A Look at the New Junior College Players On OSU’s Baseball Team

The Oklahoma State Cowboys will open the 2016 season with some familiar faces missing. No longer will Tim Arakawa be holding down the second base position. Also Gage Green will not be behind the plate.

To replace these key seniors coach Josh Holliday looked to the junior college ranks to bring talented players to his team. Albeit at a lower level, these junior college players come in with great experience that usually makes their transition to D1 a natural one.

When OSU takes the field against UT-Arlington on Friday three JC transfers should be in the starting lineup.

J.R. Davis (2B)

J.R. Davis, a transfer from Contra Costa CC in California, will be replacing Arakawa at second base. Davis hit .288 and stole 10 bases as a sophomore last year.

As a group OSU is not particularly fast, so having Davis in the lineup will be an added perk. Davis showed a good glove in the fall and will be  a nice double play partner with senior shortstop Donnie Walton.

Collin Theroux (C)

Behind the plate will be Collin Theroux, another California JC transfer from San Joaquin Delta CC. Theroux has two years of eligibility remaining after hitting .273 with 8 home runs and 40 RBI’s last season.

The Minnesota Twins selected Theroux in the 33rd round of last year’s MLB Draft, but he did not sign. Theroux has a very strong arm and should throw out plenty of base stealers. Proving that he can compete in the Big 12 could definitely boost the stock of this draft-eligible junior.

Garrett Benge (DH)

Next up is sophomore Garrett Benge out of Cowley County CC in Kansas. Benge dominated last year at the JC level, hitting .502 with 19 home runs on his way to winning the NJCAA Division I Player of the year award. Playing in the Big 12 has a ton of appeal and that’s why Benge didn’t sign after the Cleveland Indians drafted him in the 22nd round.

Obviously, those JC stats are a bit inflated, but all indications are that Benge is ready to succeed at the D1 level. OSU is more of a contact hitting team so adding Benge’s powerful bat will be a nice compliment in Holliday’s lineup. 

I expect Benge and sophomore Jacob Chappell will both see time during the non-conference season. Chappell already has a year of experience under his belt after filling last when Walton was hurt. It will be difficult to keep Benge’s bat out of the lineup for too long so I believe that he will ultimately win the job.