K-State Faces No. 9 Auburn in College Baseball Series Opener

Friday, February 20

Arlington, Texas

7 p.m.

Kansas State University

Auburn

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K-State Faces No. 9 Auburn in College Baseball Series Opener

Feb 19, 2026 | Baseball

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MANHATTAN, Kan. – Coming off a season-opening sweep of the MLB Desert Invitational, K-State continues its nine-game road trip this weekend when the Wildcats compete in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series, starting Friday at 7 p.m. against No. 9 Auburn at Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers.

The Wildcats (4-0) will send right-hander James Guyette (1-0) to the hill in the weekend opener against the Tigers (3-1). Righty Donte Lewis (0-0) will get Saturday's nod and face Nebraska (3-1) at 7 p.m., while left-hander Lincoln Sheffield (1-0) will start Sunday's 6:30 p.m. contest against Michigan (3-1).

Fans can purchase tickets online here. The entire Frisco Classic can be seen on D1Baseball.com while radio coverage will be carried on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with Brian Smoller calling all the action. A free live streaming audio is available for all games at KStateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.

The tournament will be exclusively streamed on FloSports.

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 #5
K-State (4-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. #9 Auburn (3-1, 0-0 SEC)
Friday, February 20 // 7 PM CT // Globe Life Field // Arlington, TX
Projected Starters: RHP James Guyette (1-0, 7.20 ERA) vs. Jake Marciano (0-0, 1.80 ERA)
Watch: FloSports
Radio: KMAN // Brian Smoller
Listen Online: KStateSports.com/watch

GAME #6
K-State (4-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Nebraska (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten)
Saturday, February 21 // 7 PM CT // Globe Life Field // Arlington, TX
Projected Starters: RHP Donte Lewis (0-0, 13.50 ERA) vs. RHP Carson Jasa (1-0, 5.40 ERA)
Watch: FloSports
Radio: KMAN // Brian Smoller
Listen Online: KStateSports.com/watch

GAME #7
K-State (4-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Michigan (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten)
Sunday, February 22 // 6:30 PM CT // Globe Life Field // Arlington, TX
Projected Starters: LHP Lincoln Sheffield (1-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. TBA
Watch: FloSports
Radio: KMAN // Brian Smoller
Listen Online: KStateSports.com/watch

THE MATCHUP
Coming off a season-opening sweep of the MLB Desert Invitational, K-State continues its nine-game road trip this season when the Wildcats compete in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series, starting Friday at 7 p.m. against No. 9 Auburn at Globe Life Field … The Wildcats (4-0) will send right-hander James Guyette (1-0) to the hill in the weekend opener against the Tigers (3-1) ... Righty Donte Lewis (0-0) will get Saturday's nod and face Nebraska (3-1) at 7 p.m., while left-hander Lincoln Sheffield (1-0) will start Sunday's 6:30 p.m. contest against Michigan (3-1).

FOLLOW THE CATS
All four games will broadcast on FloSports and can be heard on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with 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
K-State started the season 4-0 for the second time under head coach Pete Hughes and 16^th time in program history … The Wildcats outscored opponents 57-22 over the tournament averaging 14.3 runs on 13.3 hits per game … Fifteen different players produced a hit across the tournament, led by nine from AJ Evasco … Dee Kennedy followed with seven, while Robby Bolin and Shintaro Inoue each had six … K-State's non-starters hit .429 at the tournament with three RBI, led by two from Chandler Murray … The Wildcats were 11-for-14 on the bases led by Kennedy who was 5-for-5 … K-State has registered 10+ hits in all but one game this season, scoring double figure runs in each … Evasco recorded an RBI in all four games, with three multi-hit performances … Grant Gallagher, Evasco, and Bolin have produced a hit in four consecutive games, while each have reached base in all, along with Inoue and Kennedy … Kennedy led all players with 15 RBI on the weekend, followed by Evasco with 10, while Kennedy and Bolin each scored 10 runs … With Monday's win over Air Force, K-State made history recording four consecutive wins against four different opponents over four days to start a season …

SCOUTING #9 AUBURN
Auburn (3-1) enters the College Baseball Series ranked in the national polls – No. 5 (Baseball America), No. 7 (NCBWA), and No. 9 (D1Baseball) – after starting off the year 3-0 with a three-game sweep of Youngstown State … The Tigers suffered their first setback of the season Tuesday night, dropping an 8-0 decision against Cincinnati … Auburn (3-1) trailed just 2-0 heading into the eighth inning, but the Bearcats scored six runs in their last two at-bats to secure the win ... Auburn's 39-man roster includes 21 returners and 18 newcomers (9 freshmen, 9 transfers) … The Tigers' transfer class was rated No. 10 by D1 Baseball … Auburn is slashing .291/.378/.396 as a team with eight doubles and two home runs, while the pitching staff boasts a 2.83 ERA (11 ER, 35 IP) with 56 strikeouts against 11 walks … Sophomore Jake Marciano will get the start in the weekend opener … The lefty went five innings on Opening Day against Youngstown State, striking out 12 of the 17 batters he faced with one run allowed … Friday marks just the second-ever meeting between the two squads and second at Globe Life Field, as Auburn defeated K-State, 12-1, on February 20, 2022 at the College Baseball Showdown.

