Cowboy Baseball Welcomes 16 Newcomers

A total of 16 newcomers reported to the Oklahoma State baseball program in a 2007 recruiting class that includes top prospects from the high school and junior college ranks, as well as a Division I transfer. Four of the Cowboy newcomers were selected in June's Major League Baseball draft.

The incoming class includes 10 players from the high school ranks, five junior college transfers and North Carolina State transfer Matt Mangini.

“We think it's an outstanding class, one of the best we've ever had,” said OSU head coach Frank Anderson. “We've got a strong group of young guys with a lot of upside and some really good young pitchers. We're excited to see what these guys can do.”

2007 Oklahoma State Cowboy Baseball Incoming Class

Martin Beno, RHP, 6-1, 185
Beno was a first-team NJCAA Division II All-American last season at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. The right hander was 11-3 with a 1.90 ERA and had 99 strikeouts in 94 innings. A two-time draft pick, he was drafted in the 19th round of the 2006 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He pitched for the Wareham Gatemen in the Cape Cod League during the summer and was 2-0 with two saves and a 0.50 ERA in nine games.

Tyler Blandford, RHP, 6-3, 175
Drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 34th round, the hard-throwing righty was 9-2 with a 0.75 ERA as a senior at Daviess County High and led the team to district, regional and sectional championships. In 80 innings, he struck out 134 batters, including a 13-strikeout performance in the opening round of the state tournament.

Dylan Brown, OF, 6-2, 205
The younger brother of Cowboy outfielder Corey Brown, Dylan was a two-sport prep star on the diamond and the gridiron. As a senior, he batted .457 with 13 home runs, 10 doubles and 40 RBIs. His 13 homers is a school and county record. He was all-state in both baseball and football as a senior, and the Tampa Tribune named him its athlete of the year.

Nick Buchta, RHP, 6-1, 210
Buchta was 9-2 with 113 strikeouts during his career at Chabot (Calif.) College. In 2005, he racked up 87 strikeouts and was an All-NORCAL selection.

Kevin David, C/INF, 6-1, 185
As a senior, David hit .315 and threw out 70 percent of baserunners trying to steal against him. In the summer of 2006, he played for the Louisiana Irish and hit .343 with eight homers and 49 RBIs.

Dusty Harvard, OF, 6-2, 185
An interesting story in that he never played high school baseball (the state of Wyoming does not have high school baseball), Harvard made his mark playing American Legion baseball in the summers. He starred for the Casper Oilers and was a 28th-round draft pick of the San Francisco Giants. A three-sport star (football, basketball, track) in high school, Harvard was recruited by Wyoming and Colorado State to play football. He is the first player from the Casper area to sign a Division I baseball scholarship since 1986.

Thomas Keeling, LHP, 6-3, 175
An All-District 2-5A selection in 2006, Keeling was 9-3 as a senior with a school-record 0.98 ERA. He racked up 104 strikeouts in 71.1 innings and tossed seven complete games in 10 starts in leading Coronado High School to a district championship. As a junior, he was 5-5 with a save and a 2.38 ERA. He struck out 80 in 67.2 innings and had seven complete games.

Tyler Lyons, LHP, 6-1, 188
A two-time District 4-4A MVP and Lubbock Avalanche-Journal All-City Player of the Year, Lyons was 8-3 with five saves and a 1.12 ERA as a senior while racking up 162 strikeouts in 94 innings. He also hit .485 with four homers and 36 RBIs. As a junior, the southpaw was 13-1 with four saves and sported a 1.45 ERA and 201 strikeouts. He also hit .494 with 19 doubles, six triples and 36 RBIs. He led Frenship High to 2006 District 4-4A championship in 2006.

