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.

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2026 SEASON OUTLOOK

No. of Returning Position Players: 7
No. of Returning Pitchers: 3

Top Returners:

• Steven Zimbelman (2026) - P/IF, 6'2, 180, R/R
  • 4 year starter for us in the IF and on the mound. Has been a home run leader for us the last two seasons. Expect him to be a force on the mound in the UKC.
• Nate Martin (2026) - P/UTL, 5'10, 185, R/R
  • 4 year starter for us in the outfield. Pitched more at the end of the season last year. Expect him to get a lot more innings on the bump in his senior year. He's a very good base stealer and has great instincts.
• Caden Puderbaugh (2026) - C/IF, 5'10, 180, R/R
  • Emporia State commit 
  • 4 year starter for us in the infield and behind the plate. Disciplined hitter that is always a tough out.
• Colin Zimbelman (2027) - C/IF/P, 5'8, 170, R/R
  • 3 year starter for us in the infield. Instinctive base runner that is aggressive on the base path. Very confident at the plate and drives the baseball to all areas of the field. Look for him to step up into a more vocal leadership role this season.
• Chase Young (2026) - IF, 5'8, 160, R/R
  • Started the vast majority of last season at 2nd base and could see him at SS some this season. Hit for a really solid average for us last season and was a spark to our lineup.
• Teahen Bradley (2026) - OF, 5'7, 155, R/R
  • Missouri Valley commit
  • Was a big time base runner for us and set our single season stolen base record last season.
    

Top Newcomers:

• Talon Elliott (2027) - UTL, 5'8, 170, R/R
  • Expect Talon to find a role in the outfield and possibly on the mound. 
• Charlie Peek (2027) - UTL, 6'1, 195, L/L
  • Charlie will compete for time at multiple positions and add a left-handed bat to our lineup. 

Key Players Lost:

• Will Howard - Navy
• Trey West - Washburn
• Garrett Pierce 

Coach’s Insight: “We have a good core of returners that have a lot of experience and the newcomers have a lot of potential. We seem to have a tight group of guys that are motivated to play for each other. Our coaches are excited about building on the success of last season. We lost a large senior class of 10 players after last year. They were a talented group and we need players to step up and fill their shoes. Excited about preparing for the season and start focusing on the process.” – Zach Livingston, head coach

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Find more information on the 2026 Basehor-Linwood program below:

+ Follow them on X: @BaseballBLHS
+ 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

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