Missouri Southern baseball coach Bryce Darnell has announced the program's 2016 recruiting class. The list includes six junior college transfers, five NCAA Division I transfers and five high school athletes.
Three of the five high school athletes are from Southwest Missouri with two coming from the Joplin metro area.
Below are short bios of each of the student-athletes joining the Lions for the 2016 season.
Zach Litchen JR
L/L LHP 6'3'' 170 Home: Denton, TX Previous School: Hutchinson CC
Zach has pitched the last two years at Hutchinson CC. This past season Zach served the Blue Dragons as both a starter and a reliever. As a sophomore he was 5-0 with a 4.56 ERA in 6 starts and 13 total appearances. In 47.1 innings Zach allowed 48 hits and struck out 50 batters. He struck out a season high 12 batters vs Cloud CC. Zach is the son of Mike Litchen and Mary Kastens and is a Business major.
Trever Burkdoll JR
R/R IF 6'0'' 170 Home: Rantoul, KS Previous School: Neosho County CC
Trever started all 58 games at shortstop this past season for Neosho County CC. In 58 games he batted .303 AVG with 11 2B's, 3 HR's, and was 6 of 7 in stolen base attempts. Trever is the son of Tim and Phyllis Burkdoll and plans to major in General Business.
Hunter Harrison JR
R/R RHP 6'0'' 165 Home: Muskogee, OK Previous School: Connors State
Hunter has been primarily a relief pitcher for Connors State over the last two seasons. This past season he led the staff in appearances with 14 and was 2-0 with a 2.10 ERA and 2 saves. In 34.1 IP he allowed 33 hits, 15 walks, and 25 strikeouts. As a freshman Hunter was 5-1 with a 2.25 ERA and in 28 innings allowed 26 hits while striking out 20 batters. Hunter is the son of Jeff and Lori Harrison and is a Biology major.
Conner Matson JR
R/R RHP 5'11'' 170 Home: Oak Grove, MO Previous School: Maplewoods CC
Conner has led Maplewoods CC in appearances over the last two seasons while pitching primarily out of the Monarchs bullpen. This past season he was 2-2 with a 5.84 ERA in 15 appearances. He pitched 37 innings allowing 40 hits and struck out 38. As a freshman he was 1-4 with a 3.40 ERA with 45 innings pitched, allowing 41 hits, 17 BB, and striking out 46. Conner is the son of G.C. and Kim Matson and is a Nursing major.
Lane Ketterman SO
S/R OF 5'10'' 195 Home: Nevada, MO Previous School: Coffeyville CC
This past season as a freshman at Coffeyville CC Lane started 45 games in left and right field for the Ravens. Lane batted .295 with 3 2B's, 2 3B's, 2 HR's, and had 9 stolen bases. Lane is the son of Matt and Erin Ketterman and will major in Conservation and Ecology.
Drew Pearson JR
R/R C 6'2'' 200 Home: Cabool, MO Previous School: Crowder College
Drew has been a utility player for Crowder College the past two seasons. Over the past two seasons he saw time at catcher and first base for the Rough Riders. This past year he batted .220 in 80 at bats with 3 doubles and 1 homerun. Drew is the son of Mike and Becky Pearson and is a Business major.
Joe Paulino JR
R/R C 6'0'' 205 Home: Springdale, AR Previous: Univ. of Arkansas Little Rock
Joe has played in 60 games with 39 games started over the past two seasons for Arkansas Little Rock. As a sophomore Joe played in 26 games making 16 starts and had a .200 AVG with 1 2B and 1 HR in 60 at bats. In his freshman year he played in 34 games with 23 starts and had a .247 AVG with 23 hits and 5 2B's in 93 at bats. Joe is the son of Bruno and Amalia Paulino and is a Marketing major.
Hayden Steele SR
R/R IF 6'2'' 210 Home: St. Joseph, MO Previous: Univ. of Central Arkansas
Hayden transfers to Missouri Southern from University of Central Arkansas where saw time in 26 games and made 24 starts at third base. Hayden batted .260 in 77 AB's with 4 2B's, 1 HR, and 11 RBI's along with a .961 FLD%. Prior to last season he spent two years at Johnson County CC where his team had an appearance in the JUCO World Series. Hayden is the son of Michelle Linebach and David Steele and is a Health Promotion major.
