The Kansas high school baseball season kicks off on Mar. 19, opening day for regular season action under KSHSAA regulations. Leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2026 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 2026 preseason coverage continues today.

---

2026 SEASON OUTLOOK

No. of Returning Position Players: 8
No. of Returning Pitchers: 3

Top Returners:

• Jake Bartley (2027) - P/1B/OF, L/L
  • All-League (NCKL), All-State 1st team (KABC), All-State 1st team (Prep Baseball KS) INF,
• Heath Hoekman (2026) - 3B/SS, R/R
  • NOC Tonkawa commit
  • All-League INF
• Nolan Wilkins (2026) - 2B, R/R
  • HM All-League
• Kayden Thrower (2026) - OF, R/R
• Levi Evans (2026) - P/SS/2B, SR, R/R
• Ethan Evans (2027) - UTL, R/R
  • HM All-League
    

Top Newcomers:

• Luke Trower (2029) - R/R
• Cooper Holloway (2027) - R/R

Key Players Lost:

• Thomas Keener - Ottawa
• Tyler Holloway - Tabor (Football)

Coach’s Insight: “We return quite a bit of experience on the field but not on the mound. We will be looking for a couple guys to step up this season there. With the experience we return on the field and with the newcomers we have coming in, we again will be very competitive again in one of the toughest leagues in 4A.” – Travis Bartley, head coach

---

Find more information on the 2026 Abilene program below:

+ Follow them on X: @high_cowboy
+ Visit Prep Baseball Kansas’ 2026 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

---

Related Content