High School baseball players wanting to get noticed by college coaches, get what they hoped for at Wichita State University Shocker prospect camp.  

Exposure was the word of the day Tuesday at Eck Stadium. Fifty high school students from Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas displayed their skills to the WSU coaching staff.

“We hope to get some college exposure from this,” said Kelly Ruminer, mother of Brock, 16, who participated in the camp. “It’s a great school, has great facilities, and we want him to be seen by the coaching staff.”

Robert Murders, of Bolliver, Mo., was nervous for his son, J.D. Murders hopes that the camp will get his son some attention from college coaches.

“I want J.D. to just play good baseball,” Murders said. “There’s a lot of nerves and hopefully the coaches are interested in him at the end of the day.”

Wes Phillips, a sophomore shortstop for WSU, remembered some of those nerves playing at the WSU prospect camp when he was a junior in high school.

“There’s definitely some nerves and tension out here,” Phillips said. “It’s good to see how you stack up against other good players and get some looks from the coaching staff and some JuCo guys.”

The biggest difference between a normal baseball camp and this camp is the level of intensity. Because high school athletes are trying to get much needed exposure, they give maximum effort on every play.

“Most kids you see here are more serious about baseball,” said Scott Gurss, Director of Baseball Operations.

Gurss said the kids were not the only people trying to get exposure.

“Most parents know about Wichita State and what has been built here,” Gurss said. “We want to show kids the tradition of WSU and give the kids and coaches a day to get a good read on each other.”

Gurss said players have been signed due to what they showed at the camp.

Head coach Todd Butler uses the prospect camp to get a head start on seeing players and possible recruits. He wants to help the players.

“These guys want to be Shockers,” Butler said. “But we want to help the players find a school and help them further their career and education.”

Before the camp started, Coach Butler told the kids that only 10 percent of the players he coaches make the major leagues.

He also emphasized the importance of receiving and maintaining good grades. His players must stay the course and follow the plan laid for them.

“I want to coach men, not boys,” Butler said to the campers and parents. “Men work hard on the field then go to class and study out of class. That’s the plan.”

Campers started the day with stretches starting promptly at 9 a.m. followed by timed sprints. Then it was time for the radar gun. Campers got a chance to test their arms. Right field to third base, right field to home plate and catchers were given a chance to throw from home plate second base. Finally, campers got to batting practice and were able to show off their hitting ability. After lunch, the 50 campers were split into four teams and played two games.

WSU’s next baseball camp will be held July 21-24. For more information, contact the Shocker Baseball Staff at 316-978-3636.