Baseball Inks 14 on First Day of Signing Period

NORMAN — University of Oklahoma head baseball coach Skip Johnson announced the signing of 12 high school seniors and two junior college transfers on Wednesday, the first day of the national signing period.

The new class of Sooners for the fall of 2023 is comprised of seven pitchers (Noah Bentley, Kasey Crawford, Jacob Gholston, Parker Hutyra, Kannon Kemp, Colby Langford and Ty Zahradnik), five infielders (Isaiah Lane, Tarris Murray, David Sorg, Jason Walk and Jaxon Willits) and four outfielders (Murray, Walk, Dakota Howard and Barrett Riebock).

"We have an identity on offense and an identity on the mound, and we recruited to that identity," Johnson said. "The athletes in this class have the physical and mental skill set to play all over the diamond, and the pitchers have big arms with a lot of upside. Our staff, led by recruiting coordinator Clay Overcash and associate head coach Reggie Willits, did an outstanding job of putting together this class of players."

Of the 14 members of the early signing class, eight are ranked among the top 55 prospects in their respective states (six among the top 25) and all 12 high school athletes are rated among the top 500 players in the nation (three among the top 300), according to Perfect Game.

Two of the Sooners' signees are from Oklahoma while eight come from Texas. The four others hail from Arkansas, California, Georgia and Kansas.

Noah Bentley

RHP/UTL | Celina, Texas | Celina HS

A right-handed pitcher and utility fielder from Celina High School in Celina, Texas … rated as the No. 16 outfielder and No. 86 prospect in the state of Texas and a top-500 recruit nationally by Perfect Game … earned first-team TSWA Class 4A all-state honors as a junior after leading the Bobcats to a state semifinal appearance … also earned all-district and Dallas Morning News all-area honors and posted a 1.70 ERA and registered eight home runs and 33 RBIs last year … as a sophomore, he earned third-team all-state and first-team all-district honors, was named the district pitcher of the year and the Dallas Morning News utility player of the year … batted .383 and tossed five no-hitters while notching 115 strikeouts and posting a 1.08 ERA … as a freshman, he bated .438 in the COVID-shortened season and tossed a three-hitter with seven strikeouts in his first varsity start against the defending state champions … high school coach is Troy McCartney … also a three-year starter at quarterback and has lettered in track at Celina High School.

Kasey Crawford

RHP | Olathe, Kan. | Olathe West HS

An outfielder from Olathe West High School in Olathe, Kan. … rated as the No. 2 overall prospect and the No. 1 right-handed pitcher in the state of Kansas and a top-300 national prospect by Prep Baseball Report … ranked as the No. 4 player and No. 2 RHP in Kansas and a top-500 recruit nationally by Perfect Game … began his high school career at La Cueva High School in Albuquerque, N.M. … a two-time letterwinner at Olathe West High School … earned first-team all-state honors as a sophomore and picked up second-team all-state honors as a junior … high school coach is Richard Sabath.

Jacob Gholston

RHP | Flower Mound, Texas | Flower Mound HS

A right-handed pitcher from Flower Mound High School in Flower Mound, Texas … rated as the No. 32 overall recruit and No. 9 right-handed pitcher in the state of Texas and a top-315 recruit and top-95 pitcher nationally by Prep Baseball Report … rated as the No. 47 overall prospect and No. 19 RHP in Texas and a top-450 overall prospect nationally by Perfect Game … earned first-team All-District 6-6A honors as a junior last season … named to the all-tournament team at the 2022 Perfect Game 17U World Series and at the 2022 17U WWBA South Elite Championship … high school coach is Danny Wallace.

Dakota Howard

OF| Van Alstyne, Texas | Van Alstyne HS

An outfielder from Van Alstyne High School in Van Alstyne, Texas … ranked as the No. 5 outfielder and No. 25 overall prospect in Texas and the No. 186 overall prospect and No. 31 outfielder nationally by Prep Baseball Report … rated as the No. 55 overall prospect and No. 9 outfielder in Texas and No. 85 outfielder and a top-500 prospect nationally by Perfect Game … named Class 4A defensive player of the year as a junior last season … earned first-team all-district honors as a sophomore … high school coach is Jimmy Haynes … also competes in football and track and field.

