KUAthletics.com
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 23 Kansas baseball will play in the Fayetteville Regional this weekend, its first NCAA Regional since 2014 and only the sixth in school history. The Jayhawks will play their first game on Friday at 7 p.m. CT against Creighton on ESPN+ at Baum-Walker Stadium. The regional is a double-elimination format.
"We have had an awesome season in so many ways," head coach Dan Fitzgerald said. "It's really the culmination of three years of a lot of blood, sweat and tears getting to this point. We have an administration that has given us incredible support. My coaching staff has worked tirelessly, and then obviously 99.9 percent of it goes to the players and how they have worked. Really special team in terms of their togetherness, how much they love playing and couldn't be more excited to be at this regional and get after it tomorrow."
Kansas (43-15, 20-10 Big 12) had its most regular season wins in school history and the 20 conference wins also established a new program record. Kansas is the only team in the country with at least 43 overall wins, 20 conference wins and 20 true road wins. The Jayhawks are tied for the second most wins of any power conference team in the nation. The 43 wins this season are also tied for the second most in school history and the most under Fitzgerald. Kansas ranks 16th in the nation with a .741 winning percentage. KU is one of two power conference teams in the country ranked in the top 11 nationally in both walks and home runs. The 363 walks drawn by the Jayhawks are third most nationally and the 100 home runs are tied for 11th in the country. On the mound, the Kansas pitching staff has tossed seven shutouts, which is tied for fourth in the nation.
Kansas has won 23 games away from Lawrence this season, tying a school record set in 2014. The Jayhawks are one of seven Division I programs with at least 20 road wins this year, including one of only two power conference teams with at least 20 road wins. Heading into the regional on the road this week, KU is ranked No. 23 by USA Today and No. 25 by D1Baseball.
Creighton (41-14) won the BIG EAST regular season and tournament championships, which included a 17-4 mark in BIG EAST play. The Bluejays enter the regional this weekend having won seven consecutive games. Creighton has a .285 batting average as a team and has posted a 4.00 ERA as a pitching staff. Dominic Cancellieri, who is 2-1 with a 1.94 ERA this season, will start for Creighton on Friday night.
Friday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+, with Kevin Fitzgerald (play-by-play) and Bobby Moranda (analyst) on the call. Fans can also listen to the games on KLWN (101.7 FM/1320 AM) and the Jayhawk Sports Network on KUAthletics.com and the Kansas Jayhawks app, with Brian Hanni and Sean Kellerman calling the action. Live updates will also be provided on the team's official X page @KUBaseball.
BIG 12 COACH OF THE YEAR
Dan Fitzgerald was named Big 12 Coach of the Year on May 20. The honor for Fitzgerald marked the first Big 12 Coach of the Year in program history. Fitzgerald, in only his third season at Kansas, directed the program to its greatest regular season in school history. After inheriting a program that finished in last place in the Big 12, Fitzgerald and his staff have brought Kansas into the national spotlight. Fitzgerald is only the second Kansas coach ever to win a coach of the year award, with Dave Bingham winning Big Eight and ABCA District Coach of the Year in 1993. Bingham led the Jayhawks to the College World Series that season.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Kansas first baseman Brady Ballinger was selected to the Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team. Ballinger was a key part of the Jayhawks advancing to the Big 12 Championship semifinals for a second consecutive year, with a 2-for-4 performance that included a double, game-tying three-run homer, four RBIs, one walk and one run scored. He finished the tournament with a 1.301 OPS. He is the 11th Jayhawk in program history to be named to the Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team, and the first since 2021. Ballinger, a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and All-Big 12 First Team selection, is first in the Big 12 in walks (tied for ninth nationally), runs (tied for 26th nationally) and doubles (tied for 30th nationally), second in on-base percentage (22nd nationally), total bases, slugging percentage, fourth in hits, tied for fourth in home runs, sixth in batting average and tied for seventh in RBI. His 70 runs are second most in school history, his 56 walks are tied for second most in school history and 16 homers are tied for fourth most in program history
SERIES HISTORY
Kansas and Creighton have played on 43 occasions all-time, with the Bluejays holding a 25-18 edge in the series. Despite the advantage in the series, Kansas has won each of the last six meetings between the two teams. All six of those matchups have happened in Lawrence and the most recent time the teams played was March 29, 2023, when Kansas won 3-1.
UP NEXT
Kansas will play on Saturday at either 2 p.m. CT or 8 p.m. CT at Baum-Walker Stadium against the winner or loser of the Arkansas-North Dakota State game. The Jayhawks would play the winner of that game with a victory and the loser with a defeat.