By: Hayden Wysup (Washington State Athletic Communications)

With opening day on the horizon, the Washington State Baseball team is set to have 24 new faces. After an offseason of recruiting, Head Coach Nathan Choate and his coaching staff looked all over the country to bring in the best talent possible to their new home in the Palouse.

Freshman infielder from Billings, Montana, Kyler Northrop is one of the new faces and had been recruited by the previous coaching staff and committed to WSU his junior year. However, even after the WSU coaching staff change, the Montana native stuck with his commitment.

"The coaching staff the second time around did a really good job of making me feel wanted and making sure this was the place for me," Northrop said.

While Northrop connected with coaching staff he also did with Pullman.

"My first impression of Pullman was the community aspect and how everyone is really proud to be a Coug. I remember on the plane I wore some WSU gear, and I was getting 'go Cougs' left and right," Northrop said. "I wasn't really prepared for how tightknit everyone was and how proud everybody was of the team and brand."

The community aspect of Pullman also stood out to fellow Wazzu newcomer Noah Thein, a junior catcher transfer from Des Moines Community College in Iowa.

"My first impression of Pullman was the community and the amount of people that care about athletics. They care about how good you do, they invest time and money into our success which means a lot," Thein said.

For Griffin Smith, a junior pitcher transfer from Rock Valley Community College in Wisconsin, his first impression of Pullman came on a Cougar football gameday.

"Last year, we came to watch the game against Colorado, and we were on the field pregame and when they went, 'go' 'Cougs' that was surreal and made me think, this place is legit."

However, for some recruits a visit to Pullman wasn't needed to sell them on the idea of coming to the Palouse.

"Coach Perez sent me pictures of all the facilities, and I was blown away. At that point and having a talk with the coaching staff I knew I wanted to come here," junior pitcher Ingmar Hutzezon said.

For Gavin Roy, a junior midfielder transfer from Cloud County Community College in Kansas, the benefits that come from division one facilities have stood out.

"They take great care of us here, it's crazy to think all the resources we have. I'm super thankful for everything we have, like our fields cleared off right now even though it just snowed six inches," Roy said.

During the winter months the amenities of the Taylor Sports Complex have made all the difference from a JUCO school.

"The facilities are definitely a step forward, throwing live ABs in a gym last year to Taylor Sports Complex is a huge difference," Smith said.

"We all used to have to shovel snow off our JUCO fields but now we have guys doing it for us and people taking care of us," Thein added.

While there are plenty of new faces in the locker room, that hasn't stopped this group from growing close.

"Coming in I didn't know what to expect for how the locker room would be with some of the older guys, but I was very pleasantly surprised with how they treated us when we came in for the first time," Northrop said. "Theres a lot of new guys and the returners really made everyone feel welcome. We have a really tight-knit group, and everyone is friends with everyone."

The Cougars new look roster will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas Friday, February 14 for opening day and a four-game series against Arkansas.