Parker Hutyra

RHP | North Richland Hills, Texas | Birdville HS

A right-handed pitcher from Birdville High School in North Richland Hills, Texas … rated as a top-45 pitcher and top-150 overall prospect in Texas and a top-500 prospect nationally by Perfect Game … a two-time letterwinner at Birdville HS … posted a 1.91 ERA with 122 strikeouts in 73 innings pitched as a junior last season … earned honorable mention TSWA Class 5A all-state, first-team all-area honors from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and second-team all-area honors from the Dallas Morning News … struck out 113 batters in 79.1 innings as a sophomore in 2021 and was named the District 6-5A Newcomer of the Year and area newcomer of the year by the Dallas Morning News … high school coach is Vance Bonner.

Kannon Kemp

RHP | Weatherford, Texas| Weatherford HS

A right-handed pitcher from Weatherford High School in Weatherford, Texas … ranked as the No. 8 overall recruit and No. 3 right-handed pitcher in Texas and No. 25 right-handed pitcher and No. 104 overall recruit nationally by Perfect Game … rated as the No. 20 overall prospect and No. 7 RHP in Texas and No. 48 RHP and No. 159 overall prospect nationally by Prep Baseball Report … a three-year letterwinner at Weatherford High School … earned first-team all-district honors after his sophomore and junior seasons … received Perfect Game Preseason Underclass All-America honors last season … also earned academic all-district honors in 2021 and '22 … high school coach is Jason Lee.

Isaiah Lane

INF | Chula Vista, Calif.| Eastlake HS

An infielder from Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, Calif. … rated as the No. 21 shortstop and a top-80 overall prospect in California and a top-500 prospect nationally by Perfect Game … a three-year letterwinner in baseball … batted .388 and posted a .532 on-base percentage as a junior last year, earning first-team All-CIF honors … was a team captain and also named his team's offensive player of the year … competed in the Padres High School All-Star Game at Petco Park … batted .300 as a sophomore and .333 during his COVID-shortened freshman season … high school coach is David Gallegos.

Colby Langford

LHP | Blanchard, Okla. | Murray State College (Okla.)

A left-handed pitcher from Murray State College in Tishomingo, Okla. … a product of Blanchard High School in Blanchard, Okla. … as a freshman at Murray State College in 2022, he made 15 appearances and 13 starts and went 5-2 with 70 strikeouts in 59.0 innings … selected to the Oklahoma Middle-West All-State team at Blanchard High School in 2021 … high school coach was Josh Raney … junior college coach is Sam Bjorling.

Tarris Murray

OF/1B | Plano, Texas | Prestonwood Christian Academy

An outfielder and first baseman from Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, Texas … rated as the No. 25 overall prospect and No. 6 outfielder in the state of Texas and No. 41 outfielder and a top-225 prospect nationally by Perfect Game … a three-year letterwinner at Prestonwood Christian Academy … named a Collegiate Baseball 2022 High School Player to Watch for the state of Texas … received Perfect Game Preseason Underclass All-America honors in 2020, '21 and '22 and named to Texas All Region first team in 2022 … batted .355 with four home runs, four triples and 14 stolen bases last season, leading the Lions to the TAPPS Division I state championship … earned TAPPS Division all-tournament accolades … high school coach is James Vilade.

Barrett Riebock

OF | Rockwall, Texas | Paris Junior College

An outfielder from Paris Junior College in Paris, Texas … a product of Rockwall High School in Rockwall, Texas … named to the 2022 ABCA/Rawlings NJCAA Division I Gold Glove Team … selected to compete in the 2022 Texas-New Mexico Junior College All-Star Game … batted .423/.639.519 last season with 12 doubles, nine triples, four home runs, 39 RBIs, 35 walks and 58 stolen bases as a freshman at Paris JC … as a senior at Rockwall HS, earned first-team all-district and honorable mention Class 6A all-state recognition … also received academic all-state accolades … junior college coach is Clay Cox … high school coach was Barry Rose.

