Wichita State’s Darren Dreifort headed for MVC Hall of Fame

Former Wichita State pitcher Darren Dreifort is part of the 2013 Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame class.

Dreifort, a Wichitan, earned two national player of the year honors in 1993. He played for WSU from 1991-93 and was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009. Dreifort, a first-round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1993, helped the Shockers to three berths in the College World Series and runner-up finishes in 1991 and 1993.

He is the third Shocker baseball player to be named to the MVC hall, joining Joe Carter and Phil Stephenson.

The ceremony takes place on March 8 in St. Louis.

Dreifort will join Northern Iowa volleyball star Molly O’Brien, Evansville soccer player Krissy Meek-Engelbrecht, former MVC coordinator of men’s basketball officials Jim Bain and Creighton basketball standout Bob Portman in the class.

Dreifort went 11-1 with a 2.48 ERA in 1993, when he won the Golden Spikes and R.E. Bob Smith awards for the player of the year. He hit .327 with 22 home runs and 61 RBI. His career ERA of 2.24 ranks third at WSU and his record of 26-5 ranks sixth with a winning percentage of .839. Used mostly as a long reliever, Dreifort recorded 17 saves.

He pitched with the Dodgers from 1994-2004, going 48-60 with a 4.36 ERA in nine seasons.

This story was originally published August 9, 2012 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Wichita State’s Darren Dreifort headed for MVC Hall of Fame."