SCOUTING NEBRASKA
Nebraska has started off the year 3-1 after dropping the weekend finale against Stanford, 11-6, at the MLB Desert Invitational … The Cornhuskers are hitting .370 as a team and post a .447 on-base percentage and .539 slugging percentage with 15 doubles, one triple and three home runs … The pitching staff owns a 4.50 ERA (17 ER, 34 IP) with opponents hitting .218 … Five starters hit over .400 over the four-day event, led by Cade Sanders (.500/.650/.643), while Joshua Overbeek drove in a team-high seven RBI … Coming off a third-team All-America campaign in last season, redshirt junior Cooper Katskee was named a NCBWA Fourth Team Preseason All-American ... The Miami (OH) transfer went 11-2, the fourth-most wins in Division I, with a 3.08 ERA and three complete-games in 16 appearances, including 10 starts in 2025 … Right-hander Carson Jasa will get Saturday's start, his second Friday start of the year … He allowed four runs (three earned) over five innings with nine strikeouts on Opening Day … Jasa made 11 appearances on the mound last season, going 2-2 with an 8.68 ERA … Nebraska leads the all-time series, 177-118, while K-State won the 2025 season series, 2-1.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN
Michigan opened the season 3-1 after winning the inaugural College Baseball series in Surprise, Arizona last weekend … The Wolverines faced a pair of preseason Top 25 teams, defeating then-No. 12 Oregon State, 5-3, and No. 24 Arizona, 4-1 … Michigan dropped a 5-4 10-inning decision in the weekend finale on Monday … Head coach Tracy Smith collected his 900^th career win as a head coach, becoming the 94^th Division I coach to reach the milestone … Smith ranks 15^th among active Division I head coaches … The pitching staff boasted a 3.00 ERA over opening weekend with a 2.25 WHIP, while averaging 8.3 strikeouts per nine innings … Gavin DeVooght was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List … The Wolverines returned 18 letterwinners from the 2025 roster, including Freshman All-American Tate Carey (RHP) and 2024 All-Big Ten selection Kurt Barr (RHP) … Offensively, the Wolverines hit .299 with a .398 on-base percentage and .358 slugging percentage with just five extra-base hits … Sunday marks the fourth meeting between K-State and Michigan, dating back to its start in 1997 … K-State leads the all-time series 2-1, after defeating the Wolverines, 5-1, last season at Globe Life.

THE WILDCAT ROTATION
Friday: James Guyette will get the start in the weekend opener for his second-career Friday start … The right-hander earned the Opening Day win, striking out a career-high eight and surrendering four runs for a 7.20 ERA.
Saturday: K-State will go to Donte Lewis for Saturday's contest against Nebraska … The sophomore utility logged 2.2 innings with four strikeouts … He ended his start with a 13.50 ERA.
Sunday: Lincoln Sheffield earned his eighth win at K-State in the victory over Penn State … The lefty held opponents to three runs (two earned) on eight hits with five strikeouts.

KING KENNEDY
Junior Dee Kennedy collected nearly every major weekly award this week, following his dominant Opening Weekend performance … Kennedy was named the Golden Spikes Award x D1 Baseball Player of the Week, Big 12 Player of the Week, Brooks Wallace Award Player of the Week by the College Baseball Foundation (nation's top shortstop), and NCBWA Dick Howser Trophy Co-National Hitter of the Week ... Kennedy was also selected to the Baseball America's Week 1 National Team of the Week … He capped his three-game Opening Weekend performance with a team-high 13 RBI, while hitting .538 with five extra-base hits, including three home runs – two of them grand slams. He slugged an impressive 1.385 while posting a .625 on-base percentage for a standout 2.010 OPS, with a career-high seven RBI in the Cats' 24-5 win over Penn State … Overall, Kennedy produced a slash line of .500/.571/1.286 at the MLB Desert Invitational, tallying a team-high 15 RBI and 10 runs scored while going 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts.

CATS SCRATCH FIRST
The Wildcats are 133-58 when scoring first against opponents under head coach Pete Hughes … K-State opened scoring in all four games at the MLB Desert Invitational … Last season, K-State was 20-10 when scoring first, while compiling a 14-9 record when scoring in the first inning.

RUN IT BACK
Last season, the Cats announced their presence on a national scale, defeating three teams featured in the national polls – No. 5 Arkansas (D1Baseball), No. 25 Michigan (Baseball America), No. 22 TCU (D1Baseball) – in a three-game stretch to clinch the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series title … Lincoln Sheffield tossed seven complete innings and allowed just one run in his first quality start on his way to earning Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week honors … K-State pounded out a tournament-high 12 hits against TCU, while the win marked the Wildcats' second largest margin of victory in the all-time series against the Horned Frogs … Six of K-State's 10 runs vs. TCU came with two outs while the Wildcats hit .355 (11-for-31) with men in scoring position … During the three-day event, K-State outscored opponents 18-5 with 26 hits and no errors committed ... The pitching staff posted an incredible 1.67 era, holding opponents to a .186 average and combing for 30 strikeouts over 27 innings.

VS TOP 25
K-State has won five of its last 10 games against top-25 teams, that includes a 5-4 record against ranked teams last season with a series win over No. 12 West Virginia … The Wildcats are 31-47 (.397) against the Top 25 in the Hughes era, with a best seven wins in 2019.

AROUND THE BIG 12
Five teams have started with 2026 season with perfect records: Arizona State (4-0), Baylor (4-0), Houston (4-0), K-State (4-0) and West Virginia (3-0) … TCU moved up to No. 7 in the D1Baseball Top 25, while West Virginia entered the ranking at No. 25 … Nine Big 12 games will be against ranked opponents in Week 2 … On opening weekend, the Big 12 tied with the Big Ten for the lead among Power Conferences with four top 25-ranked wins. TCU (two), Houston (one) and Oklahoma State (one) all recorded a ranked win … Kansas State's Dee Kennedy (player), TCU's Noah Franco (pitcher) and Baylor's Tyce Armstrong (newcomer) garnered the Big 12 baseball weekly awards for the opening week of the 2026 season.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats will conclude their nine-game road trip with a two-game midweek series at Louisiana, on February 24-25. Both games against the Ragin' Cajuns (2-2) are scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park in Lafayette, La.