Wayne State College head baseball coach Brian Disch has announced that five more players have signed national letters of intent to play baseball for the Wildcats in the 2010-11 season. Joining the 2010 recruiting class are junior college transfers Braulio Acosta, Slade Bolles and Michael Samuel along with high school standouts Will McKnight and Taylor Simmonds. The five players bring the total of the 2010 recruiting class to nine players, joining Luke Abkes from Millard North High School in Omaha, Michael Herman from Roncalli Catholic High School in Omaha, Brandon Lalk of Oshkosh, Wisconsin and Ben Schaben of Monticello, Minnesota.
“We are happy to have Braulio, Slade, Will, Michael and Taylor join our Wildcat baseball family,” remarked Coach Disch. “All five of these players will help fill our immediate needs both in the field and on the mound.”
Acosta is a 6-0, 165 pound shortstop from Ellsworth Community College in Iowa where he hit .340 last season with six homers and 35 RBI. As a freshman in 2009 at Ellsworth CC, Acosta posted a .298 average with four homers and 33 RBIs. He will have two seasons of eligibility with the Wildcats.
“Braulio is a slick fielding middle infielder with a strong arm. He also has good foot speed and is a talented hitter. We expect Braulio to have a key role with our program,” said Disch.
Bolles is a 5-11 catcher from Central City that is transferring to Wayne State after playing two seasons at Southeast Community College in Beatrice. Bolles earned All-Region IV honors this past season after hitting .361 with four homers and 25 RBI, which was also good for All-Nebraska Community College Conference honors. He will have two seasons of eligibility with WSC.
“Slade is a hard-nosed catcher that will fit in well with our work ethic,” stated Disch. “He has a strong arm from behind the plate and hit in the middle of the order for Southeast Community College. We expect Slade to be an immediate impact to our program.”
Samuel is a 5-10, 180 pound infielder (third base/second base) from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and is transferring to WSC after playing the last two seasons at Allen County Community College in Kansas. Statistics and honors on Samuel were not available. He will have two seasons of eligibility with the Wildcats.
“Michael is a talented infielder with good hands and a strong arm,” commented Disch. “He also can hit for average and power. We expect Michael to be an immediate impact to our program.”
McKnight is a 6-1, 180 pound third baseman/right fielder from West Vancouver Secondary High School in Canada. He helped the North Shore Twins wins three provincial titles in the British Columbia Premier Baseball League.
“Will is an athletic corner infielder that can also play a corner outfield spot. He has a strong arm and can hit with power. We expect Will to have a nice career at Wayne State,” remarked Disch.
Simmonds is a 6-1, 185 pound left handed pitcher from St. Albert, Alberta Canada. He is a standout pitcher at Vauxhall Academy of Baseball and is the 12th player from his high school team to sign with a college program.
“Taylor is a hard throwing left-handed pitcher that has had a lot of success in high school,” said Disch. “He has the ability to have an impact role on our pitching staff. We expect good things on the mound from Taylor.”
Wayne State College is an NCAA Division II school located in Wayne, Nebraska and competes in the 14-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Wildcats finished the 2010 season with a 26-23 record going 21-10 in the NSIC for a sixth place finish. WSC has won the Northern Sun Conference regular season championship six of the past seven seasons while also advancing to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.
