Friday, February 13
Goodyear, Ariz.
2 p.m.
Kansas State University
vs
Iowa
K-State Baseball Set for Opening Weekend in Arizona
Feb 12, 2026 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Coming off its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, the K-State baseball team opens its 2026 campaign this weekend at the MLB Desert Invitational in Scottsdale, Ariz., facing Iowa, UConn, Penn State and Air Force.
The 126th season of Wildcat baseball gets underway Friday against Iowa at 2 p.m. CT as junior James Guyette gets his first career Opening Day start at Goodyear Ballpark. Saturday, K-State will take on UConn at 6 p.m. at Scottsdale Stadium with sophomore righty Donte Lewis getting the nod.
The Wildcats face Penn State at 1 p.m. Sunday with left-hander Lincoln Sheffield starting on the mound, while right-hander Tanner Duke will get Monday's start against Air Force at 2 p.m. Both games against Penn State and Air Force will be played at Sloan Park. Additional teams at the tournament include Northeastern, Grand Canyon and Nebraska.
All four games will broadcast on MLB.com and can be heard on KMAN and online at kstatesports.com/watch. Fans can also follow along opening weekend action through live stats or on the Cats social media platforms.
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Baseball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
GAME #1
K-State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Iowa (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
Friday, February 13 // 2 PM CT // Goodyear Ballpark // Goodyear, AZ
Projected Starters: RHP James Guyette (0-0, 0.0 ERA) vs. RHP Tyler Guerin (0-0, 0.0 ERA)
Watch: MLB.com
Radio: KMAN // Brian Smoller
Listen Online: KStateSports.com/watch
GAME #2
K-State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. UConn (0-0, 0-0 Big East)
Saturday, February 14 // 6 PM CT // Scottsdale Stadium // Scottsdale, AZ
Projected Starters: RHP Donte Lewis (0-0, 0.0 ERA) vs. LHP Cayden Suchy (0-0, 0.0 ERA)
Watch: MLB.com
Radio: KMAN // Brian Smoller
Listen Online: KStateSports.com/watch
GAME #3
K-State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Penn State (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
Sunday, February 15 // 1 PM CT // Sloan Park // Mesa, AZ
Projected Starters: LHP Lincoln Sheffield (0-0, 0.0 ERA) vs. RHP Isaiah Shayter (0-0, 0.0 ERA)
Watch: MLB.com
Radio: KMAN // Brian Smoller
Listen Online: KStateSports.com/watch
GAME #4
K-State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Air Force (0-0, 0-0 Mountain West)
Monday, February 16 // 2 PM CT // Sloan Park // Mesa, AZ
Projected Starters: RHP Tanner Duke (0-0, 0.0 ERA vs. TBA
Watch: MLB.com
Radio: KMAN // Brian Smoller
Listen Online: KStateSports.com/watch
THE MATCHUP
Coming off its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, The K-State baseball team opens its 2026 campaign this weekend at the MLB Desert Invitational in Scottsdale, Ariz., facing Iowa, UConn, Penn State and Air Force … The 126th season of Wildcat baseball gets underway Friday against Iowa at 2 p.m. CT as junior James Guyette gets his first career Opening Day start at Goodyear Ballpark ... Saturday, K-State will take on UConn at 6 p.m. at Scottsdale Stadium with sophomore righty Donte Lewis getting the nod ... The Wildcats face Penn State at 1 p.m. … Sunday with left-hander Lincoln Sheffield starting on the mound, while right-hander Tanner Duke will get Monday's start against Air Force at 2 p.m. Both games against Penn State and Air Force will be played at Sloan Park.
FOLLOW THE CATS
All four games will broadcast on MLB.com and can be heard on KMAN and online at kstatesports.com/watch ... Fans can also follow along opening weekend action through live stats by visiting the team's schedule page or on the Cats social media platforms (@KStateBSB).
