College Baseball Notebook: Program-best No. 7 ranking marks another milestone for ascending Jayhawks

The Jayhawks have won 10 straight games, 21 of their last 22 after sweeping Arizona and have a four-game lead in the Big 12 Conference. They achieved their highest ranking ever Monday when they landed at No. 7 in the D1Baseball.com poll. They are No. 9 by Baseball America.

“I think they just love playing baseball,” coach Dan Fitzgerald said. "They’re tough, they work hard and they take their preparation very seriously. They’re really fun to be around. There’s a lot of work that goes into this. Still a lot of coaching, a lot of preparation and specific to each player. There’s a lot of stuff right now that they’re just running with — the energy in the dugout, their attitude towards each other. It’s a very selfless group.”

This is all new for Kansas (37-11, 20-4 Big 12), which hasn't had much sustained success in its 136-year baseball history. The Jayhawks' all-time record is just a little over .500 and the most recent of their three regular-season conference championships came in 1949. They did win the 2006 Big 12 Tournament, but 22 of their 29 regular-season records in the conference have been sub-.500.

KU has ascended in the four seasons since Fitzgerald took over after assistant coaching stops at Dallas Baptist and LSU. The Jayhawks' 2025 win totals — 43 overall and 20 in conference play — were program records. Their 80 total wins since the start of last season are tied for third most in Division I.

A major roster overhaul led by an influx of junior-college transfers has not slowed Fitzgerald's momentum. Of the 35 players on the roster, 26 are newcomers and 24 had not previously played in Division I.

Tyson LeBlanc, who played juco ball for LSU-Eunice last season, leads the Jayhawks with a .337 batting average, 16 homers and 49 RBIs. Dominic Voegele is emerging as the top arm with four straight quality starts, including a 15-strikeout complete game in a 4-2 win over Arizona on Friday.

The Jayhawks don't have numbers that jump off the stat sheet, but they find ways to win. They're 14-1 in games decided by two runs or fewer and they've come from behind to win 24 times. Once they get a late lead, they keep it: They're 30-0 when leading after the sixth inning.

In the polls

UCLA (43-4), North Carolina (37-9-1) and Georgia Tech (39-8) remained the top three teams by D1Baseball.com. Texas is No. 3 by Baseball America.

UCLA, which swept Michigan State on the road to improve to 24-0 in Big Ten play, hosts nationally ranked Oregon this weekend. North Carolina, which was off this past weekend, lost 12-2 to Coastal Carolina and beat Duke 13-0 in a nonconference game last week. Georgia Tech won two of three against Xavier. Texas (35-10) won its series over Mississippi State.

Freshman goes Hog wild

Arkansas freshman Christian Turner pushed a ball just outside the left-field foul pole before he delivered the ninth-inning, walk-off homer to beat Mississippi 5-4 on Sunday. It reminded him of the situation five weeks earlier when he faced Florida's Luke McNeillie in the bottom of the ninth. That time, he struck out after his fly to left blew foul, ending a 7-6 loss.

“I can’t lose this at-bat," Turner said he told himself after fouling off the pitch against Walker Hooks. "Florida got me, but Ole Miss ain't going to get me.”

Batting for the first time in the game after Nolan Souza singled leading off, Turner drove a 1-2 pitch over the right-center fence to win the game and series.

“I really believe this team deserved to win a game like that,” coach Dave Van Horn said. “We really have not won a game like that in all the games we’ve played. Sometimes you've just got to have a break and someone has to step up, and those two hitters in the ninth did it.”

Cleanup spot

Texas overcame Luke Harrison's rough first inning to beat Mississippi State 11-6 on Sunday and win two of three in the top-10 matchup. The Longhorns were down 5-0 after the first, but Harrison righted himself and struck out nine in five innings. Three relievers held the Bulldogs to one hit over the last four innings. ... Ohio State's seven homers in a 10-1 win over Nebraska on Sunday were its most since connecting seven times against UConn in 2009. The Buckeyes swept the Cornhuskers for the first time. ... UC Santa Barbara outscored Cal State Bakersfield 41-13 in a three-game sweep, with the Gauchos scoring their most runs in two years in Sunday's 19-9 win.

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