Matt Mangini, 3B, 6-4, 222
Mangini transferred to OSU from North Carolina State, where he played two seasons with the Wolfpack. As a sophomore, Mangini started 60 games and hit .343 with seven homers and a team-high 60 RBIs. This summer, he won the Thurman Munson Award as the batting champion in the Cape Cod League as he hit .310 for the Hyannis Mets, earning him distinction as the fifth-best pro prospect in the league by Baseball America. In the summer of 2005, he was named the top prospect in the Northwoods League and a Baseball America Summer League All-American after hitting .344 with six homers, 13 doubles and 43 RBIs.

Josh Neal, LHP, 5-9, 165
Neal spent the last two seasons at Connors State (Okla.) College. As a sophomore in 2006, he was 8-3 with a 1.03 ERA, which followed a freshman season in which he went 5-3 with a 0.82 ERA. In 141.2 career innings, Neal struck out 122 batters.

Andrew Oliver, LHP, 6-3, 200
A 17th-round draft pick of the Minnesota Twins, Oliver was a four-year letterman and all-state performer at Vermilion High School in Ohio. As a senior, Oliver was 6-0 with an 0.40 ERA and racked up 108 strikeouts in 52.7 innings. For his career, Oliver was 21-4 with three saves and an 0.96 ERA and had 354 strikeouts in 196 innings.

Aerik Taylor, RHP, 6-0, 180
A three-time All-County pick, Taylor was 16-3 during his prep career. As a senior, the righty was 6-3 with a 2.52 ERA and recorded 56 strikeouts in 50 innings. In 2005, he was 7-0 with a 1.02 ERA and totaled 56 strikeouts in 48 innings. He also hit .393 with nine doubles, four homers and 30 RBIs as a junior.

Brian Taylor, INF, 6-0, 195
A middle infielder, Taylor hit .406 with two homers, two triples and 17 doubles at Angelina (Texas) Junior College last season.

Eric Walker, C, 6-3, 210
An All-State selection and Louisville Slugger All-American, Walker hit .464 with eight home runs and 33 RBIs as a senior at Westmoore. He caught every inning for the Jaguars for two consecutive seasons and threw out 21 baserunners trying to steal. As a junior, Walker batted .314 with five homers and 32 RBIs.

Robert Weinhardt, RHP, 6-2, 195
Weinhardt comes to OSU from Hill (Texas) College, where he was a first-team all-conference selection as a sophomore. He pitched in 14 games, 12 of those starts, last season and went 5-3 with a 3.30 ERA. He also racked up 74 strikeouts in 62.2 innings. Weinhardt played for Athletes In Action in the Alaskan League over the summer.

Matt Willis, RHP, 6-2, 175
During his prep career at Tulsa Union, Willis was 25-9 with four saves. He had a 2.46 ERA and recorded 204 strikeouts. Willis was a two-time all- conference pitcher and led Union to back-to-back Class 6A state championships in 2005 and 2006.

Name	Position	Hometown	Last School
Martin Beno	RHP	Lake Cormorant, Miss.	Miss. Gulf Coast CC
Tyler Blandford	RHP	Owensboro, Ken.	Daviess County HS
Dylan Brown	OF	Tampa, Fla.	H.B. Plant HS
Nick Buchta	RHP	Alamo, Calif.	Chabot (Calif.) College
Kevin David	C/INF	Baton Rouge, La.	Catholic HS
Dusty Harvard	OF	Casper, Wyo.	Natrona County HS
Thomas Keeling	LHP	Ropesville, Texas	Coronado HS
Tyler Lyons	LHP	Lubbock, Texas	Frenship HS
Matt Mangini	3B	Cary, N.C.	North Carolina State
Josh Neal	LHP	Haskell, Okla.	Connors State
Andrew Oliver	LHP	Vermilion, Ohio	Vermilion HS
Aerik Taylor	RHP	Williamsport, Md.	Williamsport HS
Brian Taylor	INF	Cedar Park, Texas	Angelina JC
Eric Walker	C	Oklahoma City	Westmoore HS
Robert Weinhardt	RHP	Pearland, Texas	Hill (Texas) College
Matt Willis	RHP	Tulsa, Okla.	Union HS

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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