Nov. 14, 2014 SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Missouri State head coach Keith Guttin announced Friday (Nov. 14) the receipt of official commitments from 10 high school standouts and one junior college transfer during the NCAA's early signing period. MSU's coaching staff did not have to look far to fill out their 2015 recruiting class, which includes nine players rated among the top 31 recruits in the state of Missouri by either Perfect Game USA or Prep Baseball Report.
The new additions to the Bears' 2015-16 roster include pitchers Jake Lochner (Sullivan, Mo.) and Justin Tallman (New London, Mo.), infielders Jeremy Eierman (Warsaw, Mo.), John Privitera (Lee's Summit, Mo.) and Ben Whetstone (Overland Park, Kan.), infielder/outfielder Caleb Essick (Ozark, Mo.), catcher Logan Geha (Lee's Summit, Mo.), outfielder Hunter Steinmetz (Springfield, Mo.), as well as two-way players Dylan Coleman (Potosi, Mo.), Jordan Harris (Tulsa, Okla.) and Ryan Mantle (Linn, Mo.).
"We feel like we've addressed some needs with this class," Guttin said. "It's a bigger class than normal for us, but we needed to add some depth and this group certainly accomplishes that goal. The talent in this class should help make us stronger in several areas, and there's no question we'll rely on some of these guys to help us right away."
Coleman enters his final prep season for Potosi High School on the heels of an breakthrough junior campaign that saw the 6-foot-6 right-hander earn MSHSBCA Class4 First-Team All-State recognition as a utility player. Batted .478 with 17 RBIs, 13 extra-base hits and 14 steals in 27 games, while compiling a 6-1 mound mark with an 0.57 ERA and one save in 11 appearances. His dominant season on the mound included 72 strikeouts in 49.1 innings and a miniscule .130 opponent batting average. The big man also earned all-state honors on the hardwood last winter for Potosi.
Rated as Missouri's top shortstop in this year's recruiting class by Perfect Game and the No. 3 overall prospect in the state by Prep Baseball Report, Eierman is a two-time all-state performer for Warsaw High School. Last spring, Eierman hit .500 with 33 runs scored, 22 extra-base hits--including three homers--and 15 steals in 15 tries in 91 plate appearances to earn first-team all-district and all-conference honors for the third consecutive year. As a sophomore, he batted .458 with seven home runs, 36 RBIs and 23 runs scored after earning the first of two consecutive Underclass High Honorable Mention All-America citations from PG.
Essick, from nearby Ozark High School, is already a three-time All-Central Ozark Conference and all-district performer entering his senior campaign, primarily as a shortstop and right-handed pitcher. He batted .376 as a junior to earn first-team all-conference and all-district nods, following a sophomore season in which he hit .345. Rated as the No. 31 overall senior in Missouri by Perfect Game, Essick also excelled on the football field for Ozark, helping the Tigers to a Missouri Class 5 state semifinal berth as a sophomore in 2012.
Geha, a Lee's Summit West High School product, will join fellow Titans Matt Hall and Matt Fultz on the MSU roster next fall as the lone catcher in the Bears' recruiting class. He earned all-conference and all-district honors last spring in helping West to conference and district titles. The No. 29 recruit in Missouri according to both PBR, Geha was a Perfect Game Underclass Honorable Mention All-America selection last spring.
The lone junior college transfer in the group, Harris will join the MSU program after competing at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College this coming spring. Harris, who redshirted last season for the Blue Dragons under current Bears assistant coach Nate Thompson, earned 2013 Preseason Honorable Mention All-West Region honors from Perfect Game for Tulsa Union High School, where he was an all-state and Tulsa all-metro honoree after hitting .456 in as a junior 2012.
Lochner figures to give the Bears another solid left-handed option on the mound after completing his prep career at Sullivan High School. The No. 19 senior prospect in Missouri according to PBR, the lefty earned Second-Team Class 4 All-State recognition (MHSBCA) as a junior last spring after posting an 8-2 record and an 0.72 ERA in leading the Eagles to a Four Rivers Conference title. He logged 90 strikeouts--17 of which came in one game--in just 46.2 innings of work, while hitting at a .384 clip as an outfielder to earn his conference's player of the year honor.
Mantle enters his senior season at Linn High School as a two-time first-team all-state honoree as a two-way threat at the hot corner and on the mound. Last spring, he clubbed 11 home runs while hitting .577 and driving in 44 runs in leading the Wildcats to a school-record 23 wins and a third-place finish in Missouri's Class 2 state tournament. On the mound, the right-hander registered a 2-2 mark with three saves and a 1.95 ERA, fanning 47 batters in 28.2 innings. That performance came on the heels of a standout sophomore year in which Mantle hit .629 with three homers and a 3-1 mound mark to lock up Underclass Second-Team All-America recognition from Perfect Game. A three-time all-conference and all-district honoree, the second-highest rated prospect in the state (PBR) and the No. 14 third baseman in the nation (Perfect Game) hit .453 as a freshman in 2012 to earn honorable mention all-state recognition.
One of two Lee's Summit West High School products in this year's class for MSU, Privitera will give the Bears another versatile option on the infield. The No. 30 overall prospect in Missouri's crop of seniors has started every game for West over the last two years, swiping 21 bases in 21 attempts as a junior in helping his club capture a district title with a 27-4 season last spring. Privitera, whose sister, Nina, competes on the Bears' swimming and diving team, was named the Titans' defensive player of the year in 2013 after posting a perfect fielding percentage.
A Springfield Parkview High School product, Steinmetz will bring his reputation as a speedster to Bears after pilfering 52 bases over the last two seasons to break the Vikings' career record for steals. The left-handed hitting outfielder was a Springfield News-Leader All-Ozarks selection last spring after hitting .482 with three homers, 25 runs batted-in and 20 steals. Steinmetz swiped 32 bags while batting .384 en route to leading PHS to its second consecutive Ozarks Conference title and earning all-district laurels. The No. 18 senior prospect in the state according to PBR, Steinmetz was an Underclass Honorable Mention All-America choice last spring by Perfect Game.
Tallman will bring his talents as a right-handed hurler to Springfield after helping his Quincy (Ill.) Notre Dame High School club to a 28-5 season and an Illinois Class 3A Regional final last spring. Tallman, a native of New London, Mo., is the No. 14 senior in the state per Perfect Game and a 2014 Underclass Honorable Mention All-America pick by Perfect Game.
A big left-handed hitting first baseman for Kansas City's Rockhurst High School, Whetstone is the No. 17 high school senior in Missouri, according to both PBR and Perfect Game. Whetstone hit .380 as a junior last spring in leading the Hawklets to a 20-9 finish, after earning a spot with the Kansas City Royals Elite Scout Team the previous year. He was named an Underclass Honorable Mention All-American by Perfect Game in 2014, after a strong sophomore year in which he also excelled on the mound for Rockhurst, logging an 8-0 mark that included a complete-game a no-hitter.
The Bears, who finished 26-31 last spring and finished sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference race, will welcome back 19 letterwinners and seven regular position starters from last year's club, including a pair of First-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference honorees in junior outfielder Tate Matheny and senior infielder/catcher Eric Cheray. The 2015 season, which gets underway Feb. 13 against UT Arlington in Nacogdoches, Texas, will mark the 33rd at the Division I level for Missouri State.