A LOOK AT K-STATE
Coming off their third straight 30-win season and seventh season under head coach Pete Hughes, the Wildcats return 21 players (17 letterwinners) from the 2025 roster that finished 32-26 overall and set a school record with 17 conference wins ... The Wildcats return everyday starters AJ Evasco, Dee Kennedy, Bear Madliak and Shintaro Inoue along with weekend starter Lincoln Sheffield … Evasco, who earned D1Baseball Freshman All-American honors, turned in a record-breaking debut season by setting K-State freshman records for home runs (11) and RBI (52) … A total of 17 newcomers were added to the 2026 roster in the offseason, that includes 12 transfers and 5 freshmen … Two Wildcats were drafted in the 2025 MLB Draft with shortstop Maximus Martin (Boston Red Sox) and left-handed Friday night starter Jacob Frost (Los Angeles Dodgers) … Both were taken in the 10th round … K-State returned nearly 50% of its offense in every major statistical category, including 54.7% of its run production … On the mound, the Cats returned 44.8% of its wins and 49% of innings.
SCOUTING IOWA
Iowa begins its 13th season under head coach Rick Heller … The Hawkeyes are coming off a 32-22-1 season with a 21-9 mark in Big Ten play … Iowa was 17-15-1 on the road in 2025 and finished 2-7-1 in its last 10 games … As a team, Iowa slashed .292/.402/.471 with 125 doubles, six triples and 68 home runs … Iowa baseball brings back 52 1/3 innings from last season and loses 428 1/3 innings, losing all three weekend starters … RHP Tyler Guerin will get the Opening Day start for the Hawkeyes … Guerin was 0-1 with in 14 appearances with a 7.02 ERA and logged two starts … K-State leads the all-time series 17-10 … The two squads last met on February 26, 2023 at the MLB Desert Invitational, with Iowa winning 6-5.
SCOUTING UCONN
UConn was selected as the favorite in the Big East Preseason Poll, while pitcher Sean Finn, outfielder Tyler Minick and shortstop Rob Rispoli were voted to the All-Big East Preseason Team … The Huskies finished their 2025 campaign 38-21 with a 17-4 record in Big East to finish second in the league standings … Head coach Jim Penders enters his 23rd season at the helm of the Huskies baseball program … The five-time conference Coach of the Year has guided UConn to a 773-496-5 overall record … UConn hit .313 as a team in 2025 to go along with a .520 team slugging percentage and .419 on-base percentage with 97 home runs, ranking 23rd nationally and first in the Big East … The Huskies stole the nation's 10th-best mark of 139 bases … Sophomore LHP Cayden Suchy will get the nod in Saturday's game for UConn … He went 3-4 his freshman season with a 5.93 ERA … Had four starts with five appearances out of the pen … Saturday's contest marks the second meeting between UConn and K-State … UConn won 4-0 in the first-ever meeting in Storrs, Conn., in 2024.
SCOUTING PENN STATE
Penn State finished the 2025 season with a 33-23 record, posting its second-most wins in a season … PSU reached the 30-win mark for the first time since 2011 … In Big Ten play, PSU won five Big Ten series in a season for the first time since 2012 and won three Big Ten road series for the first time since 2012 ... Its 15 Big Ten wins were its most since 2012 (not counting a Big Ten-only schedule in 2021) … PSU slashed .272/.382/.470 as a team in 2025 … Senior right-handed pitcher Dimond Loosli was tabbed to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Award watch list on Tuesday … Loosli made 22 appearances on the mound last season, picking up five wins and posting a 3.82 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 33 innings … Right-handed freshman Isaiah Shayter will make his first collegiate start on Sunday vs. lefty senior Lincoln Sheffield … K-State leads the all-time series 3-1 since the first meeting in 1994 … K-State defeated Penn State 4-1 in the last contest on February 17, 2007, in Shreveport, Louisiana.
SCOUTING AIR FORCE
Air Force wrapped up the 2025 season with a 20-34 overall record and 12-18 mark in Mountain West action … The Falcons were 7-25 overall on the road last season …
Mike Kazlausky enters his 16th season as the Air Force head baseball coach, after retiring from active duty in 2011 … Coach Kazlausky has led the Falcons to an overall 338-442 record … Catcher and team captain Walker Zapp was named to the Preseason All-Mountain West Team … Zapp finished second on the team with a .330 batting average, tallying 65 hits that included 18 doubles, five triples and seven home runs … He drove in 43 runs and added eight stolen bases … K-State leads the all-time series 14-5, with the two squads splitting a mid-week two-game series in 2023 at Air Force … The series featured 52 total runs, 21 doubles and six home runs … Monday's starter will be announced at a later date.
