Fort Scott Community College baseball announces early signees for 2010-'11

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- The Fort Scott Community College Baseball program has announced its early signees for the 2010-2011 school year. The Greyhounds, led by former Nevada Griffons head coach John Hill III, inked 13 players.

"Our recruiting coordinator, Eric Peterson, and assistant coach, Ryan Mansfield, have done another great job of putting together a talented group of young men who believe in our values as a program," Hill said. "Both Eric and Ryan continue to solidify themselves as the top assistant coaches in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference. Recruiting for baseball in this conference is ferocious as there are 21 junior colleges in this state trying to get the same student athletes. Eric and Ryan have identified and recruited the finest young men possible. Each young man signed will help contribute to our goals of winning a national championship in Team GPA, improving every year on the field, and being positive contributors to the city and community of Fort Scott.

"We have scoured the Midwest for the best student-athletes we can find and feel very good about the group of kids we are bringing in next year. So far, we have kids from five states committed for next year, but we are currently recruiting kids from other states such as Colorado, Iowa, Texas and Arkansas. While we don't want to deter from the excitement of this year's team, this group provides some early excitement for next year."

Mansfield is the current head coach of the Griffons.

Among the signees are Zach Steadman, a left-handed hitting outfielder from Derby, Kan.; Cody Ball and Cody Parks, teammates from Shawnee Mission Northwest; Cole Fergus, a catcher from Kansas City (Kan.) Piper; Joey Parrick, a left-handed pitcher from Shawnee Mission West; Johnny Dierks, a right-handed pitcher from Independence, Kan., and Aaron Snow, a right-handed pitcher from Pittsburg, Kan.

The out-of-state signees are Jordan Budde, a right-handed pitcher from Harrisburg, S.D.; Milan Pleacher, a pitcher-outfielder from Bates City, Mo.; Dustin Hardy, an infielder from Raytown, Mo.; Dillon Robinson, an infielder from Tulsa, Okla.; and Brett Swain and Corey Stringer, teammates from Skutt Catholic in Omaha, Neb.

The 2009 FSCC baseball season begins Feb. 13, with a road doubleheader at Jefferson College (Mo.). The first home doubleheader is Jan. 18, against Butler (Kan.).