2025 KSHSAA Team Preview: Lansing Lions
March 6, 2025
The Kansas high school baseball season kicks off on Mar. 20, opening day for regular season action under KSHSAA regulations. Leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2025 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications, counting down to the official Prep Baseball Kansas Preseason Power 25 Rankings.
Perennially, we’ve submitted a preseason questionnaire to high school head coaches across the entire state. Their responses have been flooding in and we’re using the detailed insight they’ve provided in our team-by-team preseason analysis.
Our 2025 preseason coverage continues today.
Head Coach: Michael Basler (9 years)
Classification: 5A
2024 Record (Finish): 16-9 (14-2 in UKC, League Champs)
2025 SEASON OUTLOOK
No. of Returning Position Players: 3
No. of Returning Pitchers: 4
Top Returners:
- 1B Bryce Fullen (2026) - 5'10", 170, L/L
- 2nd All UKC 1B, top returning hitter
- C Reid Oakley (2025; Kansas City Kansas CC) - 6'2", 185, R/R
- HM All UKC Catcher, top of line-up hitter
- RHP/3B Zach Grossnickle (2025; Neosho County CC) - 6'0", 170, R/R
- Was our best bullpen arm in 2024
Top Newcomers:
- OF/RHP Reece Mattingly (2027) - 6'4", 160, L/R
- Had a good summer, [has] really grown, big upside
- SS/RHP Trey Boden (2027) - 6'0", 175, R/R
- CF Austin Oakley (2027) - 5'9", 160, R/R
Key Players Lost:
- SS/RHP Tonio Mendez (Barton CC)
- UKC Pitcher of the Year
- RHP James Umbarger (Wichita St.)
- CF/RHP Caden Howell (Kansas City Kansas CC)
- 3B Dalton Jorgensen (Barton CC)
- 2B Kit Atchison (Central Christian)
- RF Jett Hutton (Allen CC)
Coach’s Insight: “We return three players that played in all 27 games in 2024, Fullen & R. Oakley are the top returning hitters and Grossnickle was our best bull pen arm. Our sophomore class is one of the most talented classes we have had in our time at Lansing, inexperienced at the varsity level but a very talented group. We are gonna play a lot of young players that have not had varsity experience and will learn on the job. Our success will be tied to the growth of our young players throughout the season” – Michael Basler, head coach
Find more information on the 2025 Lansing program below:
+ Follow them on X: @PrideBaseball21
+ Visit Prep Baseball Kansas’ 2025 KSHSAA Team Previews page to learn more.
+ If you are a high school coach and didn’t receive our questionnaire, please click HERE to fill out the form