STILLWATER – During Tyler Fleming's baseball recruiting trip to Oklahoma State, his hosts entered the southwest lobby of Gallagher-Iba Arena and paused at the basketball memorial honoring those lost in the 2001 plane crash.
Fleming had stood there, emotion-filled, before.
A cousin of former Cowboy Nate Fleming, one of the 10 who died that January 2001 night in Colorado, Tyler considered Nate his role model. Partly for that reason, Tyler seriously considered OSU. Eventually, however, he went with Wichita State, set to visit the Cowboys tonight at 6:30 p.m. in a non-conference clash of regional baseball powers.
"I went on my recruiting trip and they took me to the memorial and asked me if I'd ever seen it,” Tyler, a former Enid High standout, recalled this week. "I said, ‘Oh, yeah, I have.'
"And I told them about my cousin. They were kind of stunned.
"Part of me wanted to go to OSU, to be able to do the things that Nate didn't get to do. And kind of live the life that he wanted to end up living, go ahead and have a great career there.”
So far, Tyler's career at Wichita State is off to an impressive start.
A man for any situation out of the Shockers bullpen, Fleming was 2-1 with a 2.32 earned run average and four saves before he was scheduled to make his first career start against Kansas Tuesday night.
One of nine current Shockers from Oklahoma high schools, Tyler naturally would have preferred delaying his starting debut one more night.
"When I heard I was going to get a start, definitely Wednesday night would have been the one I wanted,” he said. "But for our pitching staff right now, it was more important for me to pitch on Tuesday.”
For the Cowboys and Shockers, it's an intriguing mid-week clash.
In the latest Baseball America poll, OSU is No. 13, Wichita State No. 14. Come time for postseason, both schools should be in the mix to host a regional or super regional – even competing for those coveted roles.
"I thought about that for a minute,” said Cowboys coach Frank Anderson, "but we've got so much more to take care of in conference and all that to just continue to play well. Conference is still the most important thing.
"So I don't know that it becomes any more or less important than any other mid-week game, other than it's Wichita State and it's a good regional rivalry and one we want to continue to have.”
For Tyler Fleming, even though he won't be pitching, this first meeting with OSU represents something special. A 6-foot-3, right-hander, Tyler lettered in baseball and football and earned valedictorian commendation at Enid. He won 10 games as a senior, then the following summer starred on the Enid team that won the 2005 American Legion World Series.
During the team's run, he was named MVP of the State and Mid-South Regional tournaments and made the World Series All-Tournament Team.
Twice drafted by the Texas Rangers – in the 20th and 39th rounds – he spent two years at Cowley College in Kansas, before pondering offers from Wichita State, OSU, Arkansas and Nebraska, among others.
While he ended up a Shocker, there were pulls to Stillwater.
His mother Judy is a former OSU cheerleader. There was the Cowboy baseball tradition to consider and several familiar faces, including Cowley teammates and guys he'd played against growing up, like Jordy Mercer.
"They're a great baseball program,” Tyler said, "always are.”
And there were the thoughts and memories of Nate.
"I was younger than him, but he was playing college basketball when I was in junior high and he was my idol,” Tyler said. "Every Thanksgiving was when I saw him the most. I got to spend a lot of time with him and got to know him pretty well.
"I loved him to death. He was the best kind of guy – all-around. Not only was he a good athlete, he was a good son, a good brother, a good friend and a great cousin.
"Since he's passed away, he's made me want to live my life like he did. And he's been a big inspiration for me. I think about him every day.”
