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Cowboys Find a Big Arm in JUCO Gunslinger Asher Hamilton

Oklahoma State is building for the future.
Taylor Skieens|
Oklahoma State head baseball coach Josh Holliday is pictured during the college baseball game between the Oklahoma State University Cowboys and the UT Arlington at O'Brate Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Sunday, Feb., 23, 2025.
Oklahoma State head baseball coach Josh Holliday is pictured during the college baseball game between the Oklahoma State University Cowboys and the UT Arlington at O'Brate Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Sunday, Feb., 23, 2025. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The athletic recruits are piling up in Stillwater as head baseball coach Josh Holliday is steadily cherry picking the future of the Cowboy baseball program. He and the Pokes have already assembled a future lineup of the nation's top recruits. The Cowboys ventured into the JUCO ranks recently, where they snagged South Arkansas pitcher Asher Hamilton.

The 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher started 13 games for the Stars and wrapped up the season with a 9-3 overall record on the hump. In just 76.2 innings of work, Hamilton logged 98 strikeouts and posted a 2.35 ERA. It may have been the regional tournament for the South Arkansas pitcher that set him apart from the rest.

"The most exciting moment for me was last year during our regional tournament. I feel like, as a team, that is when we finally came together as one and played the best we could possibly play. We ended up winning most of those games via run rule. It influenced my path to Oklahoma State by basically just proving myself to everyone that I am meant to play on a big stage at Oklahoma State," Hamilton mentioned in a recent interview with OK State on SI.

The road to Division I baseball is not for the faint of heart. Most JUCO baseball players rarely make the jump to the next level, and Hamilton became the first South Arkansas baseball player to make the DI leap. He dropped some words of advice for the next small college star hoping to make the leap to the next level.

"I would basically just tell them to be patient with everything. I kind of just let everything play out starting last year. I started to get recruited quite a bit after my freshman year, but I knew if I wanted to go big, I needed to come back to South Arkansas. I was able to stay patient and trust the process, and it led to me being able to commit to Oklahoma State. I would just tell my teammates to trust the process and have belief in yourself," said Hamilton.

Oklahoma State has always been a dream program for Hamilton. Stillwater and the sacred grounds of O'Brate Stadium have an uncanny ability to lure in the top baseball prospects in the nation. What was it about O-State that sealed the deal for Asher Hamilton?

"I knew I wanted to always go to a program that wins and has a rich history in winning. The first time Oklahoma State called me, I knew I was going to commit as soon as they gave me that offer. Also, being a JUCO kid, the first time I stepped on that campus for my visit, everything was just so nice and clean. The baseball facilities are the best in the country, and there is no doubt about it," Hamilton added.

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Taylor Skieens
TAYLOR SKIEENS

Taylor Skieens has been an avid sports journalist with the McCurtain Gazette in Idabel, Oklahoma for seven years. He holds the title of Sports Editor for one of the oldest remaining print publications in the state of Oklahoma. Taylor grew up in the small lumber town of Wright City Oklahoma where he played baseball and basketball for the Lumberjax.

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