New Wichita State baseball coach scores recruiting win with elite high school recruit
New Wichita State baseball coach Brian Green scored his most significant recruiting victory on Wednesday.
Darnell Parker Jr., one of the nation’s top high school prospects in the class of 2023, officially flipped his commitment from Washington State, where Green previously coached, to Wichita State on Wednesday.
Parker received a 9.5 grade (out of 10) from Perfect Game, a scouting service that projects the 6-foot-2 shortstop from Suffolk, Virginia, to be an elite collegiate prospect with the possibility of being selected in the 2023 MLB Draft next month.
In an exclusive interview with The Eagle following his commitment, Parker was already looking forward to stepping foot on campus later this summer.
“I’m looking forward to playing in front of the fan base and the facilities,” Parker said. “I can’t wait to be there. The biggest thing I’m excited about is being able to come in and help set a culture and show what type of person I am. I think I can come in and be an impact guy not only on the field, but off the field as well.”
Parker said he has been planning on switching his commitment to Wichita State since Green was announced as the Shockers’ new manager on June 6. This week he finally received word he had officially been released from his national letter of intent, which he signed to Washington State this past fall.
Major programs tried to claw into his recruitment once Green left Washington State, but Parker was loyal to the coach who won him over during the recruiting process.
“I had a lot of schools reach out to me, but I knew coach Green was the coach who I wanted to play for and I knew coming to Wichita State is what I wanted,” Parker said. “Coach Green has all of the qualities in a coach that I was looking for and that me and my family were looking for. I know coach Green is going to do everything in his power to help me and he’s fully invested in you, not only as a player but as a person. He spends time to get to know you on a personal level. He’s an amazing person and it’s deeper than baseball with him.”
It also didn’t hurt that Green helped develop an MLB All-Star shortstop like Brandon Crawford during his time at UCLA.
Parker is a smooth-fielding shortstop who began his high school career at IMG Academy and finished it back home in Virginia at Nansemond River. He has played in countless all-star games and showcase events, which helped him earn the top grade available from Baseball Factory and the No. 286 prospect rating in the upcoming MLB Draft by Future Star Series.
A Perfect Game scouting report on Parker detailed that he has “very athletic actions in the middle infield on defense, has impressive body control, fast and sure hands fielding the ball, throws well from multiple arm slots and is a high-level defender.”
Parker has goals of playing in the majors and he believes Green can help him get there, whether it be in Pullman, Washington, or Wichita. And after doing some research on the Shocker baseball program, Parker has been pleasantly surprised by what could be his new home.
“I knew Wichita State was a really good program, but I didn’t know they had such a rich tradition that goes back so far,” Parker said. “It was really cool to read about all of that and me and coach Green talked about that. Knowing they’ve had all of that success in the past makes me want to come and do the best I can do to help bring that success back to life.”
Wichita State baseball roster update
From last year’s 36-man roster, a total of 11 are currently committed to returning to Wichita State next season. The only starter currently back in the fold is catcher Mauricio Millan, while outfielders Seth Stroh, Jaden Gustafson and Jordan Rogers all saw playing time last season.
Other returners include catcher Alex Birge, pitcher Matt Wilkinson, pitcher Michael Mulhollon, outfielder Will Stark, infielder Jarrett Flaggert, pitcher Nate Adler and pitcher Colton Vercoe.
Players who have announced their transfer destination include Chuck Ingram (Kansas State), Garrett Pennington (North Carolina State), Clark Candiotti (Arizona), Grant Adler (Kansas), Jace Miner (Oklahoma), Caden Favors (Kansas State), Robert Cranz (Oklahoma State), Jack Little (Baylor) and Matt Boyer (Pepperdine).
There are currently 14 players who remain uncommitted in the transfer portal, most notably two-way superstar Payton Tolle. Other key players who remain in the portal are outfielder Kyte McDonald, shortstop David Herring, pitcher Nate Snead and pitcher Austin Henry.
Green has been able to keep the majority of the 2023 recruiting class intact, although the Shockers lost a key recruit in Goddard Eisenhower star pitcher Tyner Horn, who flipped his commitment to Nebraska to follow former WSU recruiting coordinator Mike Sirianni on his new team. WSU has received a confirmation from top recruit Ryan Geraghty, one of the nation’s top high school arms, that he is solid in his commitment to the Shockers.
While Parker is the lone Washington State recruit Green has flipped to Wichita State, he has added four new additions to the 2023 recruiting class: sophomore outfielder Brayden Luikart, sophomore outfielder Dayvin Johnson, junior left-handed pitcher Gavin Oswald and sophomore right-handed pitcher Eric Fettinger. Luikart and Oswald are former Oklahoma commitments who switched following the hiring of former OU recruiting coordinator Clay Overcash in the same role at WSU, while Johnson is a former Nebraska commitment.
