Prep Baseball Report recently caught up with Savannah HS RHP Blake McFadden, who recently committed to Kansas State. McFadden went 8-1 with a 0.62 ERA and struck out 76 batters in 56.3 innings, while allowing only 31 hits and five runs during the 2011 season, leading Savannah HS to the State Championship game. Blake is currently ranked No. 4 in the Class of 2012 player rankings, and was also named Class 3 first team by the MHSBCA.

PBR: Which schools were you considering prior to committing to the Kansas State?

McFadden: McFadden: Missouri, Iowa, Arkansas, Texas A&M, TCU, Oklahoma State, Wichita State, Nebraska, Missouri State, and Stanford

PBR: What were the reasons that you ultimately chose K-State?

McFadden:  Kansas State is a good school that is on the rise and is about to take even more steps and become known for baseball. The coaches at Kansas State are great coaches and they play the game right. They are a hard-nosed team that will get after it, and that is what I want.

PBR: What was the relationship you had with the Kansas State coaches in the recruitment process?

McFadden: The Kansas State coaches were very professional throughout the process. They had me down numerous times to see the campus and to just talk to me. They were very straight up with me and would treat my family with a lot of respect.

PBR: Do you feel that playing in the Kansas City area and facing the competition you do has prepared you to be a DI player?

McFadden: Playing in the Kansas City area has been good for me but probably the best thing for me has been playing and doing things all over the U.S. The Kansas City is a good area to play ball but what has made me the better is going against kids from all over.

PBR: As one of the top ranked players in the Class of 2012 (No.2), do you feel any added pressure to follow up on your success from 2011?

McFadden:  I am working hard now in the off-season on making my self better. When the season starts I will just go out and have fun and do what I can. I can promise you that I will give over 100% everyday to do better every game and every year.

PBR: Any thoughts on the possibility of being drafted next June?

McFadden:  It has been a dream of mine to be drafted ever since I was born. The draft is a long way away and I am going to do my best to get drafted and get drafted as high as possible. It will be a thing that I will definitely consider.

PBR: What are your thoughts on the implementation of BBCOR bats from a hitting and pitching perspective?

McFadden: For hitting it will involve the little things like bunting. The bats will just take a little getting use to. For pitching teams will try bunting more but for the most part it won’t change the pitching game.

PBR: What team did you play for over the summer and how did it go for you? Were there any aspects of your game that you wanted to improve during the summer?

McFadden:  I played for the Midwest Wolverines and our summer went very well and was a very successful summer. I was able to improve all the aspects of my game especially pitching.

PBR: As you head into your senior year, is it good to have the commitment and recruiting process done?

McFadden:  Really I don’t believe that it matters. I still have to continue to improve my game for a chance to get drafted. I do have a goal out of the way but my highest goal is still out there that I am trying to go get.

PBR: Do you feel that this season will be any different considering that you know where you’ll attend college?

McFadden: Now that I know where I am going I need to continue to get better so I can achieve another goal of mine to get drafted.

PBR: You were a big part of Savannah’s run to State’s last year, along with a core of seniors, how do you see Savannah HS overcoming those losses?

McFadden:  We will have to be focused and we need to start practicing now. We lost a lot of talent but we still have some talent too. The new bats are going to help us out because we will have the pitching to have the success and we will have a smart fundamentally sound team. We will have another successful year. We will do the little things right.

PBR: What do you hope to accomplish in this upcoming season on an individual level?

McFadden: I want to be able to do anything and everything next year. I want to receive the top of the top awards there are. I am going to work really hard to make this possible also. I also want to get drafted out of high school. I will do my best and work as hard as I can to get drafted as high as I can and that is the most important thing that I want to accomplish.