Dylan Becker, INF • Leawood, Kan. • Shawnee Mission East HS
Becker’s senior season will be his fourth as the starting shortstop for Shawnee Mission East High. The 6-0, 175-pound left-handed hitter was SME’s team MVP and defensive MVP as a junior, earning second-team all-conference honors and helping his team to a top-three spot in the Sunflower League and its best record in six years at 12-8. Becker was an all-conference choice following his sophomore season while earned team and defensive MVP honors after his freshman and sophomore years as well.
Eric Cheray, SS/C • Topeka, Kan. • Seaman HS
A 6-3, 185-pound shortstop and catcher, Cheray comes to Missouri State from Seaman High School in Topeka, Kan., where his teams have gone 70-5 his first three years and became the first team in Kansas Class 5A history to win three consecutive state championships following a title in the spring. As a junior, Cheray was first-team all-state, all-league and all-city while earning Topeka Co-Player of the Year honors. Cheray was a first-team all-league and all-city choice after his sophomore season and was the only freshman to make the varsity team in 2008, helping the Vikings to the first of their three-straight state titles.
Darin Francis, C • Springfield, Mo. • Parkview HS
A 5-10, 200-pound four-year starting catcher at Parkview High in Springfield, Francis is perhaps better known as being Springfield’s all-time touchdown leader with 52 scores as a running back. On the diamond, Francis has been an all-conference performer his first three season with the Vikings, and will be a team captain for a second consecutive season this spring.
Joey Hawkins, SS • Whitby, Ontario, Canada • Sinclair Secondary School
A sought after shortstop from Canada, Hawkins spent part of October in Orlando, Fla., participating in the Baseball Canada Junior National Team Fall Instructional League. The 5-11, 165-pounder has also played for the Ontario Blue Jays, a select team that has scrimmaged the Bears at Hammons Field the last three seasons. Last summer, Hawkins and the Blue Jays played in the Connie Mack World Series, a prestigious amateur baseball tournament including teams from the United State, Canada and Puerto Rico. He hit .400 in the tournament.
Koby Peebles, LF/3B • Clever, Mo. • Clever HS • Crowder College
Peebles is a 6-2, 200-pound outfielder/infielder who is the latest of several Crowder College products to continue their college baseball careers at Missouri State. Last season as a teammate of 2010-11 MSU newcomers Dan Kickham and Kyle Hardy, Peebles helped Crowder to an appearance in the JUCO World Series, hitting .474 with nine doubles, six homers, 49 RBIs and 24 runs scored in 38 games. The switch hitter homered twice and hit .600 with six RBIs in the world series after starring in baseball and basketball at Clever High as a prep.
Cody Schumacher, RHP • Topeka, Kan. • Hayden HS • Johnson County Community College
Schumacher is a 6-foot, 190-pound right-handed pitcher from Topeka, Kan., by way of Johnson County Community College. As a freshman at JCCC in 2010, he went 7-1 with 56 strikeouts in 51 innings, helping the team to a conference title and 44-14 record. In high school, Schumacher’s Hayden High team won a Kansas Class 4A state title his senior season, and he went 5-1 with a 1.40 ERA on the mound and batted .418 with 18 RBIs as an all-state, all-league and all-city performer. He was first-team all-league and all-city as a junior, and a second-team all-league pick after his sophomore season, as Hayden finished third in the state tournament both seasons.
