TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State head baseball coach Tracy Archuleta announced the addition of Joey Valentine and Caleb Niehaus to the signing class as the duo will be joining the Sycamore baseball team for the 2026 season.
 
The duo joins Colin Sander, Owen Robert, Trevor Fenters, Ty Brown, and Talan Steinway to date as the players joining the Sycamores' 2025 class.
 
Joey Valentine | LHP | 6-2 | Sr. | Medina, Ohio | Medina HS (Wright State)
Joey Valentine joins the Indiana State pitching staff after a three-year stint at Wright State University where he made 53 career appearances on the mound, including two starts over his time with the Raiders. The left-hander has recorded a 5.64 career ERA over 52.2 innings pitched with a 4-2 record and four saves on the mound. He's added a 60:60 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a career .199 opponent batting average.
 
Valentine is coming off a season where he posted a 2-0 record with a 4.80 ERA over 13 relief appearances on the mound. He pitched 15.0 innings allowing opponents to hit just .214 from the plate on the year.
 
The Medina, Ohio native made his lone collegiate starts in the 2024 season on his way to posting a 1-1 record with a 9.45 ERA over 13.1 innings pitched. Opponents hit .231 from the plate against Valentine, while he made appearances against Oklahoma, Xavier, Miami (Ohio), and Ohio State.
 
Valentine was a 2023 Horizon League All-Freshman Team selection after making a career-high 25 relief appearances. He posted a 1-1 record with a 4.07 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 24.1 innings, while finishing second on the team and sixth in the Horizon with four saves. He held opponents to a .170 batting average.
 
Caleb Niehaus | INF | 6-1 | Sr. | Evansville, Ind. | Castle HS (Western Kentucky / Southern Indiana)
Caleb Niehaus reunites with Coach Archuleta following his junior season at Western Kentucky. The Evansville, Ind. native appeared in 29 games with 11 starts in the field with the Hilltoppers hitting .261 from the plate with 12 hits, five RBIs, 12 runs, and 10 stolen bases. He highlighted his lone season at WKU with a 3-for-4 game with two RBIs, three runs, and three stolen bases against Evansville on March 25.
 
Niehaus spent two years at USI under Archuleta posting 114 games played and 112 starts on the year. He recorded a .274 batting average over his first two collegiate seasons with 26 doubles, three triples, and six home runs, while driving in 77 RBIs and 80 runs scored. He added a .384 slugging percentage and a .339 on-base percentage, while adding 19 stolen bases.
 
Niehaus hit .284 in his final season at USI while starting all 59 games in 2024. He scored a career-high 53 runs and added 16 doubles, while highlighting his season with a two-homer game against SEMO. He added a .375 batting line with two RBIs and three runs scored at the 2024 OVC Baseball Championships.
 
Niehaus as named to the OVC All-Freshman Team after hitting .263 with three home runs, 27 runs scored, and 46 RBIs in 2023. He opened his collegiate career with a two-homer, five-RBI weekend against Western Illinois on his way to finishing third on the team with 16 multi-hit games and first with 12 multi-RBI contests.
 
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