David Sorg

INF | Fort Smith, Ark. | Southside HS

An infielder from Southside High School in Fort Smith, Ark. … rated as the No. 9 overall recruit and No. 3 third baseman in Texas and a top-80 third baseman and top-500 recruit nationally by Perfect Game … a three-year letterwinner at Southside High School … named to the SBLive Preseason All-Arkansas Team and earned Perfect Game Preseason Underclass All-America honors as a junior last year … as a sophomore in 2021, he notched 50 strikeouts in 41.2 innings and batted .343 with eight doubles and 10 RBIs … also earned preseason first-team all-state honors from Prep Baseball Report and Preseason Underclass All-America honors from Perfect Game … high school coach is Dale Harpenau … also the starting quarterback for the Southside football team.

Jason Walk

INF/OF | Acworth, Ga. | Harrison HS

An infielder and outfielder from Harrison High School (Ga.) and a product of Acworth, Ga. … rated as the top infield prospect and No. 34 overall recruit in Georgia and No. 2 infielder and a top-270 recruit nationally by Prep Baseball Report … ranked as the No. 2 shortstop and No. 3 overall prospect in Georgia and top-55 infielder and top-245 overall prospect nationally by Perfect Game … competed in the Georgia East-West Underclassmen All-Star Baseball Game last summer … earned Georgia all-state and all-region honors as a junior last year after recording 22 stolen bases, which is the eighth-best single-season mark at Harrison HS … competed in the 2021 USA Baseball 16U National Team Championships in North Carolina … received Perfect Game Preseason Underclass All-America recognition in 2021 and '22 … high school coach is Jake Storey.

Jaxon Willits

INF | Fort Cobb, Okla. | Fort Cobb-Broxton HS

An infielder from Fort Cobb-Broxton High School in Fort Cobb, Okla. … rated as the No. 2 prospect in Oklahoma and No. 47 shortstop and a top-200 prospect nationally by Prep Baseball Report … the No. 3-ranked recruit in Oklahoma and top-65 shortstop and top-310 recruit nationally by Perfect Game … named a Collegiate Baseball 2022 High School Player to Watch for the state of Texas … 2022 Area Code Games participant … three-year letterwinner at Fort Cobb-Broxton High School … batted .645 with eight home runs, 40 RBIs, 29 walks and 38 steals while posting a 2.102 OPS in 2022 … in 2021, batted .541 with five home runs, 24 RBIs, 41 walks and 32 steals … hit .481 with eight homers, 36 RBIs, 19 walks and 18 steals as a sophomore … received Perfect Game Preseason Underclass All-America honors in 2020, '21 and '22 … high school coach is Dale Bellamy … father Reggie Willits is Oklahoma's associate head coach.

Ty Zahradnik

LHP | Keller, Texas| Keller HS

A left-handed pitcher from Keller High School in Keller, Texas … rated as a top-20 LHP in Texas and a top-500 national recruit overall by Perfect Game … posted a 0.90 ERA and earned second-team all-district honors as a junior last season … received Perfect Game Underclass All-America recognition … was named to the all-tournament team at the 2022 WWBA 17U National Championship … earned a green cord from his high school in recognition of his community service efforts … high school coach is Rob Stramp.

Oklahoma 2023 Early Signing Class
Name	Pos.	Ht./Wt.	Hometown/Current School
Noah Bentley	RHP/UTL	6-2/190	Celina, Texas/Celina HS
Kasey Crawford	RHP	6-4/195	Olathe, Kan./Olathe West HS
Jacob Gholston	RHP	6-6/202	Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound HS
Dakota Howard	OF	5-11/173	Van Alstyne, Texas/Van Alstyne HS
Parker Hutyra	RHP	6-3/195	North Richland Hills, Texas/Birdville HS
Kannon Kemp	RHP	6-6/225	Weatherford, Texas/Weatherford HS
Isaiah Lane	INF	6-1/170	Chula Vista, Calif./Eastlake HS
Colby Langford	LHP	6-1/162	Blanchard, Okla./Murray State College (Okla.)
Tarris Murray	OF/1B	6-2/195	Plano, Texas/Prestonwood Christian Academy
Barrett Riebock	OF	6-2/195	Rockwall, Texas/Paris Junior College
David Sorg	INF	6-6/240	Fort Smith Ark./Southside HS
Jason Walk	INF/OF	5-10/160	Acworth, Ga./Harrison HS
Jaxon Willits	INF	6-0/190	Fort Cobb, Okla./Fort Cobb-Broxton HS
Ty Zahradnik	LHP	6-7/220	Keller, Texas/Keller HS