Evan Koehler quietly leads way for Emporia State baseball

There’s a certain type of player Emporia State baseball coach Bob Fornelli looks for. The qualifications are old school and basic, and probably not for the faint of heart.

“I want guys, who if they get punched in the nose, are you going to let ’em whoop you or are you going to stand up and fight?” Fornelli said. “I want the guys who are going to stand up and fight.”

In senior first baseman Evan Koehler, he has found the perfect fit.

The 6-foot, 220-pound Bishop Carroll and Butler Community College product is in the midst of his best season. He’s batting .361, is second in the nation with 16 home runs and fifth in the nation with 48 RBIs headed into this weekend’s three-game series at Central Missouri (20-8, 18-3 MIAA).

Central Missouri is one game ahead of Emporia State (25-7, 17-4) at the top of the MIAA standings.

“(Koehler) is pretty quiet,” Fornelli said. “He doesn’t say much, and he lets how he plays baseball do the talking. He’s reserved, but he leads us in ways you don’t see. He’s got some leadership skills that make him invaluable.”

Fornelli scouted Koehler during his junior and senior seasons at Carroll, decided he needed more seasoning and pointed him toward Butler.

“Which I obviously regret,” Fornelli said, laughing. “He was ready, I just couldn’t see it.”

Koehler was certainly ready, and has went about his business in pretty epic fashion since he’s been in college. He was an All-Jayhawk West pick at Butler in 2014 after hitting .408 with 12 home runs and 81 RBIs.

Last season, he was an All-MIAA pick in his first season with the Hornets, and was second on the team in batting average (.368), home runs (14), RBIs (62) and doubles (14).

Koehler said he’s thrived under Fornelli, who he said has always challenged him — even before he came to Emporia.

“Nothing has ever been guaranteed, he makes you work for what you get, always,” Koehler said. “Even when I was at Butler, he told me if I didn’t have a great sophomore season, he wouldn’t have (scholarship) money for me. I have a great respect for him, because he wants us to play hard and do the right things each and every day.

“We play with high energy, we thrive off of that. That’s what leads to our success.”

And team success is all that’s on Koehler’s radar right now. The Hornets have been to an NCAA regional in 11 of Fornelli’s 13 seasons, but haven’t been to the D-II College World Series since 2009.

“That’s too long,” Fornelli said.

“I try not too think too much about the future, try to focus on what’s going on right now and enjoy that experience,” Koehler said. “And what’s right now is a huge series for us at Central Missouri. That’s the focuse for me, that’s the focus for the entire team right now.”

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 1:41 PM with the headline "Evan Koehler quietly leads way for Emporia State baseball."