OPENING DAY
The 2026 opener marks the 126th season of Wildcat baseball, while Friday's contest marks the 23rd straight season K-State opens its season on the road … K-State last opened the season at home in 2003 with a doubleheader against Western Illinois … The Wildcats is 2-5 in season openers under Hughes ... The Cats are 4-6 over their last 10 season openers and 15-11 going back to the year 2000.
2026 SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
The Wildcats' 56-game schedule includes 10 opponents that advanced to the NCAA Regional round last season, highlighted by Super Regional participants Auburn and West Virginia, along with College World Series qualifier Arizona ... Sixteen of the Wildcats 26 home games are against opponents that made it to the 2025 NCAA Tournament, including 15 against Big 12 opponents with Arizona State, TCU, Oklahoma State, KU and Cincinnati … In total, K-State will face nine teams – 22 games – that finished with an RPI of 50 or lower in 2025.
O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
Redshirt seniors Kyan Lodice and Carson Liggett were voted team captains for the 2026 season … Lodice is the longest tenured player on the team after joining the squad in 2022.
PRESEASON POLL
K-State was selected to finish seventh in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll ... TCU was picked as the preseason favorite followed by Arizona, West Virginia, Arizona State and Kansas and Oklahoma State ... TCU nearly swept the preseason awards as Sawyer Storsnider was voted the Preseason Player of the Year, Tommy Lapour was named the Preseason Pitcher of the Year and Lucas Franco the Preseason Freshman of the Year. ASU's Dean Toigo was voted the Preseason Newcomer of the Year.
2026 BIG 12 BASEBALL PRESEASON POLL
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
K-State's 38-man roster features one graduate, seven redshirt seniors, eight seniors, five redshirt juniors, six juniors, two redshirt sophomores, three sophomores, one redshirt freshman and five freshmen … K-State returned 17 letterwinners from 2025 and 17 newcomers … Thirteen states and three countries (United States, Canada and Japan) are represented on the Cats roster.
NEW FACES
The 2025 roster is comprised of 17 new faces with 12 transfers and five freshmen... Nine of the Wildcats' 12 transfers come from four-year universities, including Division I infielders Carlos Vasquez (Western Kentucky), Grant Gallagher (East Tennessee State), outfielder Robby Bolin (Nebraska) and pitchers Aaron Arnold (Wichita State), Matt Flores (UC Riverside), Cohen Feser (TCU), Robert Fortenberry (Mississippi State) and Adan Longoria (USF), and catcher Shea McGahan (SEMO). Gallagher was ranked No. 11 in the preseason third baseman rankings by D1Baseball after producing a .276/.473/.665 slash line with 20 home runs and a nation-leading 66 walks.
PLAYER RANKINGS
Five players earned a spot on D1Baseball's Preseason Player Rankings … Newcomer Grant Gallagher earned the highest ranking coming in as the No. 1 third baseman in the Big 12 and No. 11 nationally … Dee Kennedy was tabbed the No. 2/No. 34 shortstop … Shintaro Inoue came in as the No. 5/No. 36 second baseman … AJ Evasco ranked No. 11/No. 70 in the outfield and James Guyette closed out the Cats' selections at No. 12/No. 139 as a starting pitcher.
COACH HUGHES FILE
Pete Hughes the winningest active Big 12 coach, is in 29th season as a head coach and eighth at the helm of K-State baseball … Hughes has led five squads to the tournament (Virginia Tech [2010, 2013], Oklahoma [2017], K-State [2024, 2025]) … In 28 seasons, Hughes has compiled a career record of 852-660-3 (.563) as a head coach … His 852 career wins are the most by any active Big 12 head coaches … In seven seasons as the head coach of the Wildcats, Hughes has put together a 200-168 (.543) record … K-State has put together three consecutive 30-win seasons, including 35 wins in 2023 and 2024 –its highest win total since posting 45 in 2013 … Hughes has overseen 91 former student-athletes selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, including 27 taken in the first 10 rounds after four players were selected in the 2024 MLB Draft. In total, Hughes has recruited 145 players who were drafted and/or played professionally, including eight first-rounders … He has developed and/or recruited 22 Major Leaguers during his collegiate coaching career.
A LOOK BACK AT 2025
Last season, K-State registered its seventh consecutive winning season, posting a 32-26 overall record and a 17-13 mark in Big 12 play. The Wildcats earned their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance and second straight berth, marking the program's first back-to-back bids since 2010–11.
