Marshalltown Community College Baseball sophomore Kolton Gonnerman (Centerville, IA/Centerville) signed a National Letter of Intent Wednesday afternoon to play for the NCAA Division I Missouri State University Bears next season.
"When I visited Missouri State, I just thought it was a great fit," Gonnerman stated. "They have a great program and I think we have a good shot at being very successful during my time there."
Gonnerman will step right in to a strong NCAA Division I program as the Bears reached the NCAA Super Regional in 2015 after posting a school-record 49 wins. The Bears also captured the program's third Missouri Valley Conference Championship while placing four players on the Collegiate Baseball All-American team.
"I really enjoyed my time with the coaching staff," Gonnerman continued, "They were a major factor in my final decision. The program offers a lot of positive aspects, such as playing in a minor league stadium. It's just a great baseball atmosphere."
Gonnerman appeared in 11 games for the Tigers in 2015, making five starts. As a freshman, Gonnerman posted a 3-2 record, striking out 31 batters in 29.1 innings of work and boasted a 3.07 earned run average. For his efforts, Gonnerman was named to the NJCAA All-Region XI Honorable Mention team.
"Marshalltown has been a great experience for myself. I've met a lot of great people, both friends and teachers. Everyone knows everyone here so it's easy to get along with each other. On the field, the coaching staff has definitely helped me get better since I came here. They supply you with everything you need to be successful."
Missouri State pitching coach Nate Thompson saw a need in the team's recruiting class and believes that Gonnerman can fill that void. "The big thing for us to address in this class was getting some strong junior college front-line arms, some guys we felt could step right in for the 2017 spring season and give us what we need and compete for a lot of innings," Thompson stated.
"When I saw Kolton pitch for the first time, he was dominant on the mound," Thompson continued. "He's a strike thrower with a wipeout slider, one of the best I've seen. It's pretty easy to look at a guy like Kolton and see what we're getting. His current coaching staff had nothing but great things to say about him and he just seemed like a great fit from an academic, athletic, and personal standpoint. We were looking for a guy that can come in compete for a weekend spot in the rotation, and we believe that's what Kolton brings to the table."
MCC head coach Rich Grife applauded Gonnerman for a successful freshman year, and looks forward to one more season with the hard-throwing right-hander. "Missouri State is a great opportunity for Kolton. We're very fortunate to have him for one more season here at Marshalltown, but the Bears are a great fit for him. You can tell he really enjoyed his visit there."
"Kolton is going to provide a lot of good things for them when he steps on campus," Grife said. "When he's on, his stuff is electric. He can move through a lineup in a hurry on the mound. Not only are they receiving a great pitcher, but also a very good leader. It's evident through his multiple leadership roles as a Student Ambassador here at MCC that he will succeed at Missouri State."
Gonnerman joins former MCC pitching standout Jeff Degano to play for a Missouri Valley Conference team in recent years. Degano played for Indiana State University before being drafted in the second round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees.
Kolton is the son of Amy and Kendal Gonnerman of Centerville, IA, the grandson of Joyce and Bob Moore of Centerville, IA, and grandson of Deanna and Hank Gonnerman of La Plata, MO.
