Missouri State baseball coach Keith Guttin has announced the commitments of two high school standouts to attend Missouri State. Cody Aycock and J.C. Casey have committed to the Bears and will be eligible to compete in the 2008 baseball season.

Aycock is a 6-2, 170-pound senior from Batesville, Ark. As a pitcher, the righthander accumulated a 4-0 record with a 2.98 ERA during his junior season, and was 3-1 with a 3.07 ERA on the mound as a sophomore. He struck out a combined 80 batters with an opponent average of .204 for coach Mark Rush.

At the plate, the outfielder and shortstop hit .368 as a junior with 14 stolen bases, a .609 on-base percentage and .632 slugging percentage on his way to first-team all-state honors for a team that reached 22nd in the national rankings. The Pioneers reached the semifinals of the state playoffs and won 20 games for a state-record 16th consecutive season in 2006.

Aycock was also the starting quarterback for the Batesville football team the past two seasons, leading the squad to a 21-4 record as the signal-caller.

Casey is a pitcher and centerfielder for head coach Jason Howser’s Springfield Kickapoo Chiefs. The 6-3 righty had a 1.96 ERA with 72 strikeouts on the mound as a junior, and hit .396 at the plate. He was an all-district and all-conference selection, and earned second-team all-Ozarks laurels.

Casey also played football and basketball at Kickapoo, and has earned academic all-conference recognition the last two years for his performance in the classroom.