Fall Notebooks: October 2 | October 15
Programs covered: Wichita State, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, UC Santa Barbara, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Minnesota, South Florida, Alabama
Wichita State
It was only a matter of time before the efforts of expert recruiter Todd Butler and Recruiting Coordinator Brian Walker began to pay dividends. The Shockers' fall roster bears this out and the physicality of this group jumps off of the page.
Returning first baseman Ryan Tinkham (6-foot-5, 215-pounds) hit 10 home runs in 2015 and he has continued to make a strong presence this fall. Three massive newcomers who look poised to make a big impact are Dayton Dugas, Alec Bohm and Grayson Jenista.
Dugas, a righthanded hitting freshman outfielder, goes 6-foot-3 and 225-pounds and he is the most tooled-out of the rookies. Bohm, another righthanded bat, brings massive power to the corner infield spots and it's not surprising considering his 6-foot-5, 240-pound frame. Jenista (6-foot-4, 225-pounds) is a lefthanded bat who looks to be a future middle-of-the-order guy.
The real key for the Shockers is the return of veteran arms Sam Tewes and Willie Schwanke. Both Tewes and Schwanke missed most of 2015 but they are healthy now and should fill out the top two spots in the rotation. Tewes is 91-95 mph with a quality three-pitch mix and he was outstanding as a true freshman pitching in the weekend rotation in 2014. Schwanke, a former two-way player whose velocity is up to 93 mph, is fully committed to pitching now and he was drafted by the Brewers in 2015 despite the injury and missed time.
Righthander Tyler Jones looks to be the closer and he is someone to keep an eye on. Jones' frame (6-foot-3, 180-pounds) and 90-94 mph fastball should make him a very intriguing prospect.
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