Westminster’s Matheny signs baseball scholarship to Missouri State

The Matheny men have their baseball futures set for them.

Mike Matheny was named the new manager of the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday.

On Wednesday (Nov. 16),  his eldest son, senior Tate Matheny, signed his National Collegiate Athletic Association letter of intent to play baseball at Missouri State University.

Seniors can sign with NCAA Division I and I universities for all sports in the fall signing period other than football, field hockey, track and field, cross country, soccer and men’s water polo.

The other NCAA signing periods for the 2012 class will begin Feb. 1 and April 11.

Matheny helped lead the Wildcats to a Class 3 state championship with a 6-3 victory over Savannah.

The outfielder hit .505 with eight doubles, and team-leading totals in triples (10),  home runs (10) and RBIS (54).

Westminster Christian Academy coach Rich Van Gilst said he is happy for his athlete.

“I think Missouri State is a very good fit for him so I am very pleased that he signed with them,” Van Gilst said.

Signing before the season is always helpful, Van Gilst said.

“I think is will allow him to focus on improving his game without worrying about the future,” Van Gilst said.

Matheny is a talented player who is also someone the other athletes look to for leadership.

“He has the opportunity to be a team leader on and off the field,” Van Gilst said. “He has great baseball instincts, He runs the bases very well and he hits with power to all fields. He covers a lot of ground in the outfield.  He loves to compete and he works hard to get better.”

Two other Westminster seniors to sign national letters of intent for Division 1 scholarships.  Ryan Haxel will play golf at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and Ellie Huffman will play softball for St. Louis University).

Several other high school athletes also signed letters of intent on Wednesday, the last day of the fall signing period.

Six Lafayette Lancer seniors announced their college plans. They were Kelsey Clayman, Harvard University for women’s soccer; Marilyn Dick, University of Northern Florida for women’s volleyball; Will DuPont, Mississippi State University for baseball; Abby Finder, Missouri Southern State University for volleyball; Kayla Hallm, Rockhurst University for women’s basketball; and         Kelsey Kirchhoeffer, Western Illinois University for women’s swimming.

Eureka senior Alana Hester has signed with Missouri Southern for softball.

Here are the other local seniors who have signed in the past week in alphabetical order of schools:

Eureka
Baseball: Matt Hasenbeck for Missouri State
Basketball: Alex Hillyer for Missouri State

Incarnate Word Academy
Volleyball: Kristen Besselsen for Murray State
Volleyball: Sidney King for Truman
Basketball: Taylor Manuel for Purdue

Marquette
Basketball: Ryan Rosburg for Missouri
Baseball:  Sean Ullrich for Missouri

Parkway South
Baseball: Dan Holst for Texas A& M
Basketball: Ryan McCarthy for Christian Brothers College
Golf: Lauren Redmond for Maryville

St. Joseph’s Academy
Volleyball: Elise Ames for the University of Southern Mississippi
Volleyball: Carly Ochs for the University of North Carolina-Charlotte
Basketball: Maddie Stock for the University of Missouri
Basketball: Morgan Stock for the University of Missouri