LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas Baseball Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Jon Coyne was named the 2026 D1Baseball Assistant Coach of the Year, the organization announced Monday. Coyne is the first Kansas assistant coach to ever win the award
Coyne, the architect of the roster, helped Kansas win three championships in 2026, including the Big 12 regular season title, the Big 12 Tournament title and the Lawrence Regional title. Coyne recently completed his fourth season at Kansas.
Kansas was the only Division I program in the country with at least 45 overall wins, 20 conference wins and 20 road wins. The Jayhawks were also one of two teams nationally to win its conference's regular season title outright, conference tournament title and advance to Super Regionals.
The 2026 roster had a total of 35 student-athletes, with 26 newcomers and nine returners. Entering the 2026 season, 24 of 35 players on the roster had not played Division I baseball. There were only six players on the 2026 roster who had prior Division I experience before arriving at Kansas, whether that was prior to the 2024, 2025 or 2026 season.
Through four seasons, Coyne and the coaching staff have brought in 51 total non-Division I transfers to KU. There were seven on the 2023 roster, 10 in 2024, 17 in 2025 and 17 in 2026.
KU participated in its second straight NCAA Tournament in 2026, marking only the second time doing so in school history. The trip to the NCAA Tournament came after winning the first regular season conference championship for Kansas since 1949 and the second Big 12 Tournament title in program history. Kansas became the first team to win the Big 12 regular season title outright and the Big 12 Tournament title since 2009.
Coyne, who also serves as the first base coach, helped guide Kansas to tying the school record of 45 overall wins. That included a second straight season with at least 20 conference wins for the first time ever. The Jayhawks also won seven consecutive Big 12 series for the first time in program history this season.
Kansas set new school records this year in conference wins (22), road/neutral wins (24), conference series wins (eight), home runs (112), slugging percentage (.507) and pitching strikeouts (610). The Jayhawks finished the season 11th in the nation in both home runs and walks (340), 16th in winning percentage (.714), tied for 21st in the country in batters struck out and tied for 23rd nationally in runs scored (475).
Coyne's first three seasons saw him deliver the No. 1-ranked junior college recruiting class. In November 2022, less than five months after being hired, Coyne led the way in assembling the No. 1 JUCO recruiting class. The No. 1 ranking by Perfect Game was the Jayhawks' first-ever top ranked recruiting class. The coaching staff followed that up by earning the No. 1 JUCO recruiting class for a second consecutive year in November 2023 and a third straight year in November 2024.
In Coyne's first three seasons, Kansas had 19 Jayhawks move on to play professional baseball. With the 2026 MLB Draft approaching, that number is poised to grow with players from the 2026 roster.