Missouri Western  baseball coach Charles “Buzz” Verduzco has announced two players to the National Letter of Intent for the 2013 season. The Griffons welcome transfers Alexander Kuniyoshi of Shoreline, Wash. (Edmonds CC) and Tyler Smith of Lynnwood, Wash. (Edmonds CC) to next season’s squad.

Alexander Kuniyoshi, a, 5-10 left handed pitcher will transfer to Western from Seattle University in Seattle, Wash. He played his high school baseball at Shorewood high school in Shoreline, Wash. In high school he was an all-League player all four years as well as a team captain his senior season.  In 2009-2010 he went 1-for-2 against Call State Northridge on March 20 with one double. He is planning on majoring in communications at Western.

“Alex, will give us a solid, experienced, arm this coming season,” commented coach Verduzco.” He comes from a junior college baseball program with a rich winning tradition and we look for him to fit in very well,” stated Verduzco.

Tyler Smith, a, 6-0 catcher/first baseman transfers to Western from Edmonds Community College in Edmonds, Wash. He played his high school baseball at Lynnwood high school in Lynnwood, Wash. As a freshman at Edmonds CC he hit .320. Hit high school he was an Honorable Mention all-Conference selection twice. He plans on majoring in physical education at Western.

“Tyler, had to sit out this season due to an unforeseen injury but will be 100% this coming fall,” said coach Verduzco. “He has the experience and talent to come in and be part of replacing our graduating core of catchers. He is a heads up player that knows how to win,” commented Verduzco.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Junior pitcher Brandon Simmons and senior catcher Tony Loeffler earn south central region honors by the American Baseball Coaches Assocation team released Friday. Simmons was named to the second team while Loeffler earned Rawling South Central “Gold Glove” honors. For Simmons this marked the second time he has been named to an all-Region team in the past two days.

Brandon Simmons had an outstanding season breaking the MWSU single season record for victories with 12. He also leads the MIAA and the nation in victories. He made 14 appearances with 13 starts, pitching 10 complete games with two shutouts. He threw 92.2 innings giving up just 81 hits while striking out 65. He second on the team with a 1.94 ERA giving up just 20 earned runs. He won his last ten starts and lost just one game he has stared all season. He gave up two or less runs in 12 of his 14 outings. He was named MIAA Pitcher of the Week on Monday, May 7. He was honorable mention all-MIAA selection his first two seasons.

Loeffler was named to the Rawlings “Gold Glove” All-South Central Region team for his outstanding defense all season long. Loeffler played in 45 of the Griffons 51 games with 43 starts behind the plate. He held a 1.000 fielding percentage with 227 putouts and 32 assits. Offensively he had 24 hits with 22 runs scored. He had six doubles, one home run and 17 RBI’s.

Each member of the All Region Gold Glove Team will be eligible for NCAA DIVISION II Rawlings All-American Gold Glove consideration, which will be selected on Sunday, May 27, 2012 in Cary, NC in conjunction with the Division II National Championship Tournament.

The Griffons finished 34-17 and second in the MIAA at 26-12. They had their best finish since 2005 when they also finished second in the MIAA.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri Western women’s basketball coach Rob Edmisson has announced the signing of five student athletes to the National Letter of Intent for the 2012-2013 season. The Griffons welcome junior college transfers Tiffanie Abrams of Detroit, Mich. (Connors State College), JaQuitta Dever of Tulsa, Okla. (Seminole State College), sisters Sharniece Lewis of Warrensburg, Mo. (Highland CC) and Jallisa Lewis of Warrensburg, Mo. (State Fair CC) and four year transfer Heather Howard of Shawnee Mission, Kan. (Oklahoma State University) to next year’s squad.

Abrams, a 5-10, forward from Detroit, Mich. transfers to Western from Connors State College. She played her high school basketball at Alan Academy. Last season, Abrams played in 29 games leading her team with 15.7 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game. She is a good shooter making 48-percent (151-314) from the field, 42.4-percent (64-151) from long range and 68.5-percent (89-130) from the charity stripe. She also dished out 32 assists and had 49 steals. She helped her team to a 17-13 overall record last season.

Dever, a 5-5, point guard from Tulsa, Okla. transfers to Western from Seminole State College. She played her high school basketball at Thomas Edison in Tulsa. She helped her team to a 19-9 overall record a season ago. Dever played in 28 games while leading her team with 14.1 points per game. She also averaged 3.4 rebounds per game to go along with 2.4 assists and 2.8 steals per game. She led her team with 135 field goals made and was second on the squad with 27 three pointers. She is also a solid free throw shooter making 70-percent (98-140) of her attempts. She plans on majoring in sports management at Western.

Sharniece Lewis, a 5-10, guard from Warrensburg, Mo. transfers to Western from Highland Community College. She played her high school basketball at Warrensburg high school. Last season, Lewis played in 32 games helping her team to a 28-4 record. She averaged almost 16 points per game while shooting 34.7-percent (79-228) from long range. She was second on her team with 200 field goals made and led her team snaring 6.7 rebounds per game. She averaged 1.1 assists per game and 1.8 steal per game. She was a First Team all-Region selection this past season at Highland CC. She plans on majoring in athletic training at Western.

Jallissa Lewis, a 5-10, forward from Warrensburg, Mo. transfers to Western from State Fair Community College. She helped her team to an 18-12 overall record a season ago. She played in 30 games averaging 5.1 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game. She made 32-of-52 free throw attempts and 79-of-228 long range attempts. As a freshman she averaged 3.8 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest while starting eight games. She played a key role in the Lady Roadrunners Region XVI Championship. She played her high school basketball at Warrensburg high school, where she averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds per contest.

Howard, a 6-3, forward from Shawnee Mission, Kan. transfers to Western from Oklahoma State University. She played her high school basketball at Shawnee Mission West high school. Last season, Howard played in 18 games averaging 7.6 minutes of action. She snared 11 offensive rebounds and blocked two shots. As a sophomore she played in 31 games making two starts which included the Big 12 Championship against Texas Tech. During her freshman season she saw action in 20 games which included against Kansas in the Big 12 Championship and against Chattanooga in the NCAA Tournament. Howard plans on majoring in sports management at Western.

“We are excited to add this group to the Missouri Western basketball family,” commented coach Edmisson. “We believe we have added a group of young ladies who will add athleticism and size to all of our positions. We felt like we needed to add a level of experience to our roster and this group brings a lot of floor experience to our program. I believe all of these players will add to the level of excitement that our program needs to improve our chances of success. We are excited about what this group will bring on and off the floor as they are the type of student athlete we were looking for. We will be looking to add several more players in the near future to round out our 2012 class,” stated Edmisson.

— MWSU Sports Information —