SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Missouri State has received three commitments from junior college sophomores during the spring signing period with Kyle Hardy, Dan Kickham and Derek Mattea signing National Letters of Intent to join the program in the 2010-11 school year.
Kyle Hardy, 1B/3B • Miami, Fla. • Killian HS • Crowder CollegeA 6-3, 220-pound corner infielder, Hardy is batting .364 with 26 RBIs and a .606 slugging average to go with a perfect fielding percentage this season for Crowder College in Neosho, Mo. The Miami, Fla., native redshirted last season at Miami Dade College and spent his freshman year at Indian River State College. He played with several Bears over the summer with the Sedalia (Mo.) Bombers, hitting .400. His father Kevin played football at Miami (Fla.), and grandfather Bill played for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Dan Kickham, RHP • Springfield, Mo. • Glendale HS • Crowder CollegeThe twin brother of current MSU southpaw
Mike Kickham, the 6-4, 205-pound Dan Kickham has nine saves and a 3.33 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 24.1 innings. He was an all-district, all-conference and all-Ozarks outfielder as a senior at Glendale. As a freshman at Crowder, Kickham went 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 20 innings.
Derek Mattea, OF • Collinsville, Ill. • Collinsville HS • John A. Logan CollegeMattea is leading John A. Logan College (Carterville, Ill.) with a .404 average, 55 hits and 36 runs scored through 37 games while stealing 11 bases in 11 tries. The 6-3, 220-pounder has eight triples to go with three homers and seven doubles and is slugging .640. Mattea hit .300 with eight homers and 65 RBIs as a freshman and was an all-conference player each of his final two prep seasons, combining to drive in 90 runs as a junior and senior.
Missouri State signed six players in November, including Patrick Drake (SS/RHP, Webb City, Mo.), Ryan Hafner (RHP, Lee’s Summit, Mo.), Spiker Helms (INF, Wildwood, Mo.), Jordan Shipers (LHP, Bethany, Mo.), Conor Smith (C/INF, Ballwin, Mo.) and Seth Swafford (LHP, Hillsboro, Mo.).
