(Rochester, MN)—The Rochester Honkers Baseball Club recently signed two more players, both from the University of Kansas.  Outfielder Dakota Smith [left] and infielder Justin Protacio [rght] are young freshman at Kansas, and the two Jayhawks will make their Northwoods League debut this summer.

Smith is a 5’11” 180-pound freshman from Leavenworth, Kansas.  He graduated from Lansing High School where he was a four-time All Sunflower League selection and was first team all-state selection his senior year.  As a junior, Smith hit .500 with nine home runs, 35 RBI and 15 stolen bases.  At the 2011 Connie Mack World Series in Farmington, NM, Smith was awarded the tourney’s Most Valuable Player honors as well as the Comcast Big Stick award.  He was ranked as the No. 25 high school outfielder in 2011 by the Baseball Draft Report.

Protacio is a speedy 5’6” 160-pound freshman from Pearl City, HI.  He played high school ball at the Mid Pacific Institute and was a three-time all-state selection and an All-Interscholastic League First Team selection three consecutive years.   In 2008, Protacio helped lead the Mid-Pacific American Legion summer league team to a Hawaii State Championship and a Western Region runner-up finish.