RECORDS FALL
The 17 conference wins set a new school record, surpassing the previous mark established by the 2013 team, while the season was highlighted by a school-record 97 home runs.
TOP PERFORMERS
Last season, the Wildcats finished within the Big 12's top five in several offensive categories, ranking third in home runs (97) and slugging percentage (.492), and fifth in total runs (424) and walks (272). K-State finished just outside of the top five in scoring (7.3 runs per game). The 2025 season was highlighted by strong offensive performances from graduate Keegan O'Connor, junior Maximus Martin and freshman AJ Evasco.
CATS DEALING
Last season, K-State's pitching staff finished seventh in the Big 12 in total strikeouts (507) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.2), ranking 49th nationally ... Two players finished among the Big 12's top 10 in strikeouts per nine innings, with lefties Jacob Frost at 10.18 (fifth) and Michael Quevedo at 9.90 (eighth).
YES, SHEFF
Lincoln Sheffield, who tossed a complete game to secure the Wildcats' series sweep over Utah on May 16, finished fifth in the Big 12 in both strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.68) and walks allowed per nine innings (2.30). With his 6 2/3 scoreless innings against Houston Christian on May 31, Sheffield set the record for most shutout innings by a starter in K-State's NCAA postseason history, helping the Wildcats advance to the NCAA Austin Regional semifinal.
SHOES TO FILL
K-State looks to fill big shoes left by left fielder Keegan O'Connor and shortstop Maximus Martin from the 2025 season … Each earned Second Team All-Big 12 honors last year … O'Connor broke the program's single-season home run record with his 17th home run of the season in 2025 – a three-run blast during the NCAA Austin Regional ... O'Connor launched his 17th homer at 104 mph off the bat to eclipse the mark set in 1997 … Martin earned First Team All-Central Region honors, becoming the fifth player of the Hughes era to receive All-Region recognition and one of seven Big 12 selections on the First Team from a 37-school region ... A Second Team All-Big 12 honoree, Martin collected Big 12 Player and Newcomer of the Week honors and led the team with 18 multi-hit games, while ranking second with 15 multi-RBI performances ... On March 10, he became the first Wildcat to earn Golden Spikes Player of the Week recognition after posting a 2.714 OPS with five home runs and 12 RBI in a series sweep of William & Mary.
FRESH ALL-AMERICAN
Entering his sophomore campaign, AJ Evasco is coming off a historic rookie campaign where he earned Second Team Freshman All-American honors from the NCBWA ... The Lincoln, Nebraska product set multiple freshman program records with 11 home runs of the year and 52 RBIs … He was named to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team – the sixth under Hughes.
MLB DRAFT
K-State had two players taken in the 10th round of the 2025 MLB Draft ... Martin was selected in the 10th-round by the Boston Red Sox with the 298th overall pick, followed by Frost, who was taken with the 315th pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers to close out the round ... Martin becomes just the second Wildcat ever drafted by the Red Sox, joining Robert Youngdahl (2011), while Frost is the ninth player in program history selected by the Dodgers.
USA! USA!
Right-hander James Guyette earned an invitation to the 2025 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp, becoming the third player under Hughes — and fourth overall in program history — to receive the honor … He joins former teammates and Double-A players Tyson Neighbors (2023) and Kaelen Culpepper (2023), along with former Major Leaguer and K-State Hall of Fame inductee Craig Wilson (1991, 1992)... In 2025, Guyette led the team with 24 relief appearances, posting a 4-3 record with a 4.70 ERA and a team-best four saves ... Limited limited opponents to a .226 batting average and recorded 51 strikeouts over 51 2/3 innings … An All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, Guyette logged at least two innings in 11 outings, striking out three or more in eight of those appearances while holding opponents scoreless in five.
RECORD RECAP
Behind five scoreless innings from Tazwell Butler and five runs batted in by David Bishop, K-State set a school record for most conference wins in a season (17), en route to a 9-5 victory against Cincinnati … With the win, the Wildcats finish the regular season with a winning record for the sixth consecutive year, that includes a 17-13 mark in Big 12 play ... The Cats' 17 conference wins are the most in school history, breaking the previous record held by the 2013 team.
STUDENT-ATHLETES
Academically, the Wildcats earned the program's second-ever ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award — and first since the 2016–17 academic year — finishing with a team GPA of 3.24 in 2025.
