 121 strikeouts on the mound, while hitting .380 as the 28-3 Houn' Dawgs' starting shortstop and leadoff hitter.

Logan Thomazin - RHP                        
Walnut Grove, Mo. - Walnut Grove High School
Thomazin enters his final campaign for Walnut Grove High School as one of southwest Missouri's most highly decorated athletes, having earned all-state honors in each of his first three years as a Tiger. Last spring, the right-handed pitcher and infielder hit .462 with 19 steals, while fanning 46 hitters and posting a 1.69 ERA in 29 innings of work. Perfect Game's fifth overall right-handed pitching prospect in this year's Missouri class of recruits, Thomazin has also excelled on the hardwood for Walnut Grove, shattering the Tigers' career scoring record last January in less than three prep seasons. 

Tommy Woods - IF/OF
Florissant, Mo. - McCluer North High School
Woods, a versatile athlete capable of holding down a corner infield or outfield position, is a three-time All-Suburban North Conference honoree for St. Louis McCluer North High School. As a junior, he hit .491 with 22 runs batted-in to rate as the No. 2 third baseman in the state of Missouri's class of 2018, according to Prep Baseball Report. Woods was named a team captain as a sophomore and has been a part of Major League Baseball's Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program.

The Bears will open their 2018 slate Feb. 16 against Texas Southern as part of the Cardinal Classic in Beaumont, Texas. Ticket information for the Bears' home slate is currently being finalized and will be made available through the official web home of Missouri State Athletics, MissouriStateBears.com, later this fall.