Spartan Baseball Announces 2021 Signing Class

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State baseball head coach Jake Boss Jr., announced the Spartans' 2021 signing class, signing four players for the 2022 roster. All four players are natives of the state of Michigan.

The 2021 Michigan State baseball signing class includes Jacob Anderson (Oakland Township, Michigan / Notre Dame Preparatory), Aidan Arbaugh (Ann Arbor, Michigan / Saline High School), Micah Ottenbreit (Trenton, Michigan / Trenton High School) and Ryan Szczepaniak (Shuh-pan-ee-ak) (Woodhaven, Michigan / Woodhaven High School).

The four-player 2021 signing class includes two right-handed pitchers, one infielder and one left-handed pitcher/outfielder.

"We are extremely excited to add these four outstanding student-athletes to the Spartan baseball family," Boss said. "We're excited about their athleticism, and we feel like they will all be outstanding young men who will represent Michigan State Athletics in a positive way. They are all already very, very talented players, and yet, we feel like the sky's the limit and they all have a very high ceiling. I'd also like to commend our recruiting coordinator, Coach Sikes, and our pitching coach, Coach Van Ameyde, for all their tireless, hard work on the road and everything behind the scenes that went into collecting a tremendous recruiting class that we're very excited about becoming Spartans."

Jacob Anderson • Oakland Township, Michigan • Notre Dame Preparatory • INF • 6-1 • 190
Will be a four-year letterwinner at Notre Dame Preparatory for head coach Jason Gendreau ... Was a two-year team captain ... Earned All-District honors as a sophomore, in helping Notre Dame to a 24-16 mark ... Junior season was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic ... Also a three-year letterwinner in basketball for the Fighting Irish, and two-year team captain, earning Most Improved Player award as a junior ... Played summer club league for Arsenal Baseball for coach Eddie DeWalt, helping team to number one ranking 16U team in Michigan, posting a .429 average ... Rated as the No. 8 infielder in Michigan and the No. 36 overall player in Michigan by Prep Baseball Report ... Invited to the 2020 Michigan Top Prospect Games I-East and the 2019 Michigan Prospect Games ... Earned Notre Dame Preparatory Highest Honors Academic Scholar Award ... Son of David and Lorelie Anderson ... Intends on majoring in business or kinesiology at MSU ... Has career ambitions of being a professional sports athletic trainer when his baseball career is complete ... Lists his dad as biggest baseball influence because of how much he went through to help him become the player and young man that he is today ... Lists greatest athletic experience of hitting a buzzer-beater 3-pointer to send district basketball tournament game into overtime because the adrenaline and energy inside the gym was ecstatic ... Chose MSU over Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Columbia, Army West Point, Oakland, Bucknell and others.

MSU Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Graham Sikes on Anderson: Jacob is a player that came on this past summer to really catch our eye. He can play multiple infield spots and handles the bat well. I look forward to having him on our infield.

MSU Assistant Coach/Pitching Coach Mark Van Ameyde on Anderson: We're excited to have Jacob on board. He has shown an incredible desire and work ethic to make himself into as good a player as he can be. He can play multiple positions on the field, and he has a chance to impact the program early in his college career.

Aidan Arbaugh • Ann Arbor, Michigan • Saline High School • LHP/OF • 6-2 • 175
Will be a three-year letterwinner at Saline High School for head coach Al Zeiher ... Was team captain ... Helped the Hornets to a 30-6 record as a sophomore before junior season was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic ...
Rated as the No. 4 pitcher in Michigan and the No. 16 overall player in Michigan by Prep Baseball Report ... Invited to the 2020 Preseason All-State Showcase ... Plays summer club league for Michigan Bulls for coach Sean Gallagher ... Also played hockey for Saline as a freshman ... Son of Mark and Laura Arbaugh ... Mother, Laura, played tennis at Michigan State (1993-96), while father, Mark, played football at Hillsdale (1992-95) ... Brother, Andrew, played football and baseball, while sister, Isabella, is a swimmer ... Is undecided on a future major at MSU ... Has career ambitions in education or business after his baseball career ... Lists father as biggest baseball influence because he introduced baseball to him and taught him everything ... Lists greatest athletic experience as hitting a walk-off during the playoffs of his sophomore year because of the excitement of the big win ... Selected MSU over Michigan.

MSU Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Graham Sikes on Arbaugh: Aidan impressed me at our winter camp when he was a sophomore. He has continued to improve and made himself into a very good ballplayer. He is interesting both in the outfield and on the mound and reminds me a little bit of a young, former Spartan, Jeff Kinley. If he continues that trend of getting better each year, I would expect him to be a very good college player.

