20  James Allen Class: Senior Hometown: St. Charles, Mo. High School: Francis Howell Height / Weight: 6-0 / 197 Position: RHP Birthdate: 11/20/1989 Experience: 2L B/T: R/R

One of the Big 12's top closers from a year ago... A 2011 Preseason All-American who will be called upon to finish the game again as a junior... Enters the season third in school history with 14 career saves and fourth in career relief appearances with 52.

Sophomore (2010): Was one of the top closers in the Big 12 as he recorded nine saves, including four in conference play... An All-Big 12 selection by the Waco Tribune, while he was on the initial NCBWA Stopper of the Year watch list... His nine saves were the fourth-most in a single season in school history... Ranked sixth in the league in overall saves and third in conference-only saves... Also held a 2.54 ERA against league opponents, which was fifth in the Big 12, while he held conference teams to a Big 12-low .156 batting average... His overall opponent batting average of .189 would have led the Big 12 if he had pitched the minimum amount of innings... Saw action in 28 games to tie for fourth in school history... Retired 24 of 28 first-batters faced (85.7-percent)... Ended the season with a 5-1 record, with wins over Texas A&M (5/21) and a 5.1-inning win in relief at Texas Tech (4/3) in which he allowed one run on three hits with five strikeouts... Earned saves on consecutive days against Baylor (4/16-17) and also earned a save in K-State's win over No. 1 Texas, the first home victory against a No. 1 team in school history on May 7... Final save of the season came in the 2010 NCAA Fayetteville Regional when he tossed two scoreless innings with three strikeouts against Grambling State... Earned Second Team Academic All-Big 12 honors.

Freshman (2009): Saw action in 24 games in his first season in a Wildcat uniform, tying for 10th in school history for single-season relief appearances... Recorded a team-best five saves, which tied for seventh in the Big 12 and set a K-State freshman record... Earned Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball... Went 2-1 with a 5.50 ERA, allowing 22 earned runs in 36.0 innings... Tallied a 41-to-12 strikeout to walk ratio... Retired 15-of-24 (.625) first batters faced... Pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing two hits with a season-high five strikeouts, to earn a victory against Kansas in the Big 12 Championship... Also tallied four strikeouts in a season-long 3.2-inning outing at No. 8 Baylor... Recorded his second save of the season against No. 4 Arizona State... Picked up his fifth save in a one-inning outing at Nebraska.

Francis Howell HS: Lettered three years for the Vikings under head coach Tony Perkins... Named all-metro, all-conference and all-state as a junior and senior... Tallied a 4-0 record in 2008, while hitting .448 with eight doubles, five home runs and 34 RBI... Led team to conference and district championships as a senior, while his team finished second in the state... Also led the Vikings to a conference championship as a junior, hitting .430 with five doubles, one home run and 19 RBI.

Personal: James Matthew Allen was born November 20, 1989, in St. Louis, Mo... Son of Jim and Mary Allen... Has one sister, Julie... Involved in Fellowship of Christian Athletes... Majoring in business administration.