Ball State head men's golf coach Mike Fleck has announced the signing of national letters of intents to attend Ball State University and compete on the men's golf team by Tyler Merkel (Evansville, Ind./Central H.S.) and Connor O'Neal (Carmel, Ind./Carmel H.S.).

"We are extremely excited to have Tyler Merkel and Connor O'Neal become a part of the Ball State men's golf family," Fleck says.  "They are two very oustanding students who will be extremely competitive on our golf team.  We are looking forward to watching their progress as seniors in high school and then welcoming them into the Ball State golf tradition."

Merkel, who is a recipient of a Ball State Presidential Scholarship, finished first in the Indiana Section of the 2009 Junior PGA Championship with a 70-71.  He also won the Plantations Junior Golf Tour Championship last summer with a 73-69-69.  As a junior at Evansville Central H.S., Merkel finished fifth in the state and was named to the all-state first team.  He maintained a 73.2 average and tallied a career low 18-hole score of 61 and a nine-hole personal best of 29.  A team captain as a junior, Merkel was named to the Academic All-City Team and owns a 3.9 grade-point average on the school's 4.0 scale.  The son of Mike Merkel and Jayne Downs, Merkel participated in the IHSAA Leadership Conference, the NCAA Stay-in-Bounds Program and was a D.A.R.E. Program Role Model.

O'Neal owns a 3.4 GPA on Carmel's 4.0 scale and received the Scientific Class Award plus was a member of the DECA Business Program.  The 2009 Hamilton County High School Player of the Year, O'Neal was the 2009 Indiana Masters Junior Tour Point Winner and finished runnerup for the 2009 Indiana Junior Player of the Year.  As the No. 1 golfer for Carmel, O'Neal averaged 72.0 as a junior.

Ball State finished the fall portion of its 2009-10 schedule with one tournament title and two second-place finishes in six events.