The 126th season of Wildcat baseball gets underway Friday against Iowa at 2 p.m. CT as junior James Guyette gets his first career Opening Day start at Goodyear Ballpark. Saturday, K-State will take on UConn at 6 p.m. at Scottsdale Stadium with sophomore righty Donte Lewis getting the nod.
The Wildcats face Penn State at 1 p.m. Sunday with left-hander Lincoln Sheffield starting on the mound, while right-hander Tanner Duke will get Monday's start against Air Force at 2 p.m. Both games against Penn State and Air Force will be played at Sloan Park. Additional teams at the tournament include Northeastern, Grand Canyon and Nebraska.
All four games will broadcast on MLB.com and can be heard on KMAN and online at kstatesports.com/watch. Fans can also follow along opening weekend action through live stats or on the Cats social media platforms.
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Baseball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
GAME #1
K-State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Iowa (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
Friday, February 13 // 2 PM CT // Goodyear Ballpark // Goodyear, AZ
Projected Starters: RHP James Guyette (0-0, 0.0 ERA) vs. RHP Tyler Guerin (0-0, 0.0 ERA)
Watch: MLB.com
Radio: KMAN // Brian Smoller
Listen Online: KStateSports.com/watch
GAME #2
K-State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. UConn (0-0, 0-0 Big East)
Saturday, February 14 // 6 PM CT // Scottsdale Stadium // Scottsdale, AZ
Projected Starters: RHP Donte Lewis (0-0, 0.0 ERA) vs. LHP Cayden Suchy (0-0, 0.0 ERA)
Watch: MLB.com
Radio: KMAN // Brian Smoller
Listen Online: KStateSports.com/watch
GAME #3
K-State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Penn State (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
Sunday, February 15 // 1 PM CT // Sloan Park // Mesa, AZ
Projected Starters: LHP Lincoln Sheffield (0-0, 0.0 ERA) vs. RHP Isaiah Shayter (0-0, 0.0 ERA)
Watch: MLB.com
Radio: KMAN // Brian Smoller
Listen Online: KStateSports.com/watch
GAME #4
K-State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Air Force (0-0, 0-0 Mountain West)
Monday, February 16 // 2 PM CT // Sloan Park // Mesa, AZ
Projected Starters: RHP Tanner Duke (0-0, 0.0 ERA vs. TBA
Watch: MLB.com
Radio: KMAN // Brian Smoller
Listen Online: KStateSports.com/watch
THE MATCHUP
Coming off its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, The K-State baseball team opens its 2026 campaign this weekend at the MLB Desert Invitational in Scottsdale, Ariz., facing Iowa, UConn, Penn State and Air Force … The 126th season of Wildcat baseball gets underway Friday against Iowa at 2 p.m. CT as junior James Guyette gets his first career Opening Day start at Goodyear Ballpark ... Saturday, K-State will take on UConn at 6 p.m. at Scottsdale Stadium with sophomore righty Donte Lewis getting the nod ... The Wildcats face Penn State at 1 p.m. … Sunday with left-hander Lincoln Sheffield starting on the mound, while right-hander Tanner Duke will get Monday's start against Air Force at 2 p.m. Both games against Penn State and Air Force will be played at Sloan Park.
FOLLOW THE CATS
All four games will broadcast on MLB.com and can be heard on KMAN and online at kstatesports.com/watch ... Fans can also follow along opening weekend action through live stats by visiting the team's schedule page or on the Cats social media platforms (@KStateBSB).
A LOOK AT K-STATE
Coming off their third straight 30-win season and seventh season under head coach Pete Hughes, the Wildcats return 21 players (17 letterwinners) from the 2025 roster that finished 32-26 overall and set a school record with 17 conference wins ... The Wildcats return everyday starters AJ Evasco, Dee Kennedy, Bear Madliak and Shintaro Inoue along with weekend starter Lincoln Sheffield … Evasco, who earned D1Baseball Freshman All-American honors, turned in a record-breaking debut season by setting K-State freshman records for home runs (11) and RBI (52) … A total of 17 newcomers were added to the 2026 roster in the offseason, that includes 12 transfers and 5 freshmen … Two Wildcats were drafted in the 2025 MLB Draft with shortstop Maximus Martin (Boston Red Sox) and left-handed Friday night starter Jacob Frost (Los Angeles Dodgers) … Both were taken in the 10th round … K-State returned nearly 50% of its offense in every major statistical category, including 54.7% of its run production … On the mound, the Cats returned 44.8% of its wins and 49% of innings.
