Get to Know the 2019 Drury Baseball Roster

Get to know the 2019 Drury baseball roster with this blog post! We’ll introduce you to each player and tell you a little bit about them.

2019 Roster

The Drury baseball team is set to embark on another season and look to build off of their incredible 2018 campaign in which they won the NCAA Division II National Championship Head Coach Kevin Steinke will return for his sixth season at the helm of the Panthers. Here is a look at the 2019 roster:

Pitchers:

Derek Akers
Andrew Basham
Tanner Binford
Brody conveyances
Ryan Erickson
Cody Forster
Brady Glann
Cole Heavilin
Jace Kaminska

Infielders:
Luke Baldwin
Tyler Durna
Alex Griggs
Brayton Batson*

Outfielders:

Justin Dirden

Utility:

Cooper Ansell*

Catchers:

Austin Alvey*

New Additions

Drury baseball head coach Scott Sutton has announced the addition of 14 new names to the 2019 roster, including 12 freshmen and two transfers.

“We are very excited about the newcomers we have joining the Drury baseball family ” said Sutton. “We feel like we have added a lot of talent and depth to our roster in all areas. We can’t wait to get started working with them and getting them ready for the upcoming season ”

The new Panthers include:

Infielders:
Tyler Gsell (St. Charles, Mo./Hazard Keystone Community College), Jake Ham (Springfield, Mo./Drury), Caleb Marcum (Webb City, Mo./Webb City), Ryan Medina (Dallas, Tx./Sunset), Peyton Owen (Corona, Ca./ Norco)

Outfielders:
Ethan Goforth (Marshfield, Mo./Marshfield), Jaret Koinoglou (Parker, Co./Ponderosa), Hunter McFall (Lebanon, Mo./Lebanon), Michael Nielson (Peoria, Az./Cactus Shadows)
Pitchers:
Jacob Cox (Nixa, Mo./Nixa), Corey Hermanson (Lake Ozark, Mo./School of the Osage/ Crowder College), Isaac Jackson (Pittsburg, Kan./Pittsburg/ Crowder College), Kaleb Kentner (Clinton, Mo./Clinton/ Lincoln Trail Community College)

Key Returners

The Dragons will look to several key returners from last year’s team that made a run to the NCAA Division II College World Series including all-American outfielder Tate Noffsinger (Harrisonville, Mo.), who slugged 18 homers and drove in 60 runs while being named the Great Lakes Valley Conference co-Player of the Year. Drury also returns all-GLVC first baseman Jared Thomas (St. Charles, Mo.), who hit .324 with 17 homers and 51 RBIs, all-GLVC second baseman Connor Wilson (Nixa, Mo.), who batted .331 with three homers and 42 RBIs, and all-GLVC designated hitter Alec Guidry (Arnold, Mo.), who slugged 12 homers with 41 RBIs.

Pitching Staff

The Drury baseball pitching staff is a mix of experienced returners and talented newcomers. Headlining the staff are a trio of seniors in right-hander Will Burson, left-hander Michael Culbreath, and left-hander Andrew Ray.

Burson, who is from Denton, Texas, is the Panthers’ ace and will once again anchor the pitching staff. He was named First Team All-Heartland Conference last season after going 7-4 with a 3.48 ERA in 16 starts.

Culbreath, who hails from Springfield, Missouri, is Drury’s number two starter. He was 7-3 with a 3.86 ERA in 14 starts last season and was named Second Team All-Heartland Conference.

Ray, who is from St. Louis, Missouri, rounds out the top three starters for the Panthers. He was 5-4 with a 4.15 ERA in 13 starts last year.

Infield

The Drury Baseball Team is excited to announce its 2019 roster. This year’s team is made up of 12 pitchers, two catchers, seven infielders, and four outfielders. Get to know the team below.

