SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Missouri State University has finalized its 2018-19 coaching staff with the addition of volunteer assistant coach Corey Hassel, head coach Keith Guttin announced Thursday. The Bears also officially added a pair of talented junior college standouts to its roster, as Collin Clayton and Joey Polak joined MSU for the start of the fall semester.
 

Hassel comes to Springfield after a two-year stint as a graduate manager on the baseball staff at the University of Kansas. The Stillwater, Okla., native worked with the Jayhawk outfielders and hitters during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, following the completion of his four-year playing career at Oklahoma State. With the Cowboys, Hassel was a two-time All-Big 12 performer and the Clemson Regional MVP as a senior in 2016, when he ultimately helped OSU advance to the College World Series.

Former volunteer assistant coach Joe Lincoln will move into the role of the newly-created director of player development for the 2019 season, after helping the Bears to Missouri Valley Conference regular-season titles and NCAA postseason appearances in three of his four seasons with MSU. Additionally, two notable Bears return to the fold as members of Guttin's 37th coaching staff, as three-time MSU All-American and 2012 Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Year Nick Petree and 2017 First-Team All-MVC second baseman Aaron Meyer join the fold as graduate managers.

Guttin also confirmed the addition of Clayton and Polak, bringing MSU's 2018 recruiting class to 13 members. Clayton starred for John A. Logan College as an outfielder, leading the Volunteers to back-to-back Great Rivers Athletic Conference championships during his two-year stay at the Carterville, Ill., school. He hit a club-best .397 with 42 RBIs and team-leading totals in hits (77), doubles (22) and on-base percentage (.454) as a sophomore as part of Logan's 38-16 squad. As a prep standout at Edwardsville (Ill.) High School, Clayton was a three-year starter and a first-team All-Southwestern Conference choice as a senior, when he batted .339 for the Tigers.
 

Polak, who began his collegiate career at perennial national power South Carolina, joins the Bears after being named the 2018 ABCA/Rawlings NJCAA Division I Baseball Player of the Year for Jefferson College. The Quincy, Ill., product clubbed 32 home runs and drove in 107 runs, while batting .459 and slugging .991 for the Vikings, who went 53-11-1 en route to district and regional titles last spring. He also enjoyed a banner prep career at Quincy Notre Dame High School, where he was rated as the No. 5 third baseman in the state of Illinois and the 10th-best recruit overall in the class of 2016 by Perfect Game.

The Bears will open their fall campaign Saturday (Sept. 22), when they team up with Drury University to help fight Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) with the third installment of 'Battle for Bell' at U.S. Baseball Park in Ozark, Mo. The 6 p.m. contest will benefit the CoxHealth ALS Clinic, which provides coordinated care and support to ALS patients in the region. Tickets are $5 each or $12 for a package, which includes a hamburger or hotdog, chips, a drink and ice cream, and are available in advance at The Meyer Center, U.S. Baseball Park and Drury University's O'Reilly Family Event Center Box Office.