SCOUTING IOWA
Iowa begins its 13th season under head coach Rick Heller … The Hawkeyes are coming off a 32-22-1 season with a 21-9 mark in Big Ten play … Iowa was 17-15-1 on the road in 2025 and finished 2-7-1 in its last 10 games … As a team, Iowa slashed .292/.402/.471 with 125 doubles, six triples and 68 home runs … Iowa baseball brings back 52 1/3 innings from last season and loses 428 1/3 innings, losing all three weekend starters … RHP Tyler Guerin will get the Opening Day start for the Hawkeyes … Guerin was 0-1 with in 14 appearances with a 7.02 ERA and logged two starts … K-State leads the all-time series 17-10 … The two squads last met on February 26, 2023 at the MLB Desert Invitational, with Iowa winning 6-5.
SCOUTING UCONN
UConn was selected as the favorite in the Big East Preseason Poll, while pitcher Sean Finn, outfielder Tyler Minick and shortstop Rob Rispoli were voted to the All-Big East Preseason Team … The Huskies finished their 2025 campaign 38-21 with a 17-4 record in Big East to finish second in the league standings … Head coach Jim Penders enters his 23rd season at the helm of the Huskies baseball program … The five-time conference Coach of the Year has guided UConn to a 773-496-5 overall record … UConn hit .313 as a team in 2025 to go along with a .520 team slugging percentage and .419 on-base percentage with 97 home runs, ranking 23rd nationally and first in the Big East … The Huskies stole the nation's 10th-best mark of 139 bases … Sophomore LHP Cayden Suchy will get the nod in Saturday's game for UConn … He went 3-4 his freshman season with a 5.93 ERA … Had four starts with five appearances out of the pen … Saturday's contest marks the second meeting between UConn and K-State … UConn won 4-0 in the first-ever meeting in Storrs, Conn., in 2024.
SCOUTING PENN STATE
Penn State finished the 2025 season with a 33-23 record, posting its second-most wins in a season … PSU reached the 30-win mark for the first time since 2011 … In Big Ten play, PSU won five Big Ten series in a season for the first time since 2012 and won three Big Ten road series for the first time since 2012 ... Its 15 Big Ten wins were its most since 2012 (not counting a Big Ten-only schedule in 2021) … PSU slashed .272/.382/.470 as a team in 2025 … Senior right-handed pitcher Dimond Loosli was tabbed to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Award watch list on Tuesday … Loosli made 22 appearances on the mound last season, picking up five wins and posting a 3.82 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 33 innings … Right-handed freshman Isaiah Shayter will make his first collegiate start on Sunday vs. lefty senior Lincoln Sheffield … K-State leads the all-time series 3-1 since the first meeting in 1994 … K-State defeated Penn State 4-1 in the last contest on February 17, 2007, in Shreveport, Louisiana.
SCOUTING AIR FORCE
Air Force wrapped up the 2025 season with a 20-34 overall record and 12-18 mark in Mountain West action … The Falcons were 7-25 overall on the road last season …
Mike Kazlausky enters his 16th season as the Air Force head baseball coach, after retiring from active duty in 2011 … Coach Kazlausky has led the Falcons to an overall 338-442 record … Catcher and team captain Walker Zapp was named to the Preseason All-Mountain West Team … Zapp finished second on the team with a .330 batting average, tallying 65 hits that included 18 doubles, five triples and seven home runs … He drove in 43 runs and added eight stolen bases … K-State leads the all-time series 14-5, with the two squads splitting a mid-week two-game series in 2023 at Air Force … The series featured 52 total runs, 21 doubles and six home runs … Monday's starter will be announced at a later date.
OPENING DAY
The 2026 opener marks the 126th season of Wildcat baseball, while Friday's contest marks the 23rd straight season K-State opens its season on the road … K-State last opened the season at home in 2003 with a doubleheader against Western Illinois … The Wildcats is 2-5 in season openers under Hughes ... The Cats are 4-6 over their last 10 season openers and 15-11 going back to the year 2000.
