WNCC sophomore Shintaro Inoue will be taking his baseball talents to the Division I level after inking a letter of intent to play at Division I Kansas State University back in November.

                Inoue said he is excited to be playing Division I baseball and it was a hard selection to make with all the offers he had to ponder.

                “It’s really an honor,” Inoue said. “I think it’s a step to get closer to my dream.”

                Inoue said he had picked Kansas State over about 10 schools that also included the University of Cincinnati, University of Illinios, and University of Nebraska-Omaha.

                “It’s not a dream in itself,” he said, “but I thought it was necessary for my dream.”

Before Inoue heads to Kansas State next fall, he has unfinished business to take care of at WNCC and that is to finish his sophomore season and that dream is to play professionally. Inoue had a strong freshman season for the Cougars where he was named the Region IX Freshman of the Year.

                Last season, Inoue played in 50 games and batted .376 with 15 home runs, 52 RBIs, 51 runs scored, 13 doubles, 17 stolen bases, and was walked 36 times. He also only struck out 29 times in 170 at bats with an on-base percentage of .493.

                Inoue said he is sure that this season will be better than a year ago.

                And, if what he did in the fall pre-season games is any indication, Inoue will put up staggering numbers. In the alumni game back in September that was played at Oregon Trail Park Stadium, Inoue smacked a home that could be the longest home run hit at the stadium where the Western Nebraska Pioneers play. His shot went over the rightfield fence and landed in the gravel handicapped parking lot and bounced and came to a stop near Kimball Avenue. The measurement of the home run was about 485 feet after it came to a stop.

                Inoue’s goal this year is to win the Region IX championship as a team and he wants to hit .400 or better with at least 15 home runs and 30 stolen bases.

                The record for most home runs in a career is 24 and Inoue needs just 10 home runs to beat Pete Rogers’ record of 24 that was set in 2003 and 2004.

                The record for home runs in a season is 17 and that was set by Francisco Leandro back in 2003. Inoue is currently tied for second in season home runs with Rogers with his 15 home runs from a year ago.

                Inoue said he started playing baseball when he was four years old in Japan. He ended up at WNCC because his recruiting service found WNCC and he was given a good scholarship.

                His improvement in baseball last year was due to Coaches Mike Jones and Ryan Burgner and his teammates.

                “I was blessed with a great coach and great teammate,” he said. “I think it was a very good first year. I learned a lot here. I think I was able to level up in defense, batting, and running bases.”