Pitchers:
-Brody Farris
-Brady Ballinger
-Cody Davenport
-Garrett Santi
-Jake Wright
-Jared Proctor
-Keaton Stropes
-Landon Sullins
-Lucas Hedden
-Nathan Rothchild
-Tanner Bayne
-Will Skelton

Catchers: -Ben Thompson -Harrison Freedman

Outfield

The Drury University baseball team will look to defend their NCAA Division II College World Series appearance from a year ago with a roster featuring plenty of experience. The Panthers will have 10 seniors and nine juniors on their 2019 roster, including eight Position players that saw action in at least 40 games last season. In the infield, senior catcher Hunter Hewitt returns after being named an All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) last season. Juniors Ryan Rippee and Luke Nichols give the Panthers a solid nucleus up the middle, while senior Blake Switzer looks to build on a breakout junior campaign in which he slugged 12 home runs Rounding out the infield is a group of talented newcomers that includes freshmen Peyton Carr and Brock Gibson.

In the outfield, Drury will have a veteran presence with seniors Alex Koch, Brandon Purcell and Parker Selman leading the way. Koch returns after leading the team in batting average (.359), while Purcell provides power at the plate after hitting eight home runs last season. Selman is a versatile player that can play all three field positions and will be looked upon to provide leadership for the younger players on the roster.

Catchers

The Drury baseball team is made up of some of the best collegiate players in the country. This year, the team is anchored by a strong group of catchers that includes senior Brian Morrill and junior Matt Martin.

Morrill, who hails from nearby Springfield, Missouri, is a two-time All-American and was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Year in 2018. He is a poweful hitter with a strong arm, and he will be one of the leaders on this year’s team.

Martin, from Los Angeles California, is a two-time All-Region selection and was an All-American Honorable Mention in 2018. He is an excellent defensive catcher with a great understanding of pitching. He will be counted on to help lead the team to success this season.

2019 Schedule

The Drury baseball team will soon hit the diamond for their 2019 season. The team is loaded with talent and looks to build on their successful 2018 campaign. Get to know the 2019 roster below.

Pitchers

Dylan Dreiling- Senior- Leawood, Kan.
Appeared in seven games on the mound in 2018, making one start…Posted a 4.91 ERA in 16.1 innings of work…Struck out 13 batters and opponents hit just .267 against him.

Brady Wood- Junior- Springfield, Mo.
One of two players on the roster from Springfield, Mo., Brady Wood will look to make an impact on the mound in 2019…Appeared in three games last season, totaling 2.2 innings pitched…Struck out four batters in his limited action last year.

Michael Bunn- Sophomore- Pleasant Hope, Mo.
Bunn joins the Panthers after a successful career at Pleasant Hope High School…Posted a 4-1 record with a 0.96 ERA as a senior…Named First Team All-Conference and Second Team All-State as a senior…Was also named Ozarks Conference Pitcher of the Year as a senior.

2018 Season In Review

The Drury Baseball Team finished the 2018 season with a record of 43-17 overall and 25-7 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference to claim their fourth consecutive GLVC regular season title. Head Coach Robert Pike led the team to their fourth NCAA Division II Midwest Regional appearance in the last five years. The Panthers fell in the Regional Championship game to eventual national runner-up Franklin Pierce University.

Drury Baseball History

The Drury Panthers Baseball team has a long and successful history, dating back to the program’s founding in 1956. The Panthers have won 28 conference championships and made 27 NCAA Division II tournament appearances, including five trips to the College World Series Drury has produced 96 Major League Baseball draft picks and 12 All-Americans. The Panthers play their home games at historicadruryfield, located on the campus of Drury University in Springfield, Missouri.

Under the guidance of Head coach Kevin Semple, the Panthers have emerged as one of the top programs in Division II baseball In his 19 seasons at the helm, Semple has led Drury to 12 conference championships, 17 NCAA tournament appearances and five trips to the College World Series The Panthers have won 40 or more games in 14 of his 19 seasons, including a school-record 52 victories in 2007. Semple was named the ABCA/Diamond Sports National Coach of the Year in 2007 and 2017 and he was inducted into the Drury Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.

The 2019 Panthers roster features a mix of experienced veterans and talented newcomers. The pitching staff is anchored by senior ace Nathanial Nations, who was named First Team All-Midwest Region last season after going 10-1 with a 2.48 ERA. Other key returners include third baseman Nate Ealy (.333 batting average 12 home runs), outfielder Tanner560 (.358 batting average eight home runs) and shortstop Connor Echols (.341 batting average).

The newcomers include transfer pitcher Blake Siple (Lincoln Memorial University) and freshman infielder Parker Layton (Olathe Northwest High School).