Wayne State College head baseball coach Alex Koch (cook) has announced that nine student-athletes have signed national letters of intent to attend Wayne State and play baseball for the Wildcats in the 206-27 academic year.  The group includes Jaxson Appuhn from Omaha, Ian Arends of Grand Island, Gunner DeMilt from Kearney, Aiden Ensor of Bellevue, Seth Milne and Koby Modrell from Gretna, Caden Shafer of Omha, Grayson Wallace of Papillion and Logan Wick from Omaha.
            Jaxson Appuhn is a 5-11 infielder from Millard South High School where he has started and lettered three years in baseball.  He earned Class A All-State First Team honors last spring as a junior posting a .394 batting average with three home runs and 40 RBI, helping his team to a 25-12 record and third-place finish in the Class A State Tournament.  Appuhn had a state-leading 17 extra base hits (13 doubles) and ranked second in the state in RBI.
            "Jaxson is a plug and play infielder that has the ability to hit in the middle of our order with lots of gap-to-gap power," said Coach Koch.  "Logan (Wick) and Jaxson have worked well together as teammates throughout high school and we are excited to see how that grows in the future with us at WSC."
            Ian Arends is a 5-8 outfielder from Grand Island Northwest High School, starting two years in baseball.  He had 24 hits and 11 RBI with eight doubles while drawing 16 walks last spring with a .286 average after hitting .405 as a sophomore in 16 games.  In American Legion baseball during the summer Arends hit .348 with 16 doubles, seven triples and three homers with 55 hits.  He earned All-State honorable mention as a sophomore and was an Academic All-State honoree as a junior last spring.
            "Ian fits our style of play in the outfield – speedy with lots of tools but hasn't scratched the surface with his overall ability," remarked Koch.  "With our program graduating several outfielders this year Ian will have the opportunity to come in to play and push other young outfielders."
            Gunner DeMilt is a 6-2 catcher from Kearney High School where he is a two-year starter and letter winner in baseball.  He earned Class A All-State honorable mention honors last spring thanks to a .348 batting average with eight doubles and 31 hits with 21 RBI while throwing out 53 percent of base stealers.  DeMilt helped the Bearcats reach the Class A State Baseball Tournament with a 22-11 record.
            "Gunner is a big body, physical catcher that has the ability receiving and throwing," stated Koch.  "We think he can have an immediate impact on our baseball program next season.  Gunner has shown the ability to swing with some gap-to-gap power and will only see more power as he develops as a hitter."
            Aiden Ensor is a 5-10 outfielder from Bellevue West High School, starting three years in baseball.  Last spring he carried a .340 average with three homers and 21 RBI with 32 hits and 24 runs scored and has played on area champion teams in Legion baseball the past two summers.
            "Aiden is another outfielder in this class that fits the Wildcat mold," boasted Koch.  "He has plenty of athleticism and runs the bases well.  Aiden is a kid that loves the weight room and will continue to develop the power within his swing."
            Seth Milne is a 6-2 right-handed pitcher from Gretna East High School where he is a four-year starter.  He was a member of the Griffins Class B state championship teams the past two seasons and excels in the classroom with Academic Excellence Awards three years and a member of the National Honor Society.
            "Seth is a projectable arm with plenty of room to grow and develop," commented Coach Koch.  "His athletic movement on the mound makes us fell like we can hit his ceiling in the near future as a Wildcat."
            Koby Modrell is a 6-0, catcher/first baseman from Gretna East High School that played on the Griffins Class B state championship team last spring. 
            "Koby has been a player we have seen a lot over the years at many of our camps and it's been fun watching him develop into the ball player is he today," said Koch.  "He will add depth to our catchers position in year one and also has the ability to play a little first base."
            Caden Shafer is a 6-1 utility player from Millard North High School where he has started three years in baseball and football.  In baseball he was Class C All-State selection for Omaha Roncalli and holds records there for hits in a season (44) and RBI (28).  Shafer played on the 2023 Class C state runner-up team and the Class A runner up team at Millard North last spring.  In football, he was named All-District First Team twice and named Class C All-State Second Team as a sophomore.  Shafer had 30 catches for 426 yards and three TD's while recording 52 tackles on defense in 2024. 
            "Caden is a physical body, corner infielder/outfielder," stated Coach Koch.  "We think he can bring us some utility attributes defensively and find a way to bring some power to our lineup."
            Grayson Wallace is a 6-1 right-handed pitcher from Papillion-LaVista South High School lettering two years in baseball.  He had a 2.62 ERA with 13 strikeouts last spring as a member of the Class A State Tournament Team that won the Metro Conference championship and finished with a 24-10 record.
            "Grayson is a live-arm kid with a body that still has some maturing to do," stated Koch.  "That is really exciting for us because we like where his velocity is now and will hopefully see some big jumps early on in his WSC career."
            Logan Wick is a 5-9 second baseman from Millard South High School where he is a three-year starter.  Last spring he had 26 hits, 32 runs scored and 18 RBI with 11 stolen bases helping his team place third in the Class A State Baseball Tournament earning All-State honorable mention.  As a sophomore Wick had a .300 average with 11 more stolen bases to go with 18 hits and 22 runs scored. 
            "Logan is a scrappy, smooth-as-it gets middle infielder," said Koch.  "We believe he has one of the top gloves around and have no doubt he will add to our competition in the middle of the infield.  Logan is a great contact hitter and we feel like has the ability to be a top of the order type guy in the future for us."
            Wayne State is an NCAA Division II school located in Wayne, Nebraska and competes in the 16-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.  The Wildcats finished the 2025 season at 30-22 overall and tied for third place in the NSIC with a 25-15 league record.