2026 SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
The Wildcats' 56-game schedule includes 10 opponents that advanced to the NCAA Regional round last season, highlighted by Super Regional participants Auburn and West Virginia, along with College World Series qualifier Arizona ... Sixteen of the Wildcats 26 home games are against opponents that made it to the 2025 NCAA Tournament, including 15 against Big 12 opponents with Arizona State, TCU, Oklahoma State, KU and Cincinnati … In total, K-State will face nine teams – 22 games – that finished with an RPI of 50 or lower in 2025.
O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
Redshirt seniors Kyan Lodice and Carson Liggett were voted team captains for the 2026 season … Lodice is the longest tenured player on the team after joining the squad in 2022.
PRESEASON POLL
K-State was selected to finish seventh in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll ... TCU was picked as the preseason favorite followed by Arizona, West Virginia, Arizona State and Kansas and Oklahoma State ... TCU nearly swept the preseason awards as Sawyer Storsnider was voted the Preseason Player of the Year, Tommy Lapour was named the Preseason Pitcher of the Year and Lucas Franco the Preseason Freshman of the Year. ASU's Dean Toigo was voted the Preseason Newcomer of the Year.
2026 BIG 12 BASEBALL PRESEASON POLL
| 1. TCU (13) | 169 |
| 2. Arizona (1) | 157 |
| 3. West Virginia | 137 |
| 4. Arizona State | 128 |
| T5. Kansas | 112 |
| T5. Oklahoma State | 112 |
| 7. Kansas State | 87 |
| 8. Cincinnati | 85 |
| 9. Texas Tech | 78 |
| 10. UCF | 66 |
| 11. Baylor | 54 |
| 12. Houston | 42 |
| 13. BYU | 29 |
| 14. Utah | 18 |
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
K-State's 38-man roster features one graduate, seven redshirt seniors, eight seniors, five redshirt juniors, six juniors, two redshirt sophomores, three sophomores, one redshirt freshman and five freshmen … K-State returned 17 letterwinners from 2025 and 17 newcomers … Thirteen states and three countries (United States, Canada and Japan) are represented on the Cats roster.
NEW FACES
The 2025 roster is comprised of 17 new faces with 12 transfers and five freshmen... Nine of the Wildcats' 12 transfers come from four-year universities, including Division I infielders Carlos Vasquez (Western Kentucky), Grant Gallagher (East Tennessee State), outfielder Robby Bolin (Nebraska) and pitchers Aaron Arnold (Wichita State), Matt Flores (UC Riverside), Cohen Feser (TCU), Robert Fortenberry (Mississippi State) and Adan Longoria (USF), and catcher Shea McGahan (SEMO). Gallagher was ranked No. 11 in the preseason third baseman rankings by D1Baseball after producing a .276/.473/.665 slash line with 20 home runs and a nation-leading 66 walks.
PLAYER RANKINGS
Five players earned a spot on D1Baseball's Preseason Player Rankings … Newcomer Grant Gallagher earned the highest ranking coming in as the No. 1 third baseman in the Big 12 and No. 11 nationally … Dee Kennedy was tabbed the No. 2/No. 34 shortstop … Shintaro Inoue came in as the No. 5/No. 36 second baseman … AJ Evasco ranked No. 11/No. 70 in the outfield and James Guyette closed out the Cats' selections at No. 12/No. 139 as a starting pitcher.
COACH HUGHES FILE
Pete Hughes the winningest active Big 12 coach, is in 29th season as a head coach and eighth at the helm of K-State baseball … Hughes has led five squads to the tournament (Virginia Tech [2010, 2013], Oklahoma [2017], K-State [2024, 2025]) … In 28 seasons, Hughes has compiled a career record of 852-660-3 (.563) as a head coach … His 852 career wins are the most by any active Big 12 head coaches … In seven seasons as the head coach of the Wildcats, Hughes has put together a 200-168 (.543) record … K-State has put together three consecutive 30-win seasons, including 35 wins in 2023 and 2024 –its highest win total since posting 45 in 2013 … Hughes has overseen 91 former student-athletes selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, including 27 taken in the first 10 rounds after four players were selected in the 2024 MLB Draft. In total, Hughes has recruited 145 players who were drafted and/or played professionally, including eight first-rounders … He has developed and/or recruited 22 Major Leaguers during his collegiate coaching career.
A LOOK BACK AT 2025
Last season, K-State registered its seventh consecutive winning season, posting a 32-26 overall record and a 17-13 mark in Big 12 play. The Wildcats earned their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance and second straight berth, marking the program's first back-to-back bids since 2010–11.
