14 Days until First Pitch - #14 Dykota Spiess

It's 14 days until the 2014 season's first pitch and the first three game home series against the Ohio Bobcats.

#14 Dykota Spiess

Class: Senior
Hometown: Morganton, N.C.
High School: Patton HS
Height / Weight: 6-2 / 200
Position: OF
B/T: L/R



 2013 (Junior): Appeared in 48 of the team's 59 games, making 40 starts including 38 in left field and two in right field ... Finished the season with a .260 batting average (38-for-146) with 17 extra base hits including 13 doubles and four home runs ... Drove in 20 runs while scoring 28 on the season ... Recorded 10 multiple hit games with eight, two-hit outings while also securing four multiple RBI games ... Increased his seasonal batting average to .308 (24-of-78) during conference play with nine doubles and three homers ... Batted a career-best .361 (13-for-36) against left-handed pitching ... Committed just one error in the field all season, posting a .986 fielding percentage with 68 putouts and three assists ... Matched his career-high of three hits in a game twice during 2013, going 3-for-4 with a double in the series-clinching victor over The Citadel (March 30) and finishing 3-for-4 in the regular season finale at Appalachian State (May 18) ... Drove home a season-high three runs at Furman (April 6), doubling and hitting a home run ... Doubled twice in the road win over Kennesaw State (May 1), matching his season-best with three RBI ... Named to the 2012-13 Southern Conference Honor Roll; Summer League: Played with the Thomasville Hi-Toms of the Coastal Plain League ... Started 42 of the 47 games in which he saw action during the summer ... Batted .214 (34-of-159) with five doubles, a triple and two home runs ... Scored 16 runs with 17 RBI ... Drew 16 walks and was plunked four times against 32 strikeouts ... Was perfect in the field, recording 56 putouts to rank second on the squad and six assists without an error in his 62 chances.

2012 (Sophomore): Saw action in 55 of WCU's 56 games on the season, making 39 starts including 33 in left field and six in right field ... Posted a .254 batting average with 36 hits including 17 for extra bases with 12 doubles and five home runs, third on the team ... Finished tied for fourth on the team with 11 two-out RBI ... Hit .277 against right-handed pitching on the year ... Was a .500 (12-for-24) hitter as a non-starter with six extra base hits including four home runs - recording a 1.083 slugging percentage ... Tallied three outfield assists ... Drove in 27 runs on the year including a career-best five in a home win over UNC Greensboro (March 24) ... Tied for the team-lead with 21 RBI in SoCon ... Hit three home runs in the home double-header against UNCG, belting two including an 11th inning walk-off, game-winner in the first game of the twin bill ... Doubled twice in the home win over Fordham (February 18) and again at Gardner-Webb (April 17) ... Broke the game's only tie with a two-out, three-run home run over the fence in right field as WCU won the series over No. 24 Appalachian State (May 19); Summer League: Played for the Forest City Owls of the Coastal Plain League during the summer of 2012 ... Started 32 of the 36 games in which he say action, finishing with a .196 batting average ... Collected 21 hits including six doubles and a home run, driving in eight ... Was a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen bases ... Walked 13 times and was plunked eight times.

2011 (Freshman): Played in 37 games making 19 starts as a true freshman including 13 in leftfield and three apiece at first base and as the designated hitter ... Finished with a .209 batting average with 14 hits - half going for extra bases - in 67 at bats ... Posted a .286 (2-for-7) average as a pinch hitter ... Had three multiple-hit games and two multi-RBI outings ... Scored two runs despite not getting a base hit, walking and scoring twice in the season-opener against Morehead State (February 18) ... Struggled through his first eight games, starting his career 0-for-17 before collecting both his first career hit and first career extra base hit at the same time with a double down the right field line in the second inning in a road win at Eastern Kentucky (March 2) ... Posted two hits at EKU for his first career multiple-hit game ... Drove in his career RBI on his first career home run, belting a solo shot over the right field fence at UNC Greensboro (March 11) ... Had a career-best day with a 3-for-5 showing at home against Georgia Southern (April 17) ... Hit a three-run home run at College of Charleston (April 2).

Prior to Western Carolina: Garnered All-South Mountain Athletic Conference honors following his senior season, also picking up all-conference accolades following his sophomore season in 2008 ... Hit .414 with over 30 RBI's and an on-base percentage of .514 as a junior, helping Patton HS to the North Carolina 2-A State Championship gane ... Ranked 15th in the state of North Carolina among baseball recruits and was No. 414 in the nation according to PG Crosschecker ... Was a part of the 2004 Morganton Little League All-Star team that finished third in the United States and seventh in the world ... Played summer league baseball with the Burke Legion team and played for the Dirtbags in the fall.

Personal: Full name is Dykota Brandon Spiess ... Is the son of Jason and Heidi Spiess ... Has one sibling, Brittney.

Courtesy WCU Athletics Media Relations