Southeast Missouri State baseball coach Steve Bieser signed nine players during the early signing period, the athletics department announced Tuesday evening.

High school seniors Connor Basler, Jake Criswell, Cooper Marks, Cooper Rentfro and Danny Wright, and junior college transfers Kyle Bottger, Conyal Cody, Aiden McMahan and Alex Samples inked National Letters of Intent to join the two-time defending Ohio Valley Conference champions in 2017.

"This has been a very productive fall from a recruiting standpoint," Bieser said in a press release. "We have been able to address our needs based on the graduating class. I owe all the credit to Lance Rhodes and Dillon Lawson who were very thorough and persistent in finding specific players that fit our program. I feel they have done an outstanding job in finding the student-athletes we value. The entire recruiting class has shown the physical skills necessary to play D1 baseball and they have embraced our core values as a program."

Basler is an infielder and pitcher at Valle Catholic in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, which has claimed the Class 2 state title the past two seasons. Former Redhawks Jason Blum and Cole Bieser played at Valle as well as freshman pitcher Daniel Bergtholdt.

Basler, who also has won two state titles and is an all-state quarterback at Valle, hit .487 and had an on-base percentage of .571 last season to go along with 41 runs and 22 stolen bases.

Criswell is a right-handed pitcher from Harding Academy in Cordova, Tennessee. He's pitched in two state championship games and was all-state last season after striking out 77 batters and recording a 2.19 ERA in 57 innings.

Marks is a right-handed pitcher from Blue Valley North High School in Leawood, Kansas. He went 7-0 and recorded 47 strikeouts to just eight walks last year.

Rentfro is an outfielder at Marcus High School in Highland Village, Texas. He hit .312 and had an on-base percentage of .353 as a junior.

Wright is an infielder at Fort Zumwalt West High School in O'Fallon, Missouri. The switch-hitter had a .400 batting average with six doubles, two triples and a home run last season.

Wright, who Bieser said, "is one of the top shortstops in the state," had 18 RBIs and seven stolen bases as a junior.

Bottger is an infielder, who primarily plays shortstop, from North Central Texas College. He batted .279 and drove in 26 runs last season as a freshman. Bottger had nine doubles and three home runs.

Cody is a left-handed pitcher from Chabot College, where both senior catcher Scott Mitchell and senior pitcher Joey Lucchesi transferred from.

Cody had a 2.97 ERA with 63 strikeouts, 33 walks and gave up 48 hits in 63 2/3 innings.

McMahan is a catcher from Rend Lake College, where senior pitcher Brady Wright transferred from.

He batted .302 with nine doubles, a home run and 14 RBIs last season to go along with nine stolen bases.

Samples is an infielder from Navarro College. He had 32 RBIs and batted .323 last year. He had 13 doubles and drew 26 walks.

Valentine to speak

Southeast's third annual First Pitch Dinner will be January 15, 2016, the athletic department announced Tuesday night.

Former MLB manager Bobby Valentine will speak at the event, which will be at the Isle Casino Event Center.

Bieser played for Valentine when he managed the New York Mets.

"Bobby is one of the most creative and knowledgeable baseball minds in the game," Bieser said in a press release. "He has an infectious personality and brings energy to any room he walks into. Having played for Bobby at the major league level, I know what he stands for and believes in, which is why I am so excited to have him address our team and the Cape Girardeau community. It's going to be a great event, and I expect it to sell out early. "

Tickets for the event, which is slated to start at 7 p.m., are $100 per person.

Sponsorships for VIP tables, which are six reserved seats as well as the chance to sit with two Southeast baseball players, are $600.

Money from tickets and the silent auction benefit the Southeast baseball team.