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Top Stories Of 2014: Wildcats Pick Up Two In-State Arms During Early Signing Period

December 27, 2014

As we look back at the top stories from the last year on the PBR Kansas site, we re-post this story from September 16, 2014.

By Sean McCann
Prep Baseball Report Kansas

During the NCAA Division I early signing period in mid-November Kansas State's signing class included two in-state pitching prospects in RHP Brogan Heinen (Topeka Hayden HS) and LHP Davis Schwab (Blue Valley West HS). 

We had a chance to visit with K-State head coach Brad Hill regarding his two in-state signees:

“With Heinen and Schwab we feel as if we are getting two Kansas high school pitchers that bring a lot to the table. They both have a combination of present feel for pitching and long term projection. They’ve also shown the ability to make adjustments and improve over time. Both know how to compete and have had a great deal of success at the high school level,” Hill said. “They are personable young men that wanted to be here and have a good understanding of what they need to improve on before getting here next fall.” 

Heinen, a 6-foot-3, 167-pound right-hander, has a breakout season last spring for Hayden resulting in being named Centennial League Player of the Year and KABC 4A-I Player of the Year.

“Heinen is a tall, lanky kid with a loose arm and lower slot that allows him to work down in the strike zone effectively. He has feel for a breaking ball that could develop into a plus pitch going forward. He’s already shown a velocity bump over the time we’ve seen him but it’s hard to imagine there not being more in there from a velocity standpoint as he begins to fill out,” Hill said. “He’s a multi-sport athlete, which we like. In fact he’s a four-sport athlete, not sure how many of those are out there, this fall he played soccer and also was the kicker for Hayden’s state championship runner-up football team.”

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Schwab was used primarily as Blue Valley West's go-to reliever last spring and earned KABC 6A All-State first team honors for his efforts.

 “Schwab is a big 6-foot-4 lefty. He has feel for pitching in general and fairly advanced command of his off-speed pitches for a high school kid. He also showed improvement from a velocity standpoint throughout the summer when we were watching and expect that to continue,” Hill said. “Last spring, he picked up six saves in six opportunities pitching for 6A Blue Valley West so we know he’s been put in some tough spots and come through for his team.”

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