Craig Larkin JR
L/L LHP 6'2'' 205 Home: Ottumwa, IA Previous: Illinois State University
Craig transfers to Missouri Southern from Illinois State where he pitched out of the bullpen for the Red Birds. This past year Craig made 7 appearances making 1 start, allowing 14 hits in 7 innings pitched and striking out 3. Prior to ISU Craig spent two seasons at Iowa Western CC where he saw significant time as a freshman before redshirting his sophomore year due to an injury. As a freshman at IWCC he led the staff with 52.2 innings pitched, going 6-0 with a 2.73 ERA and allowed 53 hits, 12 BB's, while striking out 56. Craig is the son of Chris and Teresa Larkin and is a Business major.
Cody Smith JR
R/R RHP 6'3'' 190 Home: Canton, IL Previous: Murray State University
Cody transfers to Missouri Southern from Murray State where he redshirted this past season. Prior to his time at Murray he spent two seasons at Blackhawk CC in Moline, IL where he was a two time NJCAA All-American. In his sophomore year Cody was 5-2 with a 1.75 ERA allowing 49 hits, 18 BB's, and fanning 41 batters in 46.1 innings pitched. As a freshman Cody was 7-0 with a 1.22 ERA allowing 27 hits, 20 BB's, and striking out 40 batters in 44.1 innings pitched. Cody is the son of Heather and Rob Beaty and is a General Studies major.
Austin Aspegren JR
R/R RHP 5'11'' 175 Home: Omaha, NE Previous: Arkansas State University
Austin spent this past season at Arkansas State University where he redshirted due to injury. Prior to Arkansas State he played two seasons at Garden City CC where he led the Broncbusters in appearances as a sophomore. As a sophomore he was 2-0 with 4 saves and a 3.12 ERA, allowing 20 hits, 14 BB's, and striking out 26 batters in a team leading 27 appearances. Austin is the son of Angela Hank and Jon Aspegren and is a Business major.
Colin Chandler FR
R/R UT 5'11'' 165 Home: Nixa, MO Previous School: Nixa High School
Colin comes to Missouri Southern from Nixa High School where he played SS for Coach Howard Greenwood. As a senior Colin batted .329 in 79 AB with 5 2B's, 18 runs scored, and a .436 OBP. Colin was voted unanimous 1st Team All COC Large Infield this past season. Chandler also played basketball at Nixa where he was a starting guard on the hardwood. Colin is the son of Tom and Donna Chandler and is a Kinesiology major.
Austyn Gooch FR
R/R RHP 6'0'' 220 Home: Olathe, KS Previous School: Olathe South H.S.
Austyn prepped at Olathe South High School where he played for Coach Perkins. In Austyn's senior year he helped the Falcons make it to the final four of the KSHSAA Playoffs. As a senior he was 3-3 with a 2.96 ERA, allowing 29 hits and striking out 25 in 28.1 IP. As a junior he was 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA, allowing 15 hits and striking out 17 in 22 IP. Austyn is the son of Keith and Lenora Gooch and is a Computer Science major.
Garan Stevens FR
R/R IF 6'0'' 180 Home: Thorndale, ON Previous School: Medway H.S. (CA)
Garan is an infielder from Medway High School in Thorndale Ontario. Garan plays for the Great Lakes Canadians club team and has done so for the past few years. Prior to the GLC's he played for the London Badgers of London, ON. In the summer following his junior year he was selected to play for Team Ontario in the Canada Summer Games. Stevens was also selected to participate in Tournament Twelve. Garan is the son of Blair and Lorri Stevens and is a Health Promotion major.
Austin Carter FR
R/R OF 5'11'' 170 Home: Webb City, MO Previous School: Webb City High School
Austin just finished his senior season at Webb City H.S. where he played baseball for Coach Taylor. As a senior Austin batted .364 with a .439 OBP and a .444 SLG%. Austin was 36-99 at the plate with 6 doubles, 1 triple, 19 runs scored, and 5 stolen bases. Over the past two seasons he has been a 1st Team All-COC Large selection in the outfield and was a unanimous 1st Team selection this past season. Carter was also a starting linebacker on the Webb City football team for Coach Roderique. Austin is the son of Rona Gayman and Mike Gayman, and David Carter.
Chris Leonardi FR
R/R IF 5'9'' 160 Home: Joplin, MO Previous School: Joplin High School
Chris has played the last four seasons at Joplin High School for former Lion Kirk Harryman. Chris has started for four years for the Eagles, four of which were at SS. This past year Chris batted .322 in 93 at bats with a .441 OBP, 30 hits, 4 2B's, 1 3B, and 22 stolen bases. Chris holds the school record for stolen bases at Joplin and is 49-51 SBA over the past two seasons. Leonardi was a 2nd Team All-Ozark Infielder as a senior and was a 1stTeam All-Ozark Infielder as a junior. Chris is the son of Joe and Christi Leonardi and is a Biology major.
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