photograph by: Emma Crouch/Kansas Athletics
Kansas head coach Dan Fitzgerald instructs his group throughout apply at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024.
Kansas head baseball coach Dan Fitzgerald is not any stranger to turnover.
Most significantly, he was coping with a model new roster when he arrived in Lawrence two years in the past earlier than his debut with the Jayhawks. However Fitzgerald's historical past of working with massive teams of recent gamers stretches a lot additional into his previous.
“That is precisely what I did yearly in faculty,” he informed the Journal-World in a current interview. “That is what we’ve got needed to do a number of occasions throughout my time at Dallas Baptist College. We had monster draft lessons and needed to mainly change a complete group. After I was at LSU, it was additionally a reboot the place we had to usher in enormous lessons.
“So I believe it's type of the character of the beast, in (that) it's not that completely different from what we've all the time tried to do as coaches.”
That have will serve Fitzgerald properly this offseason. Now, he has led a group with twice as many newcomers as returners — 28 to 14 — via most of its fall apply schedule, 4 months earlier than the 2025 season. The Jayhawks will play SIUE in an exhibition at Hoglund Ballpark at midday Saturday.
One of many predominant explanation why the roster skilled such an overhaul, after all, was July's MLB Draft. Fitzgerald recalled remarking at one level in the course of the summer time that he knew he was neither going to maintain everybody nor lose everybody. It will be someplace within the center, or so he thought.
“I used to be completely mistaken,” he mentioned. “We actually misplaced everybody within the draft. The one one we haven't misplaced is Brooksy, and that's as a result of he was injured.”
Certainly, redshirt senior third baseman Michael Brooks suffered a season-ending damaged hand and missed time. Now he's one among a number of returning gamers Fitzgerald can look to for assist in passing on the Jayhawks' tradition to greater than two dozen newcomers.
“The enjoyable half is in yr three, there's numerous guys who’re simply molding it every day,” he mentioned. “They don't should look far. You understand, Michael Brooks was with us on daily basis of the journey. Mike Koszewski was with us on daily basis of the journey. Thaniel Trumper was with us on daily basis of the journey. So we’ve got a handful of fellows who comprehend it properly and have lived it and formed it, and I believe that speaks louder than something I can say to them.”
Fitzgerald mentioned he “very particularly employed guys who have been nice recruiters and nice in growth” for his workers as a result of he anticipated recruiting and offseasons like this one that might require filling out the roster. The precise make-up of his new group of 28 is a broad combine — a mixture of a number of highschool signees, one other top-tier faculty class and a wide range of extremely skilled transfers from four-year faculties.
As Fitzgerald mentioned, recruiting has modified quite a bit as a result of it now not requires merely being a “two-tier individual” — targeted on highschool and JUCOs — but additionally a facility with portal transfers, graduate transfers and worldwide recruits .
Most of the new Jayhawks this yr are identified portions as they’ve years of expertise in strong baseball packages. On the sphere alone, KU introduced in gamers like outfielder Tommy Barth, infielder Brady Counsell and catcher Ian Francis, who have been three-year starters at East Tennessee State, Minnesota and Youngstown State, respectively.
“They're previous, however they're nonetheless very motivated,” Fitzgerald mentioned, “as a result of they get one final probability they usually get to do it at an unbelievable faculty in an important convention.”
That's not the one factor that has turn out to be interesting concerning the prospect of enjoying at KU. The outcomes of the 2024 draft, during which six gamers have been drafted and signed with skilled groups and two extra caught as undrafted free brokers, resonated in clubhouses throughout the nation. It included gamers like Ethan Lanthier (of St. Cloud State) and Evan Shaw (of Cochise Faculty) who transferred to KU for a single yr and parlayed it into a professional alternative.
“Final yr's draft caught the eye of lots of people, however particularly numerous recruits,” Fitzgerald mentioned. “There are numerous junior faculties proper now which can be properly conscious of the trail a few of the guys from junior faculty at Kansas to skilled baseball.”
One space the place KU's recruiting might be considerably diminished within the coming years is in the highschool ranks. Fitzgerald mentioned he expects that to be the case at most packages due to the pending Home v. NCAA settlement, which is able to scale back baseball's roster limits from 40 to 34.
Whereas KU's workers recruited a lot from JUCOs, partially as a result of he performed behind the primary highschool lessons after arriving, the Jayhawks nonetheless managed to develop a freshman of the yr in Kodey Shojinaga. and Dominic Voegele, as Fitzgerald factors out.
photograph by: Emma Crouch/Kansas Athletics
Kansas catcher Ian Francis throws the ball throughout apply Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Lawrence.
photograph by: Bailey Thompson/Kansas Athletics
Kansas infielder Brady Counsell throws a ball throughout apply Wednesday, Sept. four, 2024, in Lawrence.
Launch perspective
Talking of Voegele, the sophomore right-handed pitcher could have a important function as KU's starter Friday night time, Fitzgerald mentioned. Cooper Moore, who impressed as a freshman reliever, is “proper up there with him” as a further beginning choice. In any other case, there's loads of competitors within the clubhouse to begin subsequent yr.
KU restocked with a big selection of right-handed pitchers within the offseason, together with transfers like Jake Cubbler (USC Upstate), Eric Lin (South Alabama), Connor Maggi (Gardner-Webb), Malakai Vetock (Creighton) and a wide range of additions PLAY. One of the necessary additions of all in 2025 will probably be a participant who was already on the roster, Trumper, one of many nationwide leaders in appearances in 2023 who missed most of final season.
Remarkably, the Jayhawks didn’t add any lefties after the 2024 marketing campaign. Their roster consists of long-time signing JUCO transfers Porter Conn and Naun Haro, together with returnees Gavin Brasosky and Brigden Parker.
“We’ve 4,” he mentioned. “I'd prefer to have 14. The reality is, the splits, again within the day when a lefty would are available and also you'd have a lefty within the bullpen, you simply introduced him. Baseball has modified a lot that divisions don't essentially play. extra so.”
Citing Kansas Metropolis Royals shortstop Lucas Erceg for instance, he mentioned a right-handed pitcher with a nasty changeup can thrive towards left-handed batters.
“It wasn't for lack of making an attempt that there aren't extra lefties,” Fitzgerald mentioned. “It's simply that these guys are unicorns, however I really feel good as a result of (pitching coach Brandon) Scott did a very good job with a bunch of right-handed adjustments.”
The one “simple” benefit lefties supply, Fitzgerald added, is their means to decelerate baserunning.
photograph by: Emma Crouch/Kansas Athletics
Kansas head coach Dan Fitzgerald throughout apply at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024.