MSU Assistant Coach/Pitching Coach Mark Van Ameyde on Arbaugh: Aidan was our first commit in this class, and he's a possible two-way guy who reminds me a bit of Jeff Kinley, who had a great career here and was eventually drafted by the Marlins. Aidan has a strong arm, and he's a loose athlete, who runs well and has a tremendous upside.

Micah Ottenbreit • Trenton, Michigan • Trenton High School • RHP • 6-4 • 190
Will be a three-year letterwinner at Trenton High School for head coach Todd Szalka ... Earned honorable mention All-State honors as a sophomore, as well as All-League, All-District and All-Region accolades ... Helped the Trojans to a 25-9 record during sophomore season, winning Division 2 Super Regional title and advancing to state semifinals, falling to eventual state runner-up ... Went 6.2 IP with nine Ks and only yielded three hits and one run in super-regional clinching win ... Junior season was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic ... Rated as the No. 1 pitcher in the state of Michigan and the No. 4 overall player by Prep Baseball Report, as well as the No. 55 pitcher in the nation and No. 168 overall player ... Invited to the Preseason All-State Showcase, as well as the PBU Ohio Veterans Class ... Selected to Team Michigan for the 2019 Futures Game ... Also a two-year letterwinner in basketball at Trenton ... Son of Joseph and Emily Ottenbreit ... Had a cousin that played hockey at MSU, while uncle and grandfather both played baseball at Detroit Mercy, along with another cousin played hockey at Aurora University, as well as an uncle that played baseball ... Intends on majoring in business at MSU ... Lists uncle, Brad, as biggest baseball influenced because he taught him how to take baseball as a lifestyle and not just a game ... Lists greatest athletic experience of going to East Coast Pro because he got to see how good the best players in the nation are and surrounded himself with players who have similar aspirations as him ... Chose MSU over Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Xavier and Bowling Green.

MSU Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Graham Sikes on Ottenbreit: Micah is a terrific get for us. He showed some advanced velocity for his age when he was 15 and has really exploded since then. He has worked very hard at it and has all the makings of a special pitcher. His breaking ball has the spin rate everyone is looking for and his fast ball has been up to 94. I look forward to seeing him flourish in college and can't wait for him to put on the Green and White.

MSU Assistant Coach/Pitching Coach Mark Van Ameyde on Ottenbreit: He already has a high-level arm, who still has a lot in the tank. He's a very projectable, wiry body with an arm that works very easy, and he should make an impact immediately for us on the mound. He's a former hockey player, so he will bring a competitive toughness every time he takes the ball.

signing day graphic

Ryan Szczepaniak • Woodhaven, Michigan • Woodhaven High School • RHP • 6-4 • 215
Will be a four-year letterwinner at Woodhaven High School for head coach Corey Farner ... Earned All-League and All-District honors as a sophomore, after helping lead Warriors to a 35-4 mark in 2019, after a 34-6 mark during freshman season, winning District and Regional crowns, advancing to Division I State Championship game at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field, falling in the championship game ... Rated as the No. 3 pitcher in the state of Michigan and No. 7 overall player in the state of Michigan by Prep Baseball Report, as well as the No. 140 pitcher in the nation ... Invited to the 2020 PBR Preseason All-State Showcase as well as the 2019 PBR Futures Game and the Michigan Top Prospect Games ... Also a two-year letterwinner for the Woodhaven football team, playing quarterback and wide receiver, helping Woodhaven to this season's MHSAA District Final ... Son of Matt and Jodi Szczepaniak ... Oldest brother, Jon, played hockey and baseball, while older brother, Drew, is a sophomore pitcher on the Western Michigan baseball team ... Uncle, Kerin Jenkins, was drafted out of high school by the Seattle Mariners in 1991 and his grandfather played football at Northern Michigan in the 1960s ... Undecided on major at MSU ... Has future ambitions of helping lead MSU to a College World Series Championship, while completing his degree before playing in the MLB ... Lists older brother, Drew, as biggest baseball influence because he pushed him to be the best he could and was great example to work hard to achieve goals ... Lists greatest athletic experience as freshman season winning Woodhaven's first-ever District and Regional titles, advancing to state championship game, being teammates with his older brother, Drew.

MSU Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Graham Sikes on Szczepaniak: Ryan is a big, strong right hander. Every time I see him he keeps getting bigger and stronger! He reminds me a little bit of former Spartan Jake Lowery. I can see Ryan becoming a power arm here at MSU and thriving. I would expect him to continue on his trajectory of improvement and become a terrific pitcher.

MSU Assistant Coach/Pitching Coach Mark Van Ameyde on Szczepaniak: Ryan is another arm that we are very excited about, who should help the program on the field very early in his career. He's a multi-sport kid in high school, who is already a tough competitor with a great arm, but also has plenty of upside.

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