Fayette High School standout catcher Payton Oeth officially committed to play baseball next season at State Fair Community College in Sedalia. He signed his national letter of intent during a ceremony held on Tuesday, Feb. 17, alongside teammate Ethan Bean, who inked with Central Methodist University on the same day.

Oeth is a four-year starter not only behind the plate, but on the mound, the infield, and the outfield. In fact, second base is the only position at which he hasn’t played during his four-year high school career.

“They mainly signed me as a catcher, but they were also interested in playing corner infield as well,” Oeth said. “I’ll just do anything that the coaches tell me.”

Oeth said he plans to improve his skills at the junior college level before hopefully moving on to an NCAA DI program.

“I’ll be able to develop more as a player there and get connections with bigger schools,” he said. “If I can put in the work and do better, I do want to transfer to a bigger DI or DII school.

“I really think I need to develop more as a player. I’m confident in my abilities, but in order to go into DI and be able to dominate, I need to develop a little more. I think I will be able to do that at State Fair.”

Oeth said he chose State Fair because he liked the facilities, which he experienced on a travel ball team, and appreciated the way the coaching staff led the team during practices.

“I really liked their field. That was my first impression,” he said. “Watching them practice, their coaches were very well spoken, and they had that mentality that they were already going to win, but they were also going to put in the work to be able to do that on and off the field.”

Signing two seniors on one day to play ball at the college level is normally a great feeling. But for Fayette coach Andy Oeth, the day was made more special watching his son sign a commitment. He complimented Payton on taking the junior college path while maintaining his dream of playing DI ball. “I’m thrilled he has taken this route. It’s such a smart path for players who have aspirations at playing at a high level,” he said. “State Fair has a good track record of turning out guys who go on to play at a high level. They weren’t really on our radar at the beginning. We were not expecting to walk away as blown away as we were.”

Roadrunners coach Jud Kindle led State Fair to a 32-17 overall record last year with a 17-6 conference mark in his 10th season as head coach. The Roadrunners are 4-6 so far this season.

State Fair recruited Oeth with the expectation of playing varsity as a freshman next season. Like most college teams, if you can hit, there will be a place for you on the field, regardless of your regular position. And Oeth can hit. Last season, he led the Falcons with a .514 batting average and a 1.411 OPS average. He finished with a team-high 36 hits and 15 RBI with 10 doubles, five triples, and a home run. He struck out only four times, the lowest of all starters, and scored a team-best 18 runs.

“They told him their plans for him or for him to play varsity as a catcher,” said Coach Oeth. “They’ve also talked to him about playing on the corners as well. He can hit, and he can play just about anywhere.”

Oeth caught more than 65 innings behind the plate last season, allowing just 21 stolen bases. He also started 10 games on the mound, finishing with a 3.221 ERA with 61 strikeouts.

But despite strong personal numbers, the Falcons’ defense struggled all season, resulting in a 6-17 overall record that ended in a one-run loss to longtime rival Westran in the semifinals of the district tournament.

Both Payton Oeth and Ethan Bean said they intend to put together a strong senior season with the goal of a district championship.

“I’m super excited because we have a group of guys who have played a lot of baseball together,” Oeth said. “We’ve been putting in a lot of work in the off-season. Our goal is to take a big step and win districts. We were very close to being able to pull it off last year. Winning districts would be amazing this year.”

Coach Oeth echoed those aspirations. “We were a couple of outs away last year from getting into the championship. I feel like we have only improved this year. It’s exciting to hear them talking like that and wanting to lead that charge. I believe we’re fully capable of doing that.”

Oeth said that signing on the same day as longtime battery mate Ethan Bean was a treat. “It’s special getting to sign with him. We’ve grown up together since the Boonville leagues,” he said. “It’s been a fun time, and I’m super excited to finish it with Ethan. We’ve kind of done everything through baseball together. Why not do our important signings together? He’s my favorite guy to catch. Wherever I put my glove, he’ll place it there perfectly. Our last year together will be something special.”

Oeth thanked his family and many coaches over the years for helping him achieve his goal of playing at the next level. “I want to thank my parents, my grandparents, and all of my coaches along the way. My mom, dad, and grandparents have looked after me and helped strengthen parts of my game that they see from the outside. I also want to thank all of my coaches along the way, not just in baseball but in any sport.”

Oeth and Bean open their senior season on Sat., March 21, with a noon game against Higbee on their home field at Central Methodist University.