Wichita State pitcher Willie Schwanke expects to play for Shockers in 2017

Pitcher Willie Schwanke expects to return to Wichita State after he was not selected in last week’s baseball draft.

“That’s the plan,” he said Tuesday. “Now it’s time to get back and get healthy. There’s a slim chance of a free-agency deal, but I don’t think that will happen.”

Schwanke, a junior from Frisco, Texas, expected to be starting his professional career soon. Even after missing most of the past two seasons with a torn lat muscle, major league teams expressed interest in the weeks leading up to the draft. On the second day of the draft, some called Schwanke during rounds 3 through 10. He didn’t consider their bonus offers acceptable.

“I was ready to sign,” he said. “I got some calls on the second day, offers that weren’t even remotely appealing.”

Schwanke decided another year of college — he is on track to graduate — and another try at the draft in a year is a smarter course. His likely return could provide a significant boost to WSU’s rotation.

In 2015, Schwanke made seven appearances and three starts, going 0-2 with a 3.00 ERA. He injured his back on March 20 after throwing 7 2/3 innings in a 3-2 win at Southern Illinois. He was drafted in the 22nd round by Milwaukee and elected to return to WSU.

In 2016, Schwanke went 5-3 with a 3.40 ERA, numbers muddied by his final appearance on April 24 in which he threw one inning and allowed three runs. While he originally described the injury as biceps tightness, the culprit was again his back, although he did not suffer as severe an injury as in 2015.

He will spend the summer rehabbing and trying to find a solution for the back problems. A healthy Schwanke could give WSU a No. 1 starter, a role no returner seems a lock to grab in 2017.

“Same area, same grade, but a little less extensive,” he said. “It was definitely strange to me to have it happen twice. Now it’s a matter of figuring out what to do and how to prevent it.”

Pitcher Sam Tewes, picked in the eighth round by St. Louis, told the Lincoln (Neb) Journal Star that he will sign and rehab from right elbow surgery in the pros. Tewes, a junior from Waverly, Neb., made four starts for WSU before tearing his ulnar collateral ligament.

“That organization is fantastic,” Tewes told the Journal Star. “You can’t really get disappointed when you get picked up by a team like that. I couldn’t be happier, obviously getting to stay close to home in the Midwest.”

This story was originally published June 14, 2016 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Wichita State pitcher Willie Schwanke expects to play for Shockers in 2017."