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: 3
No. of Returning Pitchers: 1 that pitched a meaningful inning

Top Returners:

• Jackson Whiddon (2026) - C, 6', 205 lbs, R/R
  • Truman State commit 
  • Terrific leader, great throw & catch C, hits w/ power to all fields.
• Bo Wiegmann (2026) - 1B/P, 6'3, 200 lbs, R/R
  • Power to all fields, contact guy as well, he will team w/ Whiddon to give us a solid middle of the order, best hitter down the stretch in 2025. Need him to be healthy to give us some innings (Standout before TJ). 
• Nico Martinez (2027) - MIF, 5'9, 180 lbs, L/R
  • Terrific instincts, coach's dream as a leadoff hitter, hits for contact, moves runners, solid defender, capable of playing all INF positions.
• Kian Hopkins (2026) - MIF, 5'9, 175 lbs, R/R
  • Fort Scott CC commit 
  • Best athlete on team, great defender, consistently hit ball hard, best overall player in 2025, need him to keep improving.
• Jack Cole (2026) - P/OF, 5'7, 150 lbs, L/L.
  • Need a big year from him at the plate and on the mound. Only returning Pitcher w/ significant innings.
    

Top Newcomers:

• Jaxon Purkey (2026) - P, 5'10, 185 lbs, R/R
  • UCL injury last season, big blow to our pitching staff, hoping he can bounce back in a big way.
• Tucker Lee (2027) - OF/P, 6'2, 190 lbs, L/R
  • Big arm, big power as well, great athlete.
• Luke Espe (2026) - INF, 6'1, 170 lbs, R/R
  • Has been solid at all three levels on the way to varsity, need him to compete at a high level and continue to excel.
• Tanner Krier (2026) - OF, 6', 190 lbs, L/R
  • Good defender, needs to be consistent for us at plate.
• Tate Petersen (2027) - C, JR, 5'11, 195 lbs, R/R
  • Will find his way to varsity by doing what he does, hit.
• Ben Parks (2027) - UTL, 6'2, 175 lbs, R/R
  • Versatile, can play multiple positions, ball player.

Key Players Lost:

• Blake Englehart
• Drew Parks
• Noah Thompson - SIUE
• Phoenix Thompson - Cloud County CC
• Cade Martinez - Lindenwood
• Brad Janes - Cloud County CC
• Max Johnson 
• Evan Fleet - Cowley

Coach’s Insight: “We have a solid core of infielders returning that will be our best offensive/defensive players. Their leadership will be invaluable for this inexperienced team. Catching will be a strength as will our INF defense. This team returns very few experienced varsity players. We have a pitching staff with no experience. We have a lot of pitchers to use and we will use all of them. We could possibly throw 4 - 6 pitchers per game as we see it right now. We need quite a few other positions to step up offensively as well.” – Joel Thaemert, head coach

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Find more information on the 2026 De Soto program below:

+ Follow them on X: @BaseballDHS17
+ 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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