RECORDS FALL
The 17 conference wins set a new school record, surpassing the previous mark established by the 2013 team, while the season was highlighted by a school-record 97 home runs.
TOP PERFORMERS
Last season, the Wildcats finished within the Big 12's top five in several offensive categories, ranking third in home runs (97) and slugging percentage (.492), and fifth in total runs (424) and walks (272). K-State finished just outside of the top five in scoring (7.3 runs per game). The 2025 season was highlighted by strong offensive performances from graduate Keegan O'Connor, junior Maximus Martin and freshman AJ Evasco.
CATS DEALING
Last season, K-State's pitching staff finished seventh in the Big 12 in total strikeouts (507) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.2), ranking 49th nationally ... Two players finished among the Big 12's top 10 in strikeouts per nine innings, with lefties Jacob Frost at 10.18 (fifth) and Michael Quevedo at 9.90 (eighth).
YES, SHEFF
Lincoln Sheffield, who tossed a complete game to secure the Wildcats' series sweep over Utah on May 16, finished fifth in the Big 12 in both strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.68) and walks allowed per nine innings (2.30). With his 6 2/3 scoreless innings against Houston Christian on May 31, Sheffield set the record for most shutout innings by a starter in K-State's NCAA postseason history, helping the Wildcats advance to the NCAA Austin Regional semifinal.
SHOES TO FILL
K-State looks to fill big shoes left by left fielder Keegan O'Connor and shortstop Maximus Martin from the 2025 season … Each earned Second Team All-Big 12 honors last year … O'Connor broke the program's single-season home run record with his 17th home run of the season in 2025 – a three-run blast during the NCAA Austin Regional ... O'Connor launched his 17th homer at 104 mph off the bat to eclipse the mark set in 1997 … Martin earned First Team All-Central Region honors, becoming the fifth player of the Hughes era to receive All-Region recognition and one of seven Big 12 selections on the First Team from a 37-school region ... A Second Team All-Big 12 honoree, Martin collected Big 12 Player and Newcomer of the Week honors and led the team with 18 multi-hit games, while ranking second with 15 multi-RBI performances ... On March 10, he became the first Wildcat to earn Golden Spikes Player of the Week recognition after posting a 2.714 OPS with five home runs and 12 RBI in a series sweep of William & Mary.
FRESH ALL-AMERICAN
Entering his sophomore campaign, AJ Evasco is coming off a historic rookie campaign where he earned Second Team Freshman All-American honors from the NCBWA ... The Lincoln, Nebraska product set multiple freshman program records with 11 home runs of the year and 52 RBIs … He was named to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team – the sixth under Hughes.
MLB DRAFT
K-State had two players taken in the 10th round of the 2025 MLB Draft ... Martin was selected in the 10th-round by the Boston Red Sox with the 298th overall pick, followed by Frost, who was taken with the 315th pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers to close out the round ... Martin becomes just the second Wildcat ever drafted by the Red Sox, joining Robert Youngdahl (2011), while Frost is the ninth player in program history selected by the Dodgers.
USA! USA!
Right-hander James Guyette earned an invitation to the 2025 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp, becoming the third player under Hughes — and fourth overall in program history — to receive the honor … He joins former teammates and Double-A players Tyson Neighbors (2023) and Kaelen Culpepper (2023), along with former Major Leaguer and K-State Hall of Fame inductee Craig Wilson (1991, 1992)... In 2025, Guyette led the team with 24 relief appearances, posting a 4-3 record with a 4.70 ERA and a team-best four saves ... Limited limited opponents to a .226 batting average and recorded 51 strikeouts over 51 2/3 innings … An All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, Guyette logged at least two innings in 11 outings, striking out three or more in eight of those appearances while holding opponents scoreless in five.
RECORD RECAP
Behind five scoreless innings from Tazwell Butler and five runs batted in by David Bishop, K-State set a school record for most conference wins in a season (17), en route to a 9-5 victory against Cincinnati … With the win, the Wildcats finish the regular season with a winning record for the sixth consecutive year, that includes a 17-13 mark in Big 12 play ... The Cats' 17 conference wins are the most in school history, breaking the previous record held by the 2013 team.
STUDENT-ATHLETES
Academically, the Wildcats earned the program's second-ever ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award — and first since the 2016–17 academic year — finishing with a team GPA of 3.24 in 2025.
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