Wayne State College head baseball coach Alex Koch (pronounced cook) announced today the addition of 11 players, seven junior college transfers and four high school standouts, who have signed national letters of intent to play baseball for the Wildcats in the 2016 season.  The 11 players join Gabe Hoogers of Sioux City, Iowa, Logan Jurgensmeier of Hinton, Iowa and Connor Gunneman of East Moline, Illinois, who signed with the Wildcat program during the NCAA early signing period last November.
            Recent signings for the Wildcats include pitchers Keenan Breen and Taner Ledezma from Iowa Western Community College, catcher Bodie Cooper and infielder Cody Jenkins from College of Southern Idaho, pitcher Teague McFadden of Lamar Community College in Colorado, pitcher Matthew Wood from Northeastern Junior College in Colorado, catcher Drake Biggins of Colby Community College in Kansas. 
            High school signings include pitcher Mitch Savine of Bellevue West and three players from East Lake High School in Chula Vista, California – catcher James Peaboby Jr., second base/outfielder Tucker Torano and pitcher Isaac Vargas.
            "My coaching staff and I are extremely excited about this year's recruiting class," said Coach Koch.  "We brought in a good mix of young talent and experienced ball players, filling key roles on the mound with great junior college arms and adding depth with young talented arms.  We have also added a couple hitters that will provide offensive production in the middle of our lineup."
            Koch added, "When you lose 10 seniors it is always tough to replace that much experience.  We feel as a staff that we have done a good job of doing so…we are excited about the future of the Wayne State baseball and look forward to seeing these men next season."
            Keenan Breen is a 6-3, 215 pound right handed pitcher from Assaria, Kansas who has played the last two seasons at Iowa Western Community College.  Last season, he was 1-0 in 14 appearances with 2.13 ERA, helping the Reivers to a 56-11 record and the National Junior College Division I title.
            Taner Ledezma is a 6-2, 200 pound pitcher/utility player from Rock Island, Illinois who has also played the last two seasons at Iowa Western CC.  He hit .263 at the plate last season and was 0-1 on the hill in five appearances.
            Bodie Cooper is a 6-2, 200 pound catcher from the College of Southern Idaho and will have two years of eligibility with the Wildcats.  This season, he leads the Eagles in batting at. 297 with four homers, 38 RBI and a team-high 32 runs scored.
            Cody Jenkins is a 5-11, 185 pound infielder from the College of Southern Idaho who is batting .275 this season with two home runs and 23 runs batted in with 20 runs scored.
            Teague McFadden is a 5-10, 165 pound right handed pitcher from Lamar Community College in Colorado.  In his two seasons at Lamar, McFadden has a 5-2 record with two saves and a 3.81 ERA.
            Matt Wood is a 5-11, 185 pound pitcher from Northeastern Junior College in Colorado.  Wood spent his first season at Otero Junior College in Colorado where he was 0-1 in 16 appearances with two saves and a 7.27 ERA.  This season at Northeastern JC, Wood has a 3-6 record as a starter with one complete game and 5.37 ERA, recording 63 strikeouts in just 52 innings of work.
            Drake Biggins is a 6-0, 210 pound catcher from Colby Community College in Kansas. In his first season at Colby, Biggins produced a .276 average with 10 doubles and 20 RBI while scoring 32 runs.
            Mitch Savine is a 5-10, 160 pound pitcher from Bellevue West High School.  As a junior last season, Savine earned All-Nebraska Second Team honors after posting a 7-2 record on the hill with a 1.25 ERA.  He ranked third in Nebraska high school baseball for wins in a season and fourth in Class A in ERA, striking out 35 batters while walking just seven in 60.2 innings pitched.  Savine helped Bellevue West to a 16-11 record and a trip to the Class A State Tournament for the first time since 1991.
            Jason Peaboby Jr. is a 6-0, 185 pound catcher from East Lake High School in California.  He has helped this year's team to a current record of 18-3 while starting since his freshman season.
            Tucker Torano, a 5-10, 175 pound second baseman/outfielder from East Lake High School in California, is a three year starter and was named Perfect Game Preseason California Region honorable mention to start this season.
            Isaac Vargas is a 5-11 pitcher and third player from East Lake High School in California to sign with the Wildcats.  He is a four starter who was 8-1 with a 1.50 ERA last season as a junior.
            Wayne State College is an NCAA Division II school located in Wayne, Nebraska and competes in the 16-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.  The Wildcats are 27-22 on the season and finished fifth in the NSIC with a 22-14 league mark.  It was the 18^th consecutive winning season for the Wildcat program.  WSC will face #4 seed Minnesota Duluth on Wednesday at 11 a.m. in the first round of the NSIC Baseball Tournament in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.