newcomers
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Willie
Schwanke
INF, L/R, 6-1, 185, FR-HS Frisco, Texas Wakeland High School
Coach Van Horn on Schwanke Willie is one of our top freshman recruits. With the fall that he put together offensively and the strides that he made defensively, he has a chance to play a lot, if not everyday. He could play third base, first base or DH for us. He’s mature for his age offensively. He knows the strike zone. I think that’s what he does better than a lot of young guys coming in, he lays off a lot of border line pitches. He does have a lot of power. We think that he should be a mainstay in the lineup before the season is over. Wakeland High School Ranked as the 244th-best recruit nationally and 27th-best recruit in the state of Texas in the class of 2012 according to Perfect Game … Named a first-team high school All-American by Louisville Slugger … Selected as the Hitter of the Year by the Dallas Morning News after hitting .420 as a senior with four homers and 41 RBI … Posted a .588 on-base percentage in his senior season … Hit .477 in his junior season with 10 homers and 48 RBI … Also excelled on the mound as he was a 28-2 with a 1.79 ERA and 226 strikeouts in his high school career … Received all-state honors three times in his high school career … Helped his team to the state semifinals as a sophomore. Personal Son of Jim and Stephanie Schwanke … Has one sister, Leslie … Majoring in marketing.
Landon
Simpson
45
RHP, R/R, 5-10, 180, R-FR-RS Magnolia, Ark. Magnolia High School
Mike
Sisco
36
RHP, R/R, 6-4, 215, JR-TR Fayetteville, Ark. Fayetteville High School/Crowder College
Coach Van Horn on Sisco Mike will redshirt this spring. He’s had some arm problems. He transferred from Crowder College and had surgery after pitching there. He had another surgery during the fall. We’ll use a medical redshirt on him this year and try to get him ready for the 2014 season. Crowder College Pitched in 16 games as a sophomore and went 12-1 with a 2.02 ERA … Struck out 93 in 89 innings of work … Earned honorable mention All-America honors, all-region honors and was selected as the team’s outstanding pitcher … Appeared in 17 games during his freshman year and was 7-2 with one save and a 6.26 ERA … Helped his team to the NJCAA World Series as a freshman. Fayetteville High School Earned all-state and all-conference honors as a senior … Named the MVP of the 7A state tournament as he helped Fayetteville win its fourth straight state championship … Selected to the 2009 All-Arkansas team by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette … Helped his high school team to four-consecutive state titles. Personal Son of Mike and Wendy Sisco … Father played baseball at the University of Arkansas in 1986 and 1987 … Has three brothers, Chad, Daniel and Stephen and three sisters, Katie, Felicia and Gabrielle … Majoring in kinesiology.
Tyler
Spoon
8
OF/INF, R/R, 5-11, 190, R-FR-RS Van Buren, Ark. Van Buren High School
Coach Van Horn on Simpson Landon redshirted his freshman season. He had knee surgery his senior year of high school from a football injury he suffered and had some arm issues. He’s come back and thrown extremely well for us. He possesses a moving fastball with some sink and life. He’s also got a good breaking ball. Right now, we see his role as a middle reliever, but his role could really develop as the season goes on.
Coach Van Horn on Spoon Tyler had a great fall, picking up where he left off after summer ball. He redshirted last spring. We were close to playing him last year, but I think it was the right decision. He went out and had a great summer in the Alaska Baseball League, leading the league in home runs and RBI. He has a very good opportunity to start in the outfield, probably right field. He can also play in the infield. We think that he’ll hit in the top or middle of our order, help score some runs, drive in some runs and play solid defense.
2012 (Freshman) Simpson redshirted during the 2012 season ... Named to SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll.
2012 (Freshman) Spoon redshirted the 2012 season.
Magnolia High School Named to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Team ... Led his team to the 2011 Class 5A state championship where he was named the tournament MVP ... Simpson had two complete game victories in the state tournament, including in the title game ... Earned 5A allstate and all-state tournament honors in 2010 ... Twice named all-conference ... Also played football in high school.
Summer Baseball 2012: Played for the Anchorage Glacier Pilots in the Alaska Baseball League … Hit .283 with a team-leading 10 home runs and 33 RBI … Also led the team with 54 hits and tied for the team high with 11 doubles … Ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the Alaska Baseball League by Perfect Game and the No. 5 prospect by Baseball America.
Personal Son of Keith and Tena Simpson ... Has one brother, Hayden, who was a first round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs in 2010 ... Majoring in journalism.
Van Buren High School Twice named to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Team ... Earned all-state honors as a junior and helped his team to the 7A state championship game ... Named to the 7A all-state tournament team ... Selected to play for the East team in the 2011 Arkansas High School All-Star Game ... Was teammates with current Razorback junior pitcher Brandon Moore ... Also played basketball and football in high school. Personal Son of Rick and Robbie Spoon ... Has one sister, Danielle ... Majoring in recreation and sport management.
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