WICHITA, Kan. ? Wichita State has received a national letter-of-intent from 11 baseball players in the early signing period, Head Coach Gene Stephenson announced Nov. 20.

Dalton Banwart, a right-handed pitcher, from Goddard High School in Goddard, Kan.; Jordan Cooper, a right-handed pitcher, from Shawnee Heights High School in Tecumseh, Kan.; Brian Flynn, a left-handed pitcher from Owasso High School in Owasso, Okla.; Tyler Grimes, a shortstop from North High School in Wichita, Kan.; Cobey Guy, a right-handed pitcher from Arkansas Fort Smith Junior College in Fort Smith, Ark.; Andrew Letourneau, an outfielder from Liberty High School in Bakersfield, Calif.; Charlie Lowell, a left-handed pitcher from Winfield High School in Winfield, Mo.; Chris O'Brien, a catcher from Bishop Kelley High School in Tulsa, Okla.; Josh Rosecrans, a third baseman, catcher and right-handed pitcher from Edmond Santa Fe High School in Edmond, Okla.; Chance Sossamon, a right-handed pitcher and shortstop from Webb City High School in Webb City, Mo.; and Logan Watkins, a shortstop and second baseman, from Goddard High School in Goddard, Kan., have signed national letters-of-intent with the Shockers.

“This is certainly one of the best recruiting classes ever at Wichita State,” Stephenson said. “We are very excited about the prospect of these future Shockers becoming great players and helping us continue the great tradition and helping us succeed in our goal of getting back to the College World Series. We are truly excited about what this class can become.”

Last spring for Goddard High School, Banwart went 4-1 with a 1.38 ERA and 49 strikeouts. He earned Louisville Slugger honorable mention All-America honors as well as being named second team all-state and second team all-Ark Valley Chisholm Trail. In 2006, he went 3-1 with a 1.69 ERA and 29 strikeouts and earned second team all-Ark Valley Chisholm Trail honors.

In his career at Shawnee Heights High School, Cooper has an 11-2 record with a 1.05 ERA and 106 strikeouts. He earned Louisville Slugger honorable mention All-America honors in 2007 along with being a three-time first team all-city league selection and a two-time first team all-state selection. He played in the invitation-only Cape Cod Classic and also played in the Area Code Games in Long Beach, Calif., the past two summers and was named to the all-tournament team this year.

Last spring for Owasso High School, Flynn went 10-1 with a 1.53 ERA in 55 innings and also had 83 strikeouts. He led the team in innings pitched, wins and strikeouts and was second in ERA. He was named all-conference, second team all-Metro and helped his team to the 6A state championship. He also played in the Area Code Games this past summer.

Grimes hit .576 with two home runs, 15 RBI and 10 stolen bases in city league play for North High School last spring. As a junior, he was named first team all-state, first team all-Metro and first team all-city league as a shortstop. He is a three-time first team all-city honoree and is looking to become just the second four-time first team all-city selection in history as former Shocker great Mark Standiford is the only person to accomplish this feat.

Last spring for Arkansas Fort Smith Junior College, Guy went 7-3 with a 1.93 ERA. He struck out 80 and walked 38 in 70 1/3 innings. He also earned first team all-region honors after leading UA-Fort Smith to its first NJCAA Region II baseball tournament championship since 1972.

Letourneau hit .533 with seven doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 26 RBI and 37 stolen bases for Liberty High School last spring. He earned first team all-area honors in 2007 as an outfielder and was also named the Most Valuable Player of the Southeast Yosemite League.

Last spring for Winfield High School, Lowell went 8-2 with a 0.90 ERA, five complete games and 110 strikeouts. He earned first team all-conference honors in 2006 and 2007 and second team all-district honors in 2006. He also played in the Area Code Games this past summer and was selected to the Premier All-Star team to play in the International Games.

O'Brien hit .344 with 11 doubles, two triples, five home runs and 26 RBI for Bishop Kelley High School last spring. He earned 2007 Metro Lakes Conference Player of the Year honors as well as being named to the Metro Lakes Conference honorable mention team in 2005 and 2006 and he was named to the 2008 preseason All-American team presented by Under Armour. He also played in the Area Code Games this past summer.

Last spring for Edmond Santa Fe High School, Rosecrans hit .400 with nine doubles, 10 home runs and 37 RBI. As a pitcher, he went 2-1 with a save and a 2.62 ERA in 10 2/3 innings. He also added 13 strikeouts. He earned all-Edmond honors during his sophomore and junior seasons and was named all-Oklahoma City and honorable mention all-state during his junior season.

Sossamon went 3-1 with a 1.38 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings last spring for Webb City High School. He also batted .464 with 15 doubles, 33 RBI and 28 runs scored in 25 games. For the Midwest Nationals this summer, he went 3-2 with a 2.86 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 22 innings. He also earned all-state honors in the spring, played in the Area Code Games this past summer and was named to the all-tournament team.

Last spring for Goddard High School, Watkins hit .362 with four doubles, two triples and 12 RBI, while also going 4-0 with a 0.68 ERA on the mound with 32 strikeouts. He earned second team all-state honors at shortstop and was named first team all-Ark Valley Chisholm Trail as a shortstop and second team as a pitcher. In 2006, he hit .516 with eight doubles, three triples, one home run and 13 RBI and earned second team all-state and all-Ark Valley Chisholm Trail honors.

WSU Fall Signees
Dalton Banwart ?RHP-Wichita, Kan. (Goddard HS)
Jordan Cooper-RHP-Berryton, Kan. (Shawnee Heights HS)
Brian Flynn-LHP-Owasso, Okla. (Owasso HS)
Tyler Grimes-SS-Wichita, Kan. (North HS)
Cobey Guy-RHP-Harrah, Okla. (Arkansas Fort Smith JC)
Andrew Letourneau-OF-Bakersfield, Calif. (Liberty HS)
Charlie Lowell-LHP-Old Monroe, Mo. (Winfield HS)
Chris O'Brien-C-Tulsa, Okla. (Bishop Kelley HS)
Josh Rosecrans-C/3B/RHP-Edmond, Okla. (Edmond Santa Fe HS)
Chance Sossamon-RHP/SS-Webb City, Mo. (Webb City HS)
Logan Watkins-SS/2B-Wichita